Guide to narrow-lot development

Many lots in old neighborhoods in Kansas City, Kansas, are just 25 feet wide, which is generally too narrow to satisfy current minimum standards for the construction of new houses. Consequently, 180 Degree Urban Design + Architecture has produced a “Narrow Lot Design Guidelines” booklet to enable people to build on the lots in ways that will fit the surroundings.
The booklet, commissioned by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, shows how to site a building on a narrow lot, and includes key architectural features that should be part of the design. The guidelines won adoption and have been posted on the Unified Government website, www.wycokck.org/Dept.aspx?id=14316.
The government also had 180 Degree lead a charrette and produce a plan for the historically African-American Douglass-Sumner neighborhood, which has deteriorated in recent decades. The concept calls for the redevelopment of the neighborhood to take place in village-like blocks — small, complete increments — rather than more piecemeal construction. It’s hoped that with funds from the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, a design and development center will be opened in the neighborhood, to foster progress.