KC urban core population density.

[chrizow]

http://zipatlas.com/us/mo/zip-code-comp ... ensity.htm

this is an interesting website that lists the population of each zip code in the US. you can look at it by state, and then there is a "most dense zip" list too.

assuming the population data is accurate, i calculated the population of the "urban" zip codes in KCMO. this is rough indeed, going from basically the river to 95th-ish, and state line to elmwood-ish:

population: 206K
area: 50 sq mi
avg density - 4120.

RCP population: 76K
area: 12 sq mi
avg density: 6333.

interestingly, a couple of large zip codes in OPKS have population densities exceeding the KCMO "urban" average - for example, 66212 has 33,578 people and 4,650 per mile.

fun fact: average STL City population density is now 4804/mile. not as much of a difference as i expected, especially since my KC numbers include the suburban fringe of south KC and the fringes of east KC.

just food for thought, and an interesting site.

[longviewmo]

What's RCP?

[bobbyhawks]

What's RCP?

I think River Market/Crown Center/Plaza?

[chrizow]

Yes River-Crown-Plaza, basically river to 51st, state line to paseo.

[aknowledgeableperson]

Not that it would matter that much but if you included the 64114 zip code that one extends to at least Minor Drive.

With regards to your sq miles the city had just under 60 sq miles after the 1909 annexation that took city limits from the river south to 77th St.

[shinatoo]

When Jim Sheridon was researching where to build his first frozen custard shop back in the late 90's the densest place in KC was 75th and Metcalf.

Sad really.

[earthling]

When Jim Sheridon was researching where to build his first frozen custard shop back in the late 90's the densest place in KC was 75th and Metcalf.

Sad really.

Highly doubt that. Actually no possible way. But it may have had the highest density of high income.

[warwickland]

63116 (#2) and 64111(#9) baby, the two best zips in the state!

[shinatoo]

When Jim Sheridon was researching where to build his first frozen custard shop back in the late 90's the densest place in KC was 75th and Metcalf.

Sad really.

Highly doubt that. Actually no possible way. But it may have had the highest density of high income.

You can doubt all you want, doesn't make it any less true.

[kboish]

I don't know how accurate this site is.

by clicking the population density by city it showed STL as having 970,000 people and KCMO as having 527,000 people. maybe i did something wrong

http://zipatlas.com/us/mo/city-comparis ... ensity.htm

[warwickland]

I don't know how accurate this site is.

by clicking the population density by city it showed STL as having 970,000 people and KCMO as having 527,000 people. maybe i did something wrong

http://zipatlas.com/us/mo/city-comparis ... ensity.htm

In the case of St Louis i'm guessing they are including zip codes where you can have a "St. Louis" address, which is common in the county. I can't remember what the "rule" is for that, maybe a certain mileage from downtown. Perhaps Kansas City is similar.

[aknowledgeableperson]

Guess because of annexations the post office has not changed what a location is called. Had family living in Gladstone but it had a KC address. Guess it was served by a PO located in KC.

[chingon]

Those figures are what I got by adding up the more or less equivalent "urban" census tracts via the NYT "Mapping the Census" figures. Of course, to do that, I had to reverse-engineer the square mileage, which was painstaking.

KC density red-herring is pretty ridiculously pervasive. I got a 25 minute earful from a Michigander about how "there just isn't sprawl like THIS in Michigan". I kept telling him US census disagreed, even tried to explain "urbanized area" measurements, then I remembered he was a squirrel-eating Michigander and I gave up, and focused on explaining why '2012 Tigers are the most joyless and boring exemplars of the "softball-ization" of baseball in a generation...

Vis-a-vis, StL, the data pretty much confirms my experiential impression of KC and StL: StL is bigger and older, but pretty comparable in terms of actual quotidian "urban experience". I know that opinion rawrubs some StLians, but I'm certainly not alone in that impression, and there's some data driven reasons why.

[longviewmo]

I don't know how accurate this site is.

by clicking the population density by city it showed STL as having 970,000 people and KCMO as having 527,000 people. maybe i did something wrong

http://zipatlas.com/us/mo/city-comparis ... ensity.htm

In the case of St Louis i'm guessing they are including zip codes where you can have a "St. Louis" address, which is common in the county. I can't remember what the "rule" is for that, maybe a certain mileage from downtown. Perhaps Kansas City is similar.

I clicked on "St. Louis" and the map on that page makes it look like the "St. Louis" zip codes include pretty much everything inside the I-270 loop.

[warwickland]

Those figures are what I got by adding up the more or less equivalent "urban" census tracts via the NYT "Mapping the Census" figures. Of course, to do that, I had to reverse-engineer the square mileage, which was painstaking.

KC density red-herring is pretty ridiculously pervasive. I got a 25 minute earful from a Michigander about how "there just isn't sprawl like THIS in Michigan". I kept telling him US census disagreed, even tried to explain "urbanized area" measurements, then I remembered he was a squirrel-eating Michigander and I gave up, and focused on explaining why '2012 Tigers are the most joyless and boring exemplars of the "softball-ization" of baseball in a generation...

Vis-a-vis, StL, the data pretty much confirms my experiential impression of KC and StL: StL is bigger and older, but pretty comparable in terms of actual quotidian "urban experience". I know that opinion rawrubs some StLians, but I'm certainly not alone in that impression, and there's some data driven reasons why.

come now, the arch alone (if you unhook one leg and stretch it upwards) clearly blows the kansas city skyline out of the water. /throwback comment.

[chrizow]

the STL density figures i quoted above just came from wikipedia. unlike KC, the entirety of STL City boundaries is "urban" so i think it's fair to use the official density stat for STL City.

city density figures notwithstanding, i do acknowledge that the "urban core" of STL extends west into U City and Clayton. heck, since my KC stats included south waldo and beyond, you may as well bring in Maplewood, etc. into the STL "core." at that point i am sure you have about 70K more in population, though it might dilute the density stat a bit.

pretty sad that even in our most "dense" corridor, KC's density is a mere 6333/mi. what does this say about our capacity to support a streetcar line to UMKC? are there comparable stretches of urbanity elsewhere in the US that successfully support rail transit?

[chingon]

pretty sad that even in our most "dense" corridor, KC's density is a mere 6333/mi. what does this say about our capacity to support a streetcar line to UMKC? are there comparable stretches of urbanity elsewhere in the US that successfully support rail transit?

Cleveland come to mind. Whether or not its rail system is successfully supported is probably debatable.

St Louis, obviously.

Probably a fair bit of Portland, its not particularly dense.

Cincy soon. BTW, browsing around on the zipatals cite only reaffirms my assertion that Cincy is KC closest peer...

I don't know their rail routes, but Houston and ATL, maybe?

[chrizow]

also re: the KC stats, i was intrigued that 64124 and 64123 were the most dense zips in KCMO. not surprising i guess, Old Northeast is pretty dense by KC standards. i just had always thought that 64111 was the most dense.

[chingon]

also re: the KC stats, i was intrigued that 64124 and 64123 were the most dense zips in KCMO. not surprising i guess, Old Northeast is pretty dense by KC standards. i just had always thought that 64111 was the most dense.

"Mexican Midtown" is a gem. And those density stats are AFTER decades of pretty serious depopulation.

[brewcrew1000]

I heard from some realtor that the Northeast area has like 50,000 people in it, pretty decent chunk of the city