Metro Outlook
Measuring the Progress of Metropolitan Kansas City
The first edition of Metro Outlook (1.7M .pdf, released 8/29/01) incorporates the results of an in-depth survey conducted in the fall of 2000 of about 1,700 area households.
The survey indicates where residents see problems and where they feel the region is doing well. It also provides direction to decision makers as alternative solutions are weighed and limited resources are applied to problem areas.
Metro Outlook is intended to:
- Provide a better tool to guide research and decision-making on key community issues
- Educate the community on the region's trends and challenges and how they are interrelated
- Initiate regional discussion and serve as a catalyst for actions that improve the prospects for positive community change.
The updated version of Metro Outlook, is now an interactive Web site, metrooutlook.org. Metro Outlook LIVE measures regional progress through a variety of indicators, including employment, education, income, migration, poverty and more. Metro Outlook 2.0 starts with a vision of the Kansas City region effectively competing in the global economy by sustaining a rising quality of life that attracts talented people.
- We use a model to help us understand connections between regional goals and to predict how improving one can influence others.
- We use economic indicators to measure regional progress — comparing both to our own history and to peer metropolitan areas.
- We use survey results to better understand people's perceptions of our quality of life and the challenges facing our region.
- And finally, we offer recommendations about policy changes that could help us make our vision a reality.