The Field of KC Tenants

Before identifying the various members within the field of which KC Tenants belongs to, it is important to address what field KC Tenants belongs within. KC Tenants is the citywide tenant union and organization of Kansas City, MO. At first glance, it would make sense to consider KC Tenants within the field of tenant advocacy, but I believe the organization is held within a larger umbrella in Kansas City. That umbrella being the field of housing policy and planning. 

 

The advocacy, organizing, and campaigning by the collective at KC Tenants is in direct response to the current housing conditions and rising market-rents of Kansas City. If this is the field in which KC Tenants operates, who accompanies them?

 

First, it is best to point out the direct opposition to KC Tenants. Private developers in the midtown and downtown areas that continue to push for luxury and market-rate development in once low-income and working-class neighborhoods are often opposing KC Tenants’ work. MAC Properties in Kansas City is a prime example as the corporation has been found to be harassing tenants, disrupting organizing efforts, violating city codes, etc. while still raising rents for its tenants. 

 

However, developers do not work alone within Kansas City. Often, developers receive tax abatements, subsidies, or other incentives from local city governments in order to develop their projects. While there are active debates to such policies, which KC Tenants is addressing in their ongoing Affordability Campaign, most of the abatement and incentive programs are led by the Office of Economic Development within Kansas City, MO government. This division is led by City Manager Brian Platt. The City Manager is chosen by the Mayor, Quinton Lucas, and must be approved by the City Council.

 

While Developers and local governing bodies are important factors in the field of housing policy and planning, there is also the non-profit field of Kansas City. Organizations such as the Center for Neighborhood at UMKC along with non-profit developers of sites such as low-income housing, nursing homes, treatment shelters, and temporary housing programs are crucial members to the field that KC Tenants operate within.

 

Finally, there are the residents of Kansas City. While KC Tenants primarily advocates for the tenants of the city, homeowners, known to the organization as bank tenants, are also affected by housing policies of the city. Questions of affordability are universal to the residents in the city. In turn, residents are tasked with voting for representation, but this is often a flawed process in which those most affected by housing insecurity, eviction, and homelessness feel disenchanted by the voting process. This is a part of KC Tenants “field” that could be addressed by advocating for the representatives that would side with the vision for Kansas City that KC Tenants holds.