Kansas City
Introduction
Kansas City is the largest city in the state of Missouri and the second largest metropolitan area in the state.
Located on the Missouri River at the confluence with the Kansas River, the city forms part of a large urban complex that also includes Leavenworth, Olathe, Overland Park, Prairie Village, and Shawnee in Kansas and Blue Springs, Gladstone, Grandview, Independence, Lee’s Summit, Liberty, North Kansas City, and Raytown in Missouri.
The area lies in an area of humid continental climate with moderate precipitation and extremes of hot and cold.
Kansas City was founded in 1838 as the "Town of Kansas" and was incorporated in its present form in 1850.
Data and Facts
- The Kansas City metropolitan has a population of 2.34 million people and an area of 7,952 square miles, which means its density is 260 people per square mile.
- Kansas City spans two states: Missouri and Kansas
- Kansas City is well known for its contributions to the musical styles of jazz and blues as well as for its famous Kansas City-style barbecue.
- Kansas City has over 200 fountains, giving it the nickname The City of Fountains.
- Kansas City ignored Prohibition during the 1920s, leading to a surge of boozy jazz clubs, brothels and gambling joints.
- Language: English
- currency: US Dollar ($)
- Religion: Christianity is the most popular religion since the region is part of the Bible Belt. Among Christians, Protestants make up 57% of the Christian population while Catholics make up 18%. 20% of the population is unaffiliated.
Government
Kansas City is home to the largest municipal government in the state of Missouri. The city has a city manager form of government. The mayor is the head of the Kansas City City Council, which has 12 members (one member for each district, plus one at large member per district), and the mayor himself is the presiding member. Kansas City holds city elections every four years.
The current mayor of the city is Quinton Lucas.
Economy
The Kansas City area's economy is large, influential, and important in its region. It is the third largest beef-producing city in the US (behind Chicago and Cincinnati), and is home to the second largest rail network.
The city is the marketing and shipping centre for a vast agricultural region (including soybeans, corn, dairy products, and wheat) and has extensive grain-storage and food-processing facilities. It is considered a major distribution centre due to the city rail hubs and the international airport and port facilities on the Missouri River. The area houses many factories, manufacturing plants, an official international trade zone, and more foreign trade zone space than anywhere else in the nation.
Services (including health care, telecommunications, and finance) constitute the largest share of the city’s economy and the federal government is the largest employer in the Kansas City metro area. More than 146 federal agencies maintain a presence there.
Manufacturing (notably automobiles, greeting cards, weapons components, and pharmaceuticals), tourism (including riverboat casino gambling), and research and development of agricultural products are also important.
Business Environment
Greater Kansas City is headquarters to four Fortune 500 companies (Sprint Nextel Corporation, H&R Block, Embarq Corporation, and YRC Worldwide Inc.) and some additional Fortune 1000 corporations (Interstate Bakeries Corporation, Great Plains Energy,Aquila, AMC Theatres, and DST Systems)
Ford Motor Company operates a large manufacturing facility in Claycomo at the Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant, which builds the Ford F-150.
Numerous agriculture companies operate out of the city. Dairy Farmers of America, the largest dairy co-op in the United States is located in northern Kansas City. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and The National Association of Basketball Coaches are also based in Kansas City.
Infrastructure
From its beginnings, Kansas City's location on the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers made it an important transportation hub. Today transportation plays a huge part in the economy of the Greater Kansas City area. With the construction of the Hannibal Bridge across the Missouri River it became the central location for 11 trunk railroads.
Kansas City and its metropolitan area has more miles of limited access highway lanes per capita than any other large metro area in the United States.
The city is served by the Kansas City International Airport that was built to make a world hub for the supersonic transport and Boeing 747
Technology
Kansas City, with its educated workforce, growth in entrepreneurship and access to venture capital funding, earned a spot among the top tech cities in the nation.
Lots of tech start-up activity is taking place in Kansas City, home of Duct Tape Marketing, the Kauffman Foundation and the first city to receive Google Fiber in late 2012 in an estimated half billion dollar investment. Long referred to as the “Silicon Prairie,” Kansas City is quietly making its mark as a great place for startups of all flavors.
Kansas City and the surrounding metro area is home to a bunch of startups, and 2019 was one of the best years on record for the city’s startup funding market with $169.4 million raised.
One of the companies contributing to 2019’s big dollar volume total was PayIt. His CEO John Thomson, has said about the city: “Kansas City has all of the right ingredients—good universities, a strong corporate sector, and investors like Firebrand Ventures and KCRise, which are helping to build a strong foundation for startups.”
Social Wellness and Human Resources
Health
Health care in the United States is provided by many distinct organizations. Health care facilities are largely owned and operated by private sector businesses.
In Kansas City there are plenty of medical institutions such University of Kansas Hospital, North Kansas city Hospital or St. Luke's Hospital of Kansas City.
Education
Many universities, colleges, and seminaries are in the Kansas City metropolitan area, including, among others, University of Missouri–Kansas City, Rockhurst University − Jesuit university, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, Avila University, Park University or Metropolitan Community College.
Media
Kansas City has many business publications. Two of the most prominent are the Kansas City Business Journal and Ingram's Magazine.
The Kansas City Star is the area's primary newspaper and The Kansas City media market includes ten television channels along with 30 FM and 21 AM radio stations.
Museums
Some of the most rated sites of interest in the city are: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Belger Arts Center, American Jazz Museum, National World War I Museum of the United States, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Airline History Museum and Irish Museum and Cultural Center.
Music
Kansas City is world renowned for its rich jazz and blues legacy. Jazz in Kansas City was born in the 1920s and continues today in clubs and events held throughout the city. More than 40 area nightclubs feature jazz on a regular basis.
In 2018, UNESCO named Kansas City as a "City of Music", making it the only city in the United States with that distinction.
Sports
The most popular sports in the city are soccer, baseball and american football.
References
https://www.britannica.com/place/Kansas-City-Missouri
https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/kansas-city-mo
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Kansas_City,_Missouri
https://www.visitkc.com/visitors/things-do/history-kansas-city-jazz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City,_Missouri
http://www.sprintcenter.com/news/detail/sprint_center_announces_grand_opening_week_festivities
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