Perspectives
December 8, 2025
One Step at a Time: How Populous and Chris Goode Are Improving Access to Healthier Living in Kansas City, Starting with a Flight of Stairs
Most days, you’ll see people gathered at Kansas City’s historic Paseo Stairs (built in 1941), an iconic flight of stairs built into the hillside outside of Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts (formerly Paseo High School). The stairs — built at an incline of nearly 50 feet — offer an intense workout, which makes them a favorite gathering spot for free community recreation.
The Paseo Stairs, like any historic site, require dedicated upkeep. Chris Goode, lifelong Kansas Citian and founder of Ruby Jean’s Juicery and Ruby Jean’s Foundation, noticed the area’s decline firsthand; he’s run the stairs since childhood and, more recently, meets his brother there for weekly workouts.
Goode is no stranger to community engagement and knew he needed to assemble a team to help tackle this ambitious project. He reached out to Populous in 2020 to begin a multi-year collaboration that started with a significant clean-up effort (also assisted by the City of Kansas City, Missouri; Rockhurst University; Kansas City Public Schools; Kansas City Parks and Recreation; and GEHA).
More recently, a team at Populous has worked with Goode and other community partners to create a design plan for the area’s revitalization, beginning with the steps themselves — the spine of the Paseo Stairs.
“I’m grateful that Chris reached out to Populous to explore revitalization options for the Paseo Stairs,” says Al Harris, senior principal. “My grandparents lived two blocks away from the stairs, so I’ve understood the monumentality of the stairs since I was young. This project represents an opportunity for Populous to do what we do best: create places that draw people together.”
The ultimate goal for the Paseo Stairs? To create a vibrant, inclusive and sought-after destination akin to Philadelphia’s Rocky Steps that helps Goode make his overarching vision a reality.
“I want to break down the systemic barriers around being well to make a healthier existence possible for more people in all ways,” he says. “The Paseo Stairs are a tangible approach to that plan and will create more access to free movement on the east side of Kansas City, an area that’s seen substantial disinvestment over decades. Redeveloping the stairs alongside the community that they serve will create better access to a healthier lifestyle for many people.”
The Paseo Stairs illustrates the impact of and need for open, accessible community spaces in cities large and small. These gathering places so often become the heart of a neighborhood, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to support Chris’s vision in our own backyard.
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