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Homes We Need, Barriers We Built

Presented By
Allison Thurmond Quinlan

Development regulations often make housing, particularly starter homes, more expensive, if not impossible to build.

For example, most new houses have three bedrooms – something many families don't need. There are also restrictions on smaller lot sizes and attached single-family options. And financing requirements often exacerbate the gap between supply and demand.

As part of the Library’s Making a Great City series, Allison Thurmond Quinlan, an architect and advocate for infill development, will discuss how cities can boost affordable housing by removing some of these barriers. She also shares designs of some of the single and multi-family homes her firm has built as examples of what is possible when these barriers are removed.

In 2015, Quinlan started Flintlock LAB, a multidisciplinary consulting firm based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, which focuses on building lovable places that are socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable. Her policy experience includes serving as a planning commissioner and as a member of the construction board of appeals.

Quinlan’s work has garnered awards from the Congress for New Urbanism, the American Society of Landscape Architects, the American Institute of Architects, Architizer, and the American Planning Association.


If you need ADA accommodation to use Library services or attend Library events and programs, please notify us at least 3 business days in advance at 816.701.3409 or ADA@kclibrary.org. (TTY access available via 711 or 866.520.7309 for Spanish.)

The Kansas City Public Library could be videotaping and taking photos for possible inclusion in marketing and promotional communications.

Upcoming in this series:
Watch or Listen to Past Events in this Series:
Making a Great City Sheltering the Unsheltered

Mandy Chapman Semple

Sheltering the Unsheltered

Tuesday, May 6, 2025 6:00pm
Mandy Chapman Semple was responsible for designing and co-managing the implementation of Houston’s nationally recognized efforts to address homelessness. She speaks ...
24
Apr
Affordable Housing
Central Library |
6:00pm
6
May
Sheltering the Unsheltered
Central Library |
6:00pm
27
Apr
Taking It to the Streets: Rethinking Mobility in A...
Plaza Branch |
6:00pm
29
Oct
Smart Growth in KC: How? Where?
Plaza Branch |
6:30pm
Event 2025.11.13.jpg

Homes We Need, Barriers We Built

Date & Location
-
Truman Forum Auditorium
Online
In Person