iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Found a place with 180 whiskeys + the Chiefs game. Winner, winner, scallops-to-die-for dinner! Got the Buffalo Trace premium flight: Stagg Jr, Elmer T. Lee, Blanton’s Gold, E.H. Taylor single barrel. Stagg FTW. (Tap & Barrel, Bar Harbor)

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Loving Maine so far in the five hours we’ve been here. And of course we immediately went for the lobster. 😋

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

En route to Maine for the first time. Excited to see some fall foliage at Acadia and eat some fresh lobster in Bar Harbor!

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The amount of money humans waste on damage to cars and damage by cars is incomprehensible.

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

In my latest Substack post, I share my critique of Midtown Kansas City, my vision for what it could be, some suggestions for fulfilling that vision, and the obstacles that stand in the way. mattstephenskc.substack.com/p/toward-a-t... #kansascity

mattstephenskc.substack.com

Toward a Thriving Midtown Kansas City

Thoughts from an Ordinary Resident

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Informal poll: when city leaders boast about positive numbers during their tenure despite persistent problems, does it inspire hope (things are improving) or induce frustration (leaders are tone deaf to remaining concerns)?

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Small developers in isolation have very little chance of taking on an entity like Westport Bars and transforming Westport into a vibrant daytime community. Something like that would take major collective action/investment. This is, IMO, a huge blindspot in the incdev movement. [3/…]

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Incremental development is the prevailing M.O. among US urbanists, but I think it deserves some scrutiny. The little guy doing little things in his neighborhood often gets drowned in the rushing river of collective interests to the contrary. Small businesses leave as fast as they come. [2/…]

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Following up to my Westport thread, there’s an idea I want to explore here. The idea is, basically, that lasting change requires relatively large investments by people with a common vision. Not necessarily by one large entity, but perhaps a large coalition of smaller investors. [1/…]

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Is it because alcohol is so ridiculously profitable?

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I like Harry’s, especially for happy hour.

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

My wife always talks about how good McCoy’s was.

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Dear school district: what if, instead of us downloading 12 different apps, we all just learned how to use email and didn’t abuse it?

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

That makes sense. In my city there are thousands of properties that have either fallen into serious (uninhabitable) disrepair or been cleared of these structures and now lie empty. Entire blocks of valuable urban land sit empty for years on end. The city’s urban pop. is half what it was at its peak.

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

That makes sense. Thanks! Where I live, there are acres and acres of blight in our city core—land owners just sitting on vacant property waiting for some miraculous windfall. Here, it’s constraining housing supply because you need land to build on.

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Say more about the vacancy tax. I’ve assumed that some sort of vacancy tax would encourage better land use by disincentivizing unproductive uses or non-uses. Is that not the case in reality?

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

And WTAF is The Social Room? And how did they get away with the psychedelic graffiti paint job they put on the outside of their building? That has to be a breach of the overlay district design standards. It’s atrocious.

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Char Bar, Moti Mahal, and Broadway Cafe are the only WP establishments we frequent now.

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The Wesport Businessperson’s League (or whatever it’s called) is a joke. The longer I live next to Westport, the more disappointed I become. Losing Beer Kitchen hits hard.

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Westport KC could be like downtown Aspen. Instead, it remains a steadily-deteriorating playground for 20-somethings. Westport’s more mature neighbors deserve better than the trashy entertainment district it remains. It will only improve if they decidedly shift its focus.

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Westport is already the most economically productive square mile (or so) in Kansas City. But it has a long way to go before it’s a truly livable place and not merely an entertainment district. [3/3]

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

If we accomplished this, Wesport would be not only self-sustaining economically, but also offer a truly great quality of life for local residents. [2/3]

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Westport KC and surrounds have so much potential. Imagine all of the vacant parcels developed, the vacant storefronts filled, the smoke/vape/CBD shops replaced by classier establishments, and the sidewalks fixed (including relocation of the light poles). [1/3]

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Just a reminder: some folks were born on 9/11, so it’s not completely devoid of goodness. 🙂

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Day 11 of this god-awful respiratory virus. When will it end? My wife succumbed a few days after I did. We’re a sorry mess at present.

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Anyone know who furnishes and installs vintage-styled stair runners in the KC area? We’re looking to make our main staircase more safe and comfortable.

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

These new beauties are in the Roanoke neighborhood in Midtown KC.

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Good sidewalks: one of the most underestimated pieces of infrastructure and quality of life contributors in cities.

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

One irony of building great cities is that the amount of space dedicated to automobiles must decrease in proportion to the population increase. This fundamental reality is lost on so many city dwellers in the US that it majorly stalls progress.

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mattstephenskc @mattstephens.bsky.social · 01/09/2026