The core problem: Since 1960, Topeka’s land area grew about 65% while population grew only about 7%. The city has become less dense and more expensive to serve.

City of Topeka Land Use and Growth Management Plan (2014 video from the City of Topeka)

This short promotional video explains Topeka’s updated Land Use and Growth Management Plan, an element of the city’s comprehensive plan. It promotes a shift toward fiscally responsible, sustainable “smart growth” instead of continued low-density sprawl.

Key Points

• The core problem: Since 1960, Topeka’s land area grew about 65% while population grew only about 7%. The city has become less dense and more expensive to serve. Population has leaked to unincorporated Shawnee County (the city’s share of county population has declined, while the population outside the city has more than doubled). Only 2 out of every 10 new county residents have moved into the city, compared with Lawrence, where 8 out of 10 stayed in the city. Keeping Topeka’s historic share of county growth could have meant roughly 23,000 more residents and several million dollars more in annual revenue.
• Three-tier growth framework:
  • Tier 1 (highest priority): Existing city limits. These areas already have (or can readily receive) the five basic services—police, fire, water, sewer, and roads. Emphasis is on reinvestment in the core, infill, and higher density rather than abandoning older neighborhoods.
  • Tier 2: Areas just outside the current limits that are realistic candidates for annexation in the next ~25 years because the five services can be extended without major new investment.
  • Tier 3: Longer-term Urban Growth Area (UGA) that should be planned for but is not ready for near-term inclusion.
• Benefits of the approach: Reusing existing infrastructure and services is far more efficient than extending them outward. Compact, mixed-use, walkable development supports better quality of life, helps attract and retain younger residents and families, and generates higher returns on public investment. Examples highlighted include successful downtown and North Topeka redevelopments (e.g., adaptive reuse of historic buildings and a former junior high school into housing) that significantly increased property values, often aided by historic tax credits and neighborhood revitalization incentives.
• Supporting data and tools: The plan uses more realistic population projections than the 2003 plan. It notes roughly 1,200 vacant lots already inside city limits (potential for ~4,000 additional residents) that already have infrastructure. New planning and utility rules are intended to encourage urban densities as the city grows.

The video closes by framing the plan as a choice: continue costly, low-density sprawl or adopt a more compact, strategic pattern that strengthens existing neighborhoods and makes growth more sustainable and affordable for taxpayers. It directs viewers to topeka.mindmixer.com for public feedback.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMK8alutJHo