City staff discuss great public spaces with MPC
DZLUP and DCD staff explore Pritzker Park
Last week, the people behind some of the city’s most well-used public places gathered at MPC to discuss what makes public spaces work. Representatives from Chicago’s Dept. of Zoning and Land Use Planning (DZLUP) and Dept. of Community Development (DCD) shared their thoughts on some of the city’s current places, what makes these spaces successful, and how they can work together to create future public spaces that are vibrant and well-used.
The half-day discussion, hosted by MPC as part of its Placemaking Chicago initiative, included a field trip to Pritzker Park at State Street and Van Buren Street to see how people are using the space – and what perhaps could be done to make the space more inviting to pedestrians.
Melissa Flynn from the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce also joined the discussion, describing how a physical space – Giddings Plaza – provides a neighborhood center for the community. Giddings Plaza and the surrounding streets are some of the liveliest public spaces in the city, hosting everything from summer concerts to neighbors chatting over a cup of coffee. The Chamber coordinates many of the public events for Giddings Plaza, including farmer markets and festivals.
This meeting follows a series of Complete Streets workshops CDOT and MPC co-hosted this spring. Learn more about MPC’s involvement with city agencies through Placemaking on both technical assistance projects and workshops for city agency staff by visiting the Placemaking Chicago project page.
For more information on Placemaking Chicago, please contact Karin Sommer at ksommer@metroplanning.org or 312-863-6044.