photo by: Nick Krug

East Ninth Street in East Lawrence is pictured on Jan. 27, 2018.

The Kansas Leadership Center has named the four best neighborhoods in Kansas, and two of them are in Lawrence.

As part of the center’s quarterly publication, The Journal, judges reviewed nominations from across the state and named East Lawrence and Delaware Street Commons as two of the best neighborhoods for 2018, along with College Hill in Topeka and Rosedale in Kansas City, Kan. The Journal noted that Delaware Street Commons is the first co-housing community in Kansas and commended East Lawrence as an “artsy, funky, DIY cultural powerhouse.”

East Lawrence Neighborhood Association President Phil Collison said that though he thinks all the neighborhoods in Lawrence are “pretty darn good,” it’s fun for East Lawrence to be recognized. He said he didn’t put too much stake in being named the “best,” but didn’t disagree with The Journal’s characterization of the neighborhood.

“We are a quirky neighborhood that has had very interesting people that have kind of been able to run under the radar a little bit,” Collison said. “We live and let live.”

This is the first year The Journal has done the best Kansas neighborhoods feature, and judges reviewed submissions for 24 neighborhoods before naming the 2018 winners, according to Chris Green, managing editor of The Journal. Green said in an email to the Journal-World that judges used seven factors to evaluate the entries: the quality of the neighborhood’s story, its uniqueness, possibilities for interaction, attractiveness, comfort, mobility and leadership.

The Journal notes that East Lawrence is a diverse, working-class neighborhood with Victorian-style homes, bungalows, limestone cottages and 21st-century sustainable homes. It notes the neighborhood’s yard art, murals and long-standing community gatherings, such as the annual yard/art sale and the Martin Luther King Jr. Chili Feed.

East Lawrence, Lawrence, KS 66044

Delaware Street Commons is a small development completed in 2007 within the East Lawrence Neighborhood, according to its website. It consists of 23 townhomes, each with a porch that faces a common space with a garden and common house. The Journal states that the Delaware Street Commons cultivates community through both its layout and neighborhood gatherings, including a weekly potluck dinner.

Delaware Street Commons

Collison said the work done by Delaware Street Commons is “worthy of numerous articles” because the residents are working on building community through cooperative housing.

“People go there to live because (Delaware Street Commons) wants to build a sense of community, and I think they are doing a really good job with that and that’s unique,” Collison said. “Most people move into houses and put up fences.”

However, Collision also said the fanfare surrounding East Lawrence is a double-edged sword, and that new, more expensive development in the neighborhood brings change that’s bound to affect residents and the neighborhood’s character. For its part, The Journal also noted that aspect, stating that the neighborhood is working to preserve its distinctive character in the midst of new development.

In addition to the four best Kansas neighborhoods, six others received an honorable mention: Neighbors Who Care in Kansas City, Kan.; Sunset Hill in Lawrence; Old West Lawrence; College Hill and Delano in Wichita; and Mill Creek Farms in Olathe. In a news release regarding the recognition, Green said that there are hundreds of neighborhoods in Kansas that have good housing, neighbors and events, but that the best go beyond that.

“From our perspective, great neighborhoods are more than the sum of their property values or the test scores of the nearest elementary school,” Green said. “These places have a distinct look and style.”