Many Johnson Countians are well aware of the problems occurring across the state line, where Kansas City’s urban core has been hollowing out for years.

Public sidewalks are crumbling, water lines are breaking and some streets haven’t been paved in years. These troubles — along with higher crime rates and poor schools — have contributed to the blighting influences that have driven people to leave the inner city.

But maps of population losers in the last decade in the metropolitan area reveal facts that concern residents and elected officials in Johnson County, too.

The 2010 census showed that eight of 18 cities in the county lost population in the last decade: Fairway, Merriam, Mission, Mission Hills, Prairie Village, Roeland Park, Westwood and Westwood Hills.

The largest losses were 625 people in Prairie Village and 404 in Mission. Overall, these cities shed 1,330 people. True, that figure was greatly overshadowed by the addition of 90,000 residents in the county’s fast-growing cities that include Olathe, Shawnee and Spring Hill.

However, city officials and active neighborhood leaders — especially in the county’s older northeast area — know they need to be proactive in trying to maintain their public assets, which should help retain residents and businesses.

Overland Park, for instance, properly has been paying more attention to its older sections in recent years. On certain blocks, streets have been repaved, sidewalks repaired and new gutters poured. Those blocks simply look more inviting than others that haven’t received such attention.

Cities such as Prairie Village, Mission and Merriam need to provide good public services, such as prompt repairs of streets and sidewalks, to their residents. Organized efforts to improve older cities should help them avoid the blight that has decimated Kansas City’s core.