Efficient Use of Resources:
Summary and Implications
We've measured efficient use of resources in four areas — waste, land, fuel and air. Each chart or graph on these pages was assigned a rating based on how the Kansas City region compared to its peers or, in the case of indicators only available for the Kansas City area, on how favorably they reflected on the region. The ratings are shown in the chart below:
Average Rating: 1.36
While the Kansas City area consumes a smaller amount of resources overall than most of its peers, this is due to its relatively smaller size and lower rate of economic growth.
On a per capita or per household basis, our consumption rates appear to be increasing, leading to increasing amounts of waste being generated. The region consumes land at twice the rate it adds people. Though this is average for its peer group, the best of its peers are both densifying and spreading out simultaneously, providing an exciting urban alternative that attracts talented people and increases the capacity to serve people with transit.
The Kansas City area's growth is still largely accommodated simply by spreading out, making it highly dependent on the automobile. So, while transit usage in most metros has increased significantly since the 1980s, it has remained virtually unchanged in metropolitan Kansas City.
This is likely to become more important as fuel costs rise. Metros that are more difficult to serve with alternative transportation options pay for their inefficiency by siphoning off spending into gas tanks. Such spending literally goes up in smoke.
Fuel consumption, combined with a high rate of land consumption and conversion of land to urban uses, makes maintaining a high level of environmental amenities challenging. Indeed, the region finds its air quality in the lower half of its peers.
Greater resource efficiency, then, has a triple impact on economic competitiveness. It helps to create urban amenities and the sense of place valued by many talented people. It conserves, protects and restores the natural amenities also valued by them. Finally, it conserves financial resources that, with appropriate policy, could be redirected to improve innovative capacity here rather than funding foreign economies as they do now.
What can we do to improve as a region? Read our policy recommendations, and let us know what you think.
Conclusions
"Efficient Use of Resources" main page | Indicators
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