If I'm fortunate enough to have the anonymous comment post-er return to the blog, I don't know what this means. Help me out:
Mr Wang
I think some people call you Andrew and some call you Andy. We will try not to hold that against you.
Mr Wang
I think some people call you Andrew and some call you Andy. We will try not to hold that against you.
posted by Andrew Wang at 6:08 PM
2 Comments:
Whether or not you think J. C. Nichols walked on water, I think we can all agree that he’s not going to come back and give us his vision for Prairie Village today and tomorrow. And, as he’s not coming back, people like Andy Wang are working toward developing a new vision for our city and giving us the opportunity to be involved in the process.
I imagine that J. C. Nichols, a forward-thinking man, would do the same if he got the chance, for the Prairie Village of today bears little resemblance to the city of the 1950s.
Prairie Village began the decade as mostly pastureland and ended as one of the fastest growing cities in the country. In the 1950s, most women in Prairie Village stayed home and raised children, while their husbands took the family car to work. The Kansas City metropolitan area wasn’t replete with discount stores that draw people away from shops in Prairie Village, and residents didn’t have multiple cars to make it easy for everyone in the family to shop elsewhere.
Today, we are one of the few cities in Johnson County with a declining population. Today, it’s about 21,511. In 1970, the population of Prairie Village was 28,378, according to the U.S. Census of Population and Housing. In 1970, there were 4,577 people per square mile in Prairie Village. Today, there are only 3,470. In 1970, there were 8,771 housing units in the city with an average of 3.2 occupants in each residence. Today, there are about 10,031, with 2.1 people in each. That’s fewer people with more cars and more property to maintain.
We need a vision for the future that is going to attract more people to live in Prairie Village. The alternative is continued decline in the population, forcing fewer people to come up with more funds to support city services...and schools.
Trying to recreate Prairie Village of the 1950s is not an option. Neither is bringing back J. C. Nichols from the dead. The future of Prairie Village is in our hands. If we support the city’s merchants, attend area activities, send our children to area schools, and get bright and thoughtful people like Andy Wang elected to office, we will have the resources to keep the city vital.
So, instead of debating J. C. Nichol’s vision, let’s debate how we can attract more residents, more shoppers, and more children to Prairie Village to make the vision of Prairie Village’s future more positive.
--The Crank of PV
The vision for the future is indeed worth considerable discussion and thorough planning. Why not tap the people of Prairie Village to help, create a "Vision Campaign" and allow the residents to share their ideas in writing. Maybe the city could provide to each household an invitation to visit an online site and enter a submission for their vision and ideas of what Prairie Village should be doing to highlight its amenities, grow its population, attract business and/or new residence, etc...
Some of my thoughts are:
1.Create an incentive for home owners who renovate their properties.
2.Enforce codes that instruct residence on lawn and home maintenance (i.e. grass no higher than 12, no hanging gutters, etc...)
3.Create a Farmers Market across from Hen House or the Blue Moose.
4.Erect Prairie Village sign that spans across the roads near City Hall.
5.Build internet "Hot Spots" for our Parks.
6. Build a more robust Community Center that has numerous conference rooms, stage, kitchen, and other amentities.
7. Firework Fridays, a small Firework Show during the summer before the closing of the Pool.
8. Concert in the Park during the Summer.
We need to make living in Prairie Village so attractive that even as families grow they decide to stay rather than move away. Prairie Village should be about "Quality of Life", this is what is most attractive to our family and I think for many others. Prairie Village feels like home, it has a sense of community, people lack this sense in other places and are attracted to Praire Village.
Best Regards.
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