KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Kansas City is two years away from FIFA World Cup 2026′s arrival. As many in the metro prepare, students over at UMKC are helping educate others about this mega event and what it could mean for the city.
It’s for the class Studio 410. The class is for UMKC seniors who are studying urban planning and design.
Friday, members of the class held a presentation focused on the existing conditions in Kansas City. They want to help the community prepare, celebrate, and keep a legacy in Kansas City. Eleven students have been conducting research for the last month and a half.
“This topic is something that is going to continuously affect the city planning profession,” said UMKC Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Design Dr. Jacob Wagner. Adding, “One of the benefits is putting information in one place, asking the right questions, and thinking about the ways that the community can be engaged positively to make our host city experience a benefit for more people.”
They looked into all aspects: transportation, tourism, the economy, short-term rentals, and sustainability, just to name a few.
They hope this is something that benefits the work already being done by KC2026.
“This is more supplemental or additive it is really about educating the community, what is a mega event, what are the potential impacts for our cities and our neighborhoods,” said Dr. Wagner. He added, “We are very much interested in community watch parties as a way to activate the local economy, get neighborhoods engaged, have kids understand the importance of physical fitness and so we are really looking at what can we actually do between now and June 2026 to get ready that will have that lasting positive impact.”
With some of the new streetcar lines expected to be ready in 2026, these students see infrastructure updates like this to be a positive change for the community.
“The Northeast or the east side uses public transit so if we study that area and implement some of the transit improvement that would be impactful to that area,” said UMKC senior Nahaji Kebe, who is studying urban planning and design with a focus on transportation.
“What can we do to get ready for the games that will actually be something we already wanted to do like reduce traffic fatalities, reduce pedestrian crashes, increase public infrastructure,” said Dr. Wagner.
They are putting together a final presentation with Friday’s community feedback and more research to present recommendations to the community such as neighborhoods, chambers of commerce, and nonprofits.
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