2020: Living a Truly Downtown Life

This is more than just a resolution for 2020 — this is our streetcar family’s effort to live our lives in Downtown KC.

The goal is to meet our basic needs and promote happiness for the entire family by accessing as much as possible in the urban core of Kansas City, Missouri.

We aim to further minimize our footprint and support economic development by staying local. Whenever possible, we will quantify impacts and understand the trade-offs of decisions in our daily lives.

Is it possible to raise children in Downtown KCMO as the neighborhood is today?

City planners and urban enthusiasts talk about human-centered design and livable neighborhoods, which means that they should serve a wide range of class, race and diversity throughout all phases of life. Our family (two school age children, one infant and two adults) will attempt to test this out for ourselves and will share our findings here.

But first, chai….

Admittedly, we made a run to Target for some last minute supplies at the close of 2019 in anticipation of this resolution and to stock up on harder to find items such as garbage bags tailored for the diaper pail.

In addition to trying to shop local, we’ll be trying to stay away from online shopping because of the considerable impact to our environment and negative consequences for Main Street retail. Plus, if we can shop locally, we are supporting local businesses which is good for all of us.

But, alas, my husband (who is not a coffee drinker) did not find his preferred chai tea latte mix to restock in time for our self-imposed deadline to only shop Downtown.

So, rather than throw up our hands or forcing him to try coffee, we are going to use this first test to explore the neighborhood for previously undiscovered tea resources. Plus, we’ve already had luck asking a local grocer to order additional baby formula for us even after they had stopped stocking it.

I’m confident that 2020 will introduce us to many hidden gems across Downtown KCMO as we discover our livable neighborhood. I plan to make updates to this series throughout the year and share our insights and discoveries. I hope you’ll join me on this adventure!