This post was written by Jacques Gordon, Global Strategist, LaSalle Investment Management; and Member, MPC Board of Governors.
I was fortunate to stop by the Global Metro Summit, which took place at the University of Illinois (UIC) Forum in Chicago last week. Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) invited its Board of Governors to attend, and several of us accepted the offer to hear an extraordinary slate of speakers and panel discussions.
The author at MPC's 2010 Annual Luncheon
Photo by Michael Prischman
The guest list was equally impressive: I sat next to a row of officials from the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, and in front of a row of staffers from the White House. Academics who research urban issues were also in good attendance. Most interesting of all were the…
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Enjoy this seasonal blog post from The Connector's archives. It first ran Dec. 10, 2010.
So this post comes a day late for Hanukkah (sorry), and a couple weeks late for Eid (also sorry), but we still have a ways to go before Christmas and Kwanzaa. The stores will be busy this weekend and next, and that has us thinking about fun, unique gift ideas for your friends and family that also resonate with MPC's mission of building a more socially equitable, environmentally sustainable, and economically competitive region. Also, check out some specifically water-themed gifts over on the What Our Water's Worth site.
First things first, once you're done reading this post, turn off your computer, put on some warm clothes and sturdy shoes, and go buy your presents the old fashioned way. Walk down…
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The first snow of the season has arrived and I’m grateful for my short, five minute walk to the EL. When I was in the market to buy a house, proximity to public transit was at the top of my list, and it looks like a lot of other Chicagoans feel the same way. According to the latest RE/MAX Metra Community Study, suburban Chicago communities served by Metra commuter trains had a greater increase in home sales in the first half of 2010 than the entire suburban portion of the seven-county Chicago real estate market.
The study analyzed home sales in a three-town sample along each of the 11 Metra corridors throughout the Chicago suburbs and compared sales there to homes sales in the overall suburban market. The study compared sales data for the first half of 2010 to data from the same…
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This post was written by Aleece Smith, MPC research assistant.
Here at Metropolitan Planning Council, we are all for engaging the public to inform future investment. So we’re big fans of CEOs for Cities’ Give a Minute campaign, which is providing a temporary forum for public dialogue about ways to make it easier to get around town without a car. It’s a quick, easy way for Chicagoans to weigh in, via text message or online, about mobility challenges in Chicago.
So far, people have posted comments about transportation safety, security, commute times, overcrowding, environmental conditions, and commuting costs. The range of topics and the comments themselves highlight the complexity of planning for mobility in Chicago. Sometimes the key to increased transit ridership…
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Owners of multifamily properties in the Northwest Cook County recently found a pleasant surprise in their mailboxes: Rather than a dreaded code enforcement notice, tax bill, or any other citation or invoice, they received an unprecedented invitation to discuss the long-term sustainability of their properties with municipal leaders on Nov. 17.
Those who accepted the invitation – about 70 municipal leaders and owners/managers of multifamily buildings, representing more than 4,000 apartments and condominiums – learned about the regional movement to preserve multifamily properties. They also received a copy of the new Multifamily Resource Guide, a list of public and private sector resources for energy assistance, financing, preservation, tenant relations, and more.
Arlington…
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