A Historical Study on The Establishment of Kansas City Park System

Abstract

The municipal park movement in Kansas City Mo. started around 1870's. The first park board was established in 1893 under the powerful leadership of August R. Meyer.The comprehensive plan of the park system was proposed by the landscape architect, George E. Kessler. The planning concept was to create a beautiful park system to induce the high-quality residential development. Parks, boulevards and parkways were laid out systematically, based on the principle to follow nature as closely as possible. The establishment of the special assessment tax provided a continuous, independent source of income, and it became one of the essential factors in a successful implementation of Kansas City park system.