The Right to Kansas City

In David Harvey’s Right to the City, Harvey asserts that the answer to the dispossession and displacement of people across cities in the United States and across the globe is, “greater democratic control over the production and utilization of the surplus.” This analysis is crucial to urban practice across the United States whether organizations specialize in housing, environment, transportation, or other amenities. A fundamental aspect to such practice is organizing itself and creating a collective within the city to demand the democratic control of the place in which they reside.

 

The organization for my fellowship, KC Tenants, often examines ways in which tenants across Kansas City can further obtain the rights to the city that are examined by David Harvey. KC Tenants mission statement is to create “safe, accessible, and truly affordable homes” for everyone in Kansas City. This is accompanied by the organization’s North Star, Municipal Social Housing; however, the organization is also interested in providing other options for the city such as Co-Ops and Community Land Trusts (CLTs) to Kansas City. 

 

The implementation of democratically controlled and tenant-run housing in Kansas City falls within the perspective of David Harvey as the people of Kansas City would have autonomy over their living conditions. Often, particularly in areas such as the East Side of Kansas City, MO, tenants face harassment, rent increases, and the threat of eviction. While tenant advocacy programs such as rent-control can benefit the living conditions of tenants in the short-term, which KC Tenants supports, advocating for the permanent affordability and democratically-run options within co-ops, CLTs, and social housing are crucial to reclaiming the people's right to the city. 

 

How does KC Tenants engage within its community to develop relationships with like-minded groups? While the organization has created allies across Kansas City and even the greater regions of Missouri, KC Tenants has found great success in base building with tenants living in Kansas City, particularly in the midtown, northland, and east side neighborhoods. Such outreach has provided KC Tenants with a substantial core base that is much larger than most tenant unions across the United States. In doing so, the organization has extensive outreach to residents of the community, and in fact, many other organizations desire to create alliance with KC Tenants. 

 

While the process of tenant base building has significant challenges both in financial terms and physical turnout, it has proven to be substantial for KC Tenants as an organization. Without having to rely on other organizations to align with them for certain housing issues, KC Tenants is able to engage directly with tenants in order to put the voices of tenants at the forefront of housing policy in Kansas City.