It has been more than 125 years since famed landscape architect George Kessler drew up a distinctly green framework for a growing Kansas City, calling for a system of parks and boulevards in the 1893 Report of the Board of Park and Boulevard Commissioners.

What’s needed to keep that system—a defining feature of the city—viable into the next century? Leon Younger, one of the nation’s most accomplished parks and recreation consultants, assesses the state of KC’s parks and boulevards today, identifies their challenges, and offers some near-term solutions.

Younger, who was Jackson County director of parks and recreation from 1983-88, is founder and president of Indianapolis-based PROS Consulting. His presentation continues the Making a Great City series, and is co-presented by the Penn Valley Park Conservancy and Roanoke Park Conservancy.

For presentation slides, click here.