Economy
Photographing the Heartbreaking Consequences of Eminent Domain
Residents of a Kansas City neighborhood saw their homes demolished to make room for a new police station.
The East Patrol Division station in Kansas City, Missouri sits at the edge of the Wendell Phillips neighborhood, between 26th and 27th streets and Prospect and Brooklyn avenues. It’s a large, geometric complex, set back from the sidewalk and protected by a landscaped lawn.
Four years ago, it wasn’t there. In its place were around 60 homes; two- and three-story bungalows not unlike those seen throughout the city. The neighborhood is historically black, and it has a reputation for crime. In 2010, the city marked out this four-block stretch as the site of a planned police station and crime lab to accommodate the area’s demanding caseload. The intent was to clear the neighborhood and bring about economic development.