Keynote speaker Bob McNulty, president and founder of the Partners for Livable Communities, encouraged institutions and organizations to step outside their traditional four walls and reach into the community.  Doing so can expand their services and reach new segments of the population – all while helping to create and maintain quality public spaces that provide ongoing benefits to residents and the sponsoring organization.   

According to Mr. McNulty, this type of collaboration is needed now more than ever.  Working with residents on the creation and maintenance of their neighborhood public spaces addresses many of the challenges we currently face.  Well-used public spaces can improve the health of residents by encouraging them to walk or play outside; bring people – and money – to neighborhood businesses; help new immigrants assimilate by giving them places to interact; and provide aging residents with safe ways to remain engaged in their communities.  

Chris Gent, deputy director of planning at the Chicago Park District, and Jamie Simone, WPB program manager, responded to Mr. McNulty’s speech by discussing the work of their organizations in engaging the community here in Chicago.  Mr. Gent described how the Park District works with residents in the planning of new parks, and some of the exciting ways they activate parks, including movies in the park and mobile art and craft workshops.  Ms. Simone highlighted the innovative ways WPB has encouraged public input in their master planning process in the Wicker Park and Bucktown neighborhoods, as well as their collaboration with MPC on the Polish Triangle. 

Creative collaboration may start with individuals and organizations, but it has fans in very high places.  President Obama, Mr. McNulty said, believes in the value of combining people with places to create livable communities. 

Also at the event, MPC launched its “What Makes Your Place Great?” photo and video contest.  From June 3 to July 27, visit PlacemakingChicago.com to enter the contest and tell the Chicago region about your favorite public space. You will have the chance to win bragging rights to the best public space in Chicagoland, not to mention a prize package that includes tickets to the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Architecture Foundation walking tour tickets, membership to the Active Transportation Alliance, restaurant gift certificates, "CO-OP Hotsauce" from NeighborSpace, and more!  

The roundtable and contest are part of MPC’s Placemaking Chicago initiative, aimed at creating and enhancing public spaces around the region by tapping into the innate knowledge residents have about their neighborhoods. To learn more about Placemaking Chicago and join in the fun, please visit the Placemaking Chicago Web site or become a member of the Placemaking Chicago group on the Placemaking Movement, an international online Placemaking network site. 

A full recording of the event is available on Chicago Amplified at chicagopublicradio.org.  CAN TV will broadcast the event later this summer. 

For more information on MPC’s Placemaking initiative, please contact Karin Sommer at ksommer@metroplanning.org or 312-863-6044.

The recently announced Sustainable Communities initiative of the U.S. Depts. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Transportation (DOT) is a signpost pointing to the direction federal investment should be headed: away from investing in silos via arbitrary funding formulas, and toward investing in programs and infrastructure that solve interconnected issues and are planned at the scale of problems they address. 

At the same time, communities throughout northeastern Illinois are working across neighborhood and municipal boundaries on shared housing, transportation and environmental goals.  They are pursuing these creative strategies because they have to – the problems they face cross municipal boundaries – but they are succeeding despite the majority of federal and state policies they face, not because of them.  There are very few federal investment programs that encourage or reward communities for working together toward common goals.  Where there should be cooperation, instead there is competition. 

MPC, along with partners such as the Brookings Institution, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, and Smart Growth America, believe we need a better investment strategy to create a more socially equitable, environmentally sustainable, and economically viable country.  MPC has drafted a white paper to articulate the core tenets of a reform framework, and to illustrate how those principles are embodied in five real-world examples.  MPC believes that federal investment should be: 

Goal-Driven: Investment should be based on desired policy outcomes, not specific means or pet projects.  The best investment – be it roadway or railway, treatment plant or wetland – should be determined and funded according to the project’s quantifiable benefits when compared to other spending priorities.

Right-Sized: Solutions should be planned and implemented at the scale of the problem.  Traditionally, most federal money has gone to states and then individual municipalities, creating costly local competition for resources that does not reflect the interjurisdictional and regional nature of our most pressing policy issues.  Federal investment should spur shared solutions to shared problems, with the flexibility to scale investment up or down as necessary.

Coordinated: Complex, multi-issue problems require integrated solutions.   For example, “best practices” in housing solutions are linked to transportation, workforce development, and energy efficiency.  However, federal funding tends to be issue-specific and complicates private sector involvement.  The models described below break out of these “silos” wherever possible.

Many of our partners are developing innovative, on-the-ground models consistent with those principles, and MPC is working to collect and share these stories to serve as case studies for structural changes that the U.S. Congress and the Obama Administration can implement.   

By documenting these new models, we can work in stronger partnerships to determine how to reshape outmoded policies and be ready with our recommendations for reform as near-term opportunities arise, such as anticipated federal transportation and energy bills, and programmatic shifts across federal agencies.   Additionally, MPC and the Chicago Architecture Foundation are partnering on a summer lecture series, Reinventing Public Investment, to further advance these discussions.

If you know of other models consistent with these principles, or have comments or questions, please contact Josh Ellis at jellis@metroplanning.org  or (312) 863-6045; or Peter Skosey at pskosey@metroplanning.org or (312) 863-6004.

There will also be interactive, day-long institutes on both “Foreclosure Prevention and Neighborhood Stabilization,” and “Window of Opportunity: Preserving and Improving Affordable Rental Housing.” Hands-on training workshops will focus on Green Affordable Homes and Building Community Acceptance. 

Mobile Workshops will feature local successes in the areas of:  

MPC is a proud member of the National Housing Conference, and partner on various workforce housing initiatives nationwide.  We encourage you to view the agenda for this important convening, and to register today!

The Chicago region is a collection of thousands of vibrant neighborhoods, parks, street corners, and community gardens.  Each of these seemingly small places come together to form a region known for its beautiful and well-used public spaces.   

MPC wants to know about your little corner of Chicagoland.  What public space do you use again and again, and why?  Do you stroll along a tree-lined street, play softball with friends at a neighborhood park, buy fresh fruit and vegetables at a farmers market, or simply relax and enjoy your surroundings?  Now is your chance to show off your favorite public space. 

From June 3 to July 27, 2009, enter the “What Makes Your Place Great?” contest to tell the Chicago region about your favorite public space.  You will have the chance to win bragging rights to the best public space in Chicagoland, not to mention a prize package that includes tickets to the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Architecture Foundation walking tour tickets, membership to the Active Transportation Alliance, restaurant gift certificates, "CO-OP Hotsauce" from NeighborSpace, and more! 

Visit www.placemakingchicago.com/places to learn more about the contest and submit a photo or video about your favorite public space. 

This contest is part of MPC’s Placemaking Chicago initiative, aimed at creating and enhancing public spaces around the region by tapping into the innate knowledge residents have about their neighborhoods.  To learn more about Placemaking Chicago and join in the fun, please visit the Placemaking Chicago Web site or become a member of the Placemaking Chicago group on the Placemaking Movement, an international online Placemaking network site. 

For more information on MPC’s Placemaking initiative, please contact Karin Sommer at ksommer@metroplanning.org or 312-863-6044.

Click here for a regional color coded by election result.

Customers come from all over the city, region, and nearby states to take advantage of Argyle Street’s unique variety of goods, but growing competition from suburban Asian supermarkets may be threatening its traditional customer base. As such, the Argyle Business District must look at new ways of attracting a broader base of customers to sustain its character and thriving business mix.

Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48^th Ward), Ald. Helen Shiller (46^th Ward), and Uptown United reached out to MPC and the Urban Land Institute-Chicago (ULI) to conduct a two-day ULI Technical Assistance Panel for the Argyle District. The panel brought together experts in the fields of business and community development, marketing, real estate development, planning, and design. The panel also included volunteers with relevant cultural knowledge of the community to ensure the recommendations were grounded and realistic, given the districts unique ethnic makeup.  The panel met in November 2008 to explore marketing, leadership development, and physical design solutions to improve and sustain the district in the face of new market realities.

Chaired by Ngoan Le, Vice President of programs at the Chicago Community Trust, the panel recognized the potential of this corridor immediately and honed in on a few key dynamics. With the corridor’s close proximity to the Uptown Square Entertainment District on Lawrence Avenue and some natural spill over of businesses from Argyle Street on to Broadway Street, the Argyle Business District has the opportunity to expand and connect with complementary activity centers in the neighborhood and, in turn, benefit from that increased foot traffic and customer base.  Another opportunity is the variety of high quality and unique products that can easily attract local residents and “foodies” interested in fresh, seasonal foods. The corridor is situated in an area with huge purchasing power; residents within a half-mile radius spend more than $270 million on retail expenditures and $32 million on eating and drinking expenditures alone. Expand that out to a five minute drive and those numbers balloon to $1 billion and $12.1 million respectively. If Argyle Street can capture even a small portion of that buying power, the businesses would become very profitable.

1. Sustain and improve the local businesses: This can be done by uniting currently disparate activities and harnessing local leadership to address common concerns such as clean streets, better lighting, marketing, and promotional events. Argyle Street is currently served by Uptown Business Partners and Uptown United, two organizations that work in tandem to attract investment and promote business development in the neighborhood. In addition, many small informal organizations have formed to network and support specific initiatives. Uptown United and Uptown Business Partners can work with these various informal networks to determine what can be accomplished under a formalized effort and should continue as separate initiatives. Activities may include local tours, cooking classes, and developing a well-recognized Asian Night Market where business owners stay open late into the evening or early in the morning, open their businesses onto the street, and possibly connect to an event or series of events occurring within entertainment district. (Asian Night Market Photo)
2. Engage local residents: Improving the shopping environment and making the products more accessible to customers that may be unfamiliar with them can help the District engage the largely untapped local market demand discussed above. Local leadership can help connect businesses with the local block clubs. Tidying up storefront displays, working through the Special Service Area to clean the streets, and eventually implementing broader initiatives such as streetscaping and lighting can all work to attract the broader Uptown community.
3. Incorporate Argyle into a larger Asian destination: The Argyle Business District is known by many names, but none have truly encompassed all that this unique district is. Many efforts have attempted to brand it, yet often they only supported one aspect of the diverse community i.e. North Chinatown, Little Vietnam, Little Siagon. Even some of the physical designs have missed the mark. Most notably is the Chinese-centered pagoda over the CTA station. The panel suggested a more subtle approach, calling it “Asia on Argyle” and creating visual markers that pull from many icons and symbols that represent the variety of cultures. 
   
   In addition, as businesses on Argyle Street have grown, many have relocated to larger spaces along Broadway Street. Thus, in many ways, Argyle Street itself has served as an incubator because of its smaller storefronts, organically expanding the district beyond historic Argyle Street boundaries. Thus, whatever visual markers and streetscape designs are developed should tie Argyle to its broader geographic boundaries that spill over north and south along Broadway.
4. Implement parking management and enhancement strategies: Given the amount of activity that occurs along the street during peak hours – truck deliveries, pedestrian activity, driving – Argyle can get very congested. While there is not a lot of land for new parking, many strategies can be implemented to improve the use of existing parking and transportation assets. Shared parking, creating more short-term parking in existing parking lots, installing meters, and utilizing restaurant valets can all help to increase parking turnover, and decrease the number of people who park for a long period to ride the train, visit the lake, and other activities that don’t support the businesses. Also, connecting Argyle to the nearby Wilson Yards redevelopment and Truman College can draw more visitors by train.

As part of its Placemaking Chicago initiative, MPC has partnered with WPB (the Special Service Area for Wicker Park and Bucktown neighborhoods) to transform this intersection, known as the Polish Triangle, into a well-used public place.  In collaboration with Ald. Manny Flores (1^st Ward) and Ald. Scott Waguespack (32^nd Ward), and a steering committee that consists of city and neighborhood organizations, WPB and MPC are asking community members what they would like to see happen at this space. 

In the first three months of the project, more than 700 people have contributed their insight and thoughts about the future of the Polish Triangle through an online survey, online network group, and open house.  The open house, held over the weekend of March 21 and 22, featured activities such as large and small do-it-yourself plans of the triangle, a photo suggestion booth, and printed surveys.  It also showcased a history of the neighborhood, examples of similar spaces from around the world, and plans for the triangle from neighborhood architects.  Residents ideas include traffic calming measures on the streets surrounding the triangle, amenities such as bike racks, additional lighting and seating in the triangle, and more grass, flowers, or public art.    

Check out more photos from the Polish Triangle open house on MPC’s Flickr page.

Next up, MPC and WPB will continue to work with residents to form a vision for the Polish Triangle based on the ideas they’ve generated so far.  This vision will include short-term changes that are relatively easy to implement, as well as long-term modifications.  WPB and MPC also will plan events for the summer and fall to activate the space.  Two possible ideas proposed by residents for this summer are a coffee cart and public events in the triangle.   To stay informed about these events or provide input on the visioning of the space, please join the Polish Triangle online network group.   

Special thanks to Joseph Freed and Associates, LLC, for generously donating the space for the open house, and to The Prince Charitable Trusts for sponsoring Placemaking Chicago.

For more information on the Polish Triangle project or MPC’s Placemaking initiative, please contact Karin Sommer at ksommer@metroplanning.org or 312-863-6044.  Please visit www.placemakingchicago.com for Placemaking resources and inspiring stories about people making a difference in their communities. 

"While we heard from residents both in favor  of and in opposition,” acknowledges Mayor Mike Rummel, "I am certain that the final development will be a source of pride for the community -- well managed, well designed, and home to seniors, key workers and other valued households."   This latest approval continues the implementation of Lake Forest's inclusionary housing strategy, passed in 2005, which gives a local preference to area workers and residents for newly created homes.  As part of the Charter One Workforce Housing Initiative, in 2007, Mayor Rummel and four other North Shore mayors joined to reach out to area employers, with MPC and Charter One Bank, to engage the business community as partners in their common pursuit for workforce housing solutions.

Four of the employers who attended the 2007 forum were among the vocal supporters at the March 16 Lake Forest Council meeting.  Representatives of Lake Forest Hospital and Lake Forest College attended in person, while Baxter and Walgreens circulated letters of support.   "Our corporate headquarters houses over 1,500 employees, and we have another 3,500 or so employees in four additional locations in the general area," pointed out Baxter HR Director Barbara Morris in her written testimony  "Our search for employees often takes us to locations in southern Wisconsin ... Long commute time has an impact on the workplace. .... In today's unstable economy, we are ever more concerned about the productivity of our employees and we are very focused on managing issues related to absenteeism, turn-over, recruitment/retraining costs ..."

Walgreens' Local Government Relations Manager Donovan Pepper shared similar sentiments in his written testimony.  "We applaud the leadership of the City of Lake Forest and other area towns that are thinking strategically about the value of providing a range of housing options near jobs and transit, and for identifying qualified developers to build and manage these properties.  ...  We are so grateful that preferences will be given to both local residents and local workers...  We look forward to continuing our long relationship with the City of Lake Forest, and thank you for your efforts at providing quality affordable housing that possibly, our store employees may benefit from."

Responding to policy advocate and constituent concerns -- especially from people who cannot find affordable housing opportunities near public transit -- congressional leaders directed the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Dept. of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit Authority to collaborate on recommendations to support their agencies' ability to work together.

"Better Coordination of Transportation and Housing Programs to Promote Affordable Housing Near Transit ," which was released in August, is getting traction in Washington D.C. MPC's 2009 policy agenda, as well as the success of most of its current projects, will more likely be realized if Congress and the new Obama administration continue to move forward on these recommendations.

While the ideas in this document represent a common sense approach, they nonetheless suggest a major overhaul of "business as usual" in D.C. For example, the report suggests HUD and DOT should not only coordinate their own plans and investments, but also encourage localities receiving their dollars to do the same. If this had been the case 10 years ago, projects like Reconnecting Neighborhoods -- bringing transit and retail options to the new mixed-income communities created in Chicago as part of the Plan for Transformation -- would not have been needed (as the housing goals of the Plan would have been supported by these transportation linkages as well).Or, in high job growth suburban areas where housing is too expensive for the local workforce, there would be homes available for the growing number of employer-assisted housing programs.

Already, these HUD-DOT recommendations are resonating around the country, as a variety of local agencies draft their own 2009 work plans. Illinois ' Affordable Housing Task Force , for example, which is charged by the Comprehensive Housing and Planning Act to draft an annual Comprehensive Plan, reviewed this document at its December meeting. Responding to the report's suggestion that financial incentives should be made available to encourage the location of affordable housing near transit (through existing and new programs alike), representatives from the Ill. Dept. of Transportation and the Ill. Housing Development Authority joined business leaders and other advocates in a dynamic discussion about opportunities throughout the state to support and invest in good plans and good proposals.

To get more engaged in advancing these recommendations at the federal level, visit the Transportation for America Web site . Here in Illinois , please learn more about how you can support the implementation of Reconnecting Neighborhoods, become involved in employer-assisted housing, or otherwise garner support for good planning and housing development proposals by visiting MPC online at www.metroplanning.org, or contacting Robin Snyderman at 312.863.6017 or rsnyderman@metroplanning.org.

Mr. Jordan began by thanking "those who work with young people everyday," and expressed CHA's need for "help with the people side" of the Plan for Transformation. Emphasizing that residents are the "most valued resource" of the Plan, he reiterated his priority to help children in CHA housing break the poverty cycle through education and employment opportunities that allow them access to alternative housing options when they turn 18. In order to achieve this, he said, "we have to be clear on how we develop programs and facilitate the process of access and participation," which requires understanding the population. Mr. Jordan commended the city's CYS department, Chicago Park District, as well as SER-Jobs for Progress, for its work with CHA youth. He stressed the need for continued partnerships with these and other organizations.

Commissoner Caron outlined Chicago's changing youth demographics and how CYS is tailoring programming to address these changes. The city has experienced increases in the number of children and youth on the outer edges of its boundary, and a shift in the number of children living in poverty from the central city to these outer-edge communities. Both the Plan for Transformation and increase of Latino children citywide play a role in the changing demographics, and CYS is encouraging agencies to move into the neighborhoods where youth are. However, funding is a significant challenge – 60 percent of CYS' $200 million budget is allocated to programs for children under the age of five and there are very few slots in other programs compared to the number of youth, especially those age 13 to 17. Still, Dr. Caron emphasized the importance of going out into CHA communities to find youth and "figure out what will attract and engage them."

Pam David commended Chicago as a model for San Francisco's public housing redevelopment efforts, despite the differences in scale. Ms. David described several unique initiatives in San Francisco – including HOPE SF and Communities of Opportunity – which are aimed at involving residents in redeveloping their communities and improving the service delivery system for families. It is important to "know what role you can play and where you need partners to step in," she said, stressing the need for partnerships between local government agencies and philanthropic organizations that have flexible funds to fill service gaps. Ms. David also described San Francisco's Dept. of Children, Youth, and their Families (DCYF) Children's Fund , which provides up to $18 million each year (from property tax set-asides) for programs and services for children age 0 to 17. Despite all of these resources, ongoing challenges remain, such as how to institutionalize changes in service delivery and build capacity of community-based organizations in the neediest communities. Stressing San Francisco's commitment to ensuring people can go through "no wrong door" in their search for information about how and where to get services, Ms. David outlined strategies for aligning and coordinating the activities, outreach and communications of the many departments and stakeholders involved in service delivery.

Rachel McDonald Romo described SER-Jobs for Progress' partnership with CHA, CYS, and Sylvan Learning to provide programs for CHA youth at the former Henry Horner homes. Program priorities include connecting youth to their community and city, and helping them make plans for the future by integrating education with career development. Ms. Romo stressed how critical the self-discovery process is for youth, and pointed out the "wrong person working with young people will turn them away."

Alonzo Williams reiterated the Chicago Park District's goal to provide recreational opportunities in a safe environment for all Chicago residents, including CHA youth. Mr. Williams described the district's partnership with CHA to provide more than 1,700 vouchers for CHA youth to participate in summer 2008 programs, which was recently expanded to provide vouchers for year round programs. Mr. Williams emphasized "we don't distinguish between CHA and non-CHA residents," but explained the Park District does do outreach to youth and CHA families in the 20 parks adjacent to or within CHA communities to get them involved in programming.

An extensive Q&A session followed the panelists' presentations, which such issues as access to social service systems, improvements to parks and recreational facilities near mixed-income communities, and building diversity and interaction in these communities through youth engagement. Mr. Jordan thanked panelists and attendees for "reminding me why I do what I do everyday."

Summaries of other Building Successful Mixed-Income Communities forums and related publications are available on MPC's Web site. Please contact Laura Broussard at lbroussard@metroplanning.org, or 312-863-6006, to be added to the invitation list for future forums.

MPC research assistant Elizabeth Frantz contributed to this article.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) is a nationally recognized certification program that promotes a whole-community approach to sustainable development. The program, which is still in its approval phase, encompasses surrounding buildings and neighborhoods, aiming for not only green buildings, but green, sustainable neighborhoods, through increased walkability and reduced automobile dependence. LEED-ND projects are certified in 41 different countries includingCanada, Brazil, Mexico and India.

At the Sept. 24 forum, Douglas Farr, Jonathon Furr, and other development presenters shared their experiences with LEED-ND, emphasizing its benefits and accessibility. The group of featured speakers included Mary Engwall, a planner for the City of Chicago and Mike Royse, President of One Main Development, LLC, as well as representatives from the U.S. Green Building Council and the National Association of Home Builders. The group engaged in lively discussion, asking pertinent questions about the program and its implications. Attendees unanimously agreed that the forum was informative and, as a result, 89 percent expressed interest in developing future LEED-ND projects.

Building "green" has substantial benefits for both homeowners and developers. Homeowners in LEED-certified homes see an average 40 percent savings in energy costs over comparable non-certified homes. LEED-ND incorporates energy-efficient housing into sustainable neighborhoods by encouraging access to mass transit and shorter commutes.   

Because of the many community benefits, municipalities frequently create special programs to encourage environmentally friendly developments. Because LEED-ND is still in its approval phase, these municipal programs currently focus on LEED projects. For example, fees can be waived and waiting periods for LEED certified projects can be expedited much quicker than regular proposals. The City of Chicago is the only city in the U.S. that can guarantee reduced wait times and waived fees up to $25,000 for certified developments. Because of these efforts, Chicago leads the nation in the number of LEED-registered projects.

LEED-ND takes green development a step beyond LEED by encouraging cooperation between developers and communities to build more sustainable, energy-efficient neighborhoods. LEED-ND's rating systems are developed through a consensus-based process led by LEED Committees = voluntary organizations of practitioners and experts in the building and construction industries.

To comment on future drafts or become a LEED Committee member, email a request to nd@committees.usgbc.org. Additional information is available on the U.S. Green Building Council's website at http://www.usgbc.org/leed/nd/.

For more information on MPC's LEED-ND event, please contact Karin Sommer at ksommer@metroplanning.org or (312) 863-6044.

MPC has partnered with ULI-Chicago since 2001on TAPs throughout the Chicago region. Through this partnership and as part of the MPC's Community Building Initiative, MPC and ULI-Chicago help communities redevelop and reinvest, become responsible stewards of their land, and develop partnerships, resources and leadership capacity to successfully implement development strategies.

Recent TAP successes include:

• Riverdale:In 2003, ULI and MPC joined forces with the Village of Riverdale , who was struggling with Pacesetter, a troubled 397-unit distressed town home development. The TAP convened to help identify the optimal use for the property. After its completion, the Village, with ongoing support from ULI-Chicago and MPC, has moved forward dramatically with the redevelopment; partnering with two experienced developers – Holsten Development Corporation and Turnstone Development – and more recently completing the first phase of the former Pacesetter community, now named Whistler Crossing. This effort and Riverdale's Mayor Zenovia Evans's leadership are documented in a case study by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University .
• Park Forest: After receiving recommendations from its 2003 TAP, the Village of Park Forest successfully redeveloped its underutilized village center, which was plagued with vacancies. The downtown district is now being developed in part by Bigelow Homes, and land use policy has being modified to best suit economic growth in this new mixed-use neighborhood. In October Park Forst was honored with the 2009 Community Vision Award for these initiatives.

Apply now to be a 2009 ULI-Chicago TAP community by completing the application. 

Reports on previous ULI-Chicago/MPC Technical Assistance Panels can be found on MPC's Web site.

Two of Chicago's newest housing leaders, Lewis Jordan , CEO of CHA, and Ellen Sahli , commissioner of the Chicago Dept. of Housing, opened the forum, which featured a panel discussion with a national researcher, Dr. Thomas Boston , professor of Economics, Georgia Tech University; and local practitioners, Charles Hillman , assistant director of asset management, CHA; and Mary Wiggins , chair of the Residents' Central Advisory Council (CAC), and a member of the CHA Board of Commissioners. Pam Daniels-Halisi , senior vice president of community development lending at LaSalle/Bank of America, and MPC Housing Committee member, moderated the panel. MPC also released its latest Plan for Transformation Update on the development status of renovated family properties, scattered sites, and new mixed-income communities.

As the newly appointed CEO of CHA, Mr. Jordan expressed his excitement about working with CHA staff and partners, and building on the level of interest and support of so many stakeholders in making the Plan for Transformation a success. He spoke frankly about the poor quality of CHA's traditional public housing in the past, but emphasized a commitment to improving the physical quality of the housing, as well as higher expectations for residents' quality oflife. "Chicago is in the midst of the largest public housing redevelopment in the country," he said. While continuing to raise standards, "the foundation of CHA's vision should be quality of life for residents. When children become 18, CHA's goal is to make sure they have other options," saidJordan.

Commissioner Sahli connected the Plan for Transformation to the city's larger affordable housing agenda . Homes preserved and created through the Plan advance the city's overall affordable housing goals for both low and moderate-income families. Ms. Sahli, who has an extensive background in the supportive housing field, also highlighted the importance of combining rent subsidies with support services to help people increase their incomes.

Dr. Boston shared insights based on his four-year research of outcomes for Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) residents. Using data for every AHA household over the past 10 years, his research tracked indicators such as employment status, income, education, and poverty status over time and linked them to community indicators such as crime rates, poverty levels, and school quality. "When families have access to quality housing and neighborhoods, they have drastically different socio-economic outcomes," he said. Dr. Boston is in the initial stage of a similar study of CHA residents, funded by the MacArthur Foundation.

Boston stressed the correlation between neighborhood stability and resident self-sufficiency. "Housing assistance alone will not lead to self-sufficiency," he said, and attention must be placed on broader service and community networks. He described other best practices for achieving the goal of self-sufficiency for residents and creating better neighborhoods, such as engaging public and private partners to improve original neighborhoods with necessary policies and to attract new investment. "In many communities, financing is easier to address than the sociology of making them successful," saidBoston.

Hillman outlined the overall physical, cultural, and economic goals of the Plan for Transformation for CHA leaseholders. As of the end of 2007, CHA has completed 65 percent of its goal to create 25,000 homes. Of that, CHA has renovated more than 2,000 units in traditional family properties , representing 43 percent of its goal for these sites.

Hillman described the comprehensive renovations-infrastructure, interior, exterior-that are completed, taking place or planned in a number of family properties including, Altgeld-Murray, Lawndale, and Washington Park Low-Rise homes. The cost of these renovations has increased significantly since the beginning of the Plan, with a current cost between $120,000 and $150,000 per unit. Along with investments in physical renovations, he said, "CHA wants to be comprehensive in its efforts and spends over $25 million of its own funds and from its partnerships on social services such as case management, children and youth services, and workforce development." These services and more are provided in all communities where CHA residents temporarily or permanently reside. Moreover, Hillman stressed that "all residents of Chicago have a lot to offer, including CHA families, and people should not be defined by their landlords."

Ms. Wiggins spoke from her perspective as a CHA resident, leader of the Resident's Central Advisory Council (CAC) and a member of the Board of Commissioners. She reiterated the goal to move all residents to self-sufficiency, including those living in the rehabbed family properties and stressed that all stakeholders are "working for the greater good of CHA residents." Given the large investments of CHA and its partners, she said, "No one is asking CHA to spend money and not hold residents accountable," but it's important to remember that "employment places have closed and residents are affected by the job market like other Chicagoans." Ms. Wiggins also emphasized "many CHA residents are successful and have moved on from public housing, but their stories are not told."

A brief Q&A session following the panelists' presentations touched on a variety of topics, including the additional supports and resources needed in the "rehabs," impact of the Plan for Transformation on children, and importance of the rehabs to the overall Plan for Transformation.

Even at the conclusion of a robust Q&A session, there was still tremendous appetite for further dialogue and debate. MPC explained there would be future opportunities to delve into the many topics touched on at the forum, such as building rehabilitation, property management, neighborhood redevelopment, social services, and resident engagement.

Disinvestment of manufacturing and commercial businesses and lack of new housing opportunities have hurt many of the neighborhoods that make up Joliet's 4^th and 5^th districts, an area that comprises much of the city's historic property. In November 2007, the Joliet City Council adopted the  Joliet Quality of Life Plan, which was crafted to address the community's challenges.

Informed by the input of more than 900 local residents and stakeholders, the plan takes an integrated approach to quality of life improvements in regard to housing, recreation, transportation, retail and industrial development, employment, public infrastructure, land use, education, human capital (including health care), crime prevention, and the needs of youth and the elderly. 

MPC worked with the Center for Neighborhood Technology, Teska Associates, and Partec Consulting Group to create the plan, which identified development  of Unity CDC as a principle recommendation to respond to the need for a proactive and equal partnership between the city and community in implementing needed improvements. The CDC will oversee and coordinate projects though neighborhood councils, and secure funding for the implementation of other Joliet Quality of Life Plan recommendations.

In 2008, MPC will focus on advancing policies that:

• increase transportation options– including walking, riding bikes, and taking transit – for residents and businesses across metropolitan Chicago, both to reduce congestion and curb emissions;
• create more great places in Illinois by identifying and promotinglow-cost, but highly effective strategies to improve planning efforts at the local, regional and state level; and
• engage the private sector in financing innovations that will serve and stabilize thelocal workforce, including affordable housing and transportation options.

Policy proposals set forth by MPC are built on a foundation of consensus-building. By partnering with civic organizations, community groups, business leaders, and government agencies during all three stages of policy development – research, advocacy and implementation – MPC for decadeshasbeen an effective agent for regional policy change.

For more information about MPC's Policy Agenda - Opportunity Knocks , contact Peter Skosey, vice president of external relations, at (312) 863-6004 or pskosey@metroplanning.org.

Joanna Trotter, Manager, MPC Community Building Initiative

My New Year's resolution is to foster greater cooperation between communities in the region.

My hope for our region is that we begin to work across municipal boundaries for the greater economic and social well being of the entire Chicagoland area. Toward this end, I will help communities work together to pool resources in order to create high-quality affordable housing in areas with good job opportunities, such as the north and northwest satellite cities.

I also will work with communities that are jointly attracting new economic development and investments to areas that historically have struggled to bring in new business, industry, and quality jobs, such as those along the Calumet River. By working together and not competing, communities will be more apt to identify their individual strengths and unique place in our regional market and will collectively attract resources and use them more efficiently.

Michael McLaughlin, Director of Regional Policy and Transportation

With federal and state transportation dollars flat-lining and losing their purchasing power, we need to find ways to stretch those dollars even further. "Congestion pricing" is a mechanism proven worldwide to manage demand for roads and other transportation modes. In 2008, cities such as New York, San Francisco, Miami and Seattle likely will join the growing ranks of metropolitan areas that will implement congestion pricing.

The Chicago region should develop and coalesce around a comprehensive congestion pricing strategy this year, so that 2009 will become the year of implementation of congestion pricing in the region. MPC will explore the possibilities for congestion pricing in our region by partnering with the Toll Highway Authority to study the effects of congestion pricing on Chicagoland's toll road network. MPC also will establish peer exchanges and forums with other cities around the nation and world to highlight best practices with regard to congestion pricing and related transit and road improvements.

Karin Sommer , Associate

The focus for my first year at MPC will be on creating and sustaining great places in Chicago. Three projects specifically address this goal: Placemaking; A New North Lawndale; and our emerging transit-oriented development initiative.

The Placemaking project will establish a curriculum for creating and maintaining great public spaces in Chicago through the production of a guidebook, trainings, and technical assistance to Chicago neighborhood groups.

A New North Lawndale deals with street design, using the redevelopment of Ogden Avenue into a pedestrian-friendly corridor as a catalyst for change inChicago's North Lawndale community.

The transit-oriented development initiative will build upon our successfulJan. 10th roundtable, "Within Our Reach: Your World in Half a Mile," to encourage and implement more development near transit inChicago.

Katherine Bucar , Graphic Design Associate

I resolve to streamline MPC's communication to board, donors, partners, and friends; and further develop MPC's targeted electronic communications. In 2008, MPC will increase the availability of our information online – and, in so doing, reduce paper waste! Beginning later this month, we will introduce a new monthly e-mail newsletter that consolidates two existing communiqués, and complements our printed, tri-annual Regional Connection newsletter, as well as our quarterly reports to the board.

Lillie Jernigan, Consultant, Employer-Assisted Housing

In 2008, I'm excited to continue building on the momentum from the work MPC started in 2007 under the Charter One Workforce Housing Initiative in Chicago's northwest and northern suburbs. Partnering with 10 municipalities and not-for-profit housing experts, the traction for this initiative is strong and will continue to grow this year as we work with area employers to develop public-private housing resources for area families.

Under this initiative in the northwest suburbs of Mt. Prospect, Palatine, Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows, and Buffalo Grove, the partner is Housing Opportunity Development Corporation (HODC). HODC is also the main partner in the northern suburbs of Deerfield, Highwood, Highland Park, Lake Forest , and Northbrook , along with the Affordable Housing Corporation of Lake County (AHC).

In addition to convening employers through unified outreach, several of these communities are moving forward with their own unique contributions to the supply of affordable workforce housing. Throughout 2008, I will be working closely with municipal staff and our housing expert partners to take employer interest and activity around workforce housing in these communities to the next level.

Josh Ellis, Community Building Associate

By improving MPC's research, analysis, and presentation capabilities, I hope to help communities better understand and visualize the steps they can take to make more equitable, sustainable and sensible choices about the future. Between our publications, such as the forthcoming Housing 1-2-3; the hands-on training workshops that go with them; and original research and analysis, my hope is that any kind of community – from fast-growing suburbs to more established, yet disinvested, communities – will be better equipped to tackle any development challenge.

Kristi DeLaurentiis, Manager of Local Government and Community Relations

Many municipalities have moved ahead on their plans to create livable, vibrant communities. Some, following extensive planning processes, are already implementing the forward-looking strategies that are needed to get them there. Others are learning from their neighbors in the region or looking elsewhere across the globe, what it takes to tackle particularly thorny challenges that impact residents and businesses.

My New Year's resolution is to showcase Illinois communities leading the way, where planning and innovative strategies make a difference in the character of the place and people's lives; and examine measures that can help others along the way.

More than 100 stakeholders and residents representing Chicago's Near North, Near West, and Mid-South sides participated in the launch, which also drew representatives from the Chicago departments of Transportation and Planning and Development, Chicago Housing Authority, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Ill. Dept. of Transportation, and RTA. A number of state and local elected officials attended the half-day convening, including Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th Ward), Ill. Sens. Kwame Raoul and Mattie Hunter, and Ill. Rep. Ken Dunkin.

ShoreBank Vice Chairman Todd Brown, a member of MPC's Board of Governors, who co-chairs Reconnecting Neighborhoods with DPD Commissioner Arnold Randall, said the public and private sector involvement demonstrated at the launch event is what's necessary to tackle the tough questions this project intends to tackle.

"Some of you may be sitting here wondering why we should start such an effort when we are in the middle of a funding crisis at both the state and the local level, especially regarding our transit system," Brown said. "My answer would be that funding problems are only symptomatic of deeper systemic issues, there is no better time to reassess assets and resources than in a crisis, and Reconnecting Neighborhoods is a step toward adjusting how we think about the cost and management of transit, retail, urban development, public services."

"This Reconnecting Neighborhoods planning process will lead to recommendations for specific improvement," explained Randall. "It will also provide an opportunity for neighbors to meet each other – and with officials from city and state agencies – to create a genuine consensus on how to rebuild these neighborhoods around their strengths."

The Partnership for New Communties, a project partner and supporter, has prepared a summary of the Reconnecting Neighborhoods launch, available on the PNC Web site.

The November 6th event was only the beginning of Reconnecting Neighborhoods. Moving forward, MPC will be working closely with the residents, employers and elected officials in the three neighborhoods to develop recommendations for access to transit, jobs and other essential opportunities that reflect their collective vision of what their neighborhoods can be.

To learn more about the Reconnecting Neighborhoods project, visit www.reconnectingneighborhoods.org.

Built in the 1950s, the 397-unit Pacesetter townhome development was initially built to attract employees of the nearby Acme Steel Mill. The owners of Pacesetter quickly faced financial difficulties, and by 1960, all of the homes had been sold to individual owners. Over the next 30 years, as Pacesetter became increasingly isolated from the rest of Riverdale, drugs and crime became prevalent in the neighborhood.

MPC has been involved in the Pacesetter redevelopment process since 2003, when Riverdale brought in the Campaign for Sensible Growth and the Urban Land Institute-Chicago to hold a Technical Assistance Panel. The panel advised Riverdale on available public and private financing options for the redevelopment, and was followed by a one-year commitment by panelists to counsel the village. Since 2004, MPC has advised the Village and the development team led by Holsten Real Estate Development Corporation.

Riverdale Mayor Zenovia Evans (far right) shows MPC staff around Pacesetter. 

Attended by state, county, and local officials, including Cook County President Todd Stroger and Riverdale Mayor Zenovia Evans, Tuesday's groundbreaking was a major success for all involved. The $38 million project included substantial support from many public and private lenders. Sarah Berke of the Chicago Community Loan Fund, which contributed a record $1 million loan, said, "Chicago Community Loan Fund is very proud to have been involved in this project. We hope its success can be emulated elsewhere."

Riverdale Mayor Zenovia Evans says the redevelopment of Pacesetter"marks the beginning of quality housing for working families. We are bringing in quality management for people that want to live, work and play in a great community. [Whistler Crossing] also marks the beginning of reinvestment in Metropolitan Chicago inner ring communities."

November 13 Whistler Crossing groundbreaking: Riverdale Mayor Zenovia Evans (third from left); Cook County President Todd Stroger (first on right); DeShana Forney, Ill. Housing Development Authority (second from left); Andre Ashmore, Ill. Dept. of Commerce and Economic Opportunity(fifth from left); Lorri Newson, Turnstone Development (seventh from left); Doug Farr, Farr Associates (eighth from left); and Calvin Holmes, Chicago Community Loan Fund (to the right of Doug Farr). 

As Chicago pursues its Olympics bid, MPC's Luncheon will highlight the legacy opportunities the Olympics can bring to elevate our region's world-class status and economic competitiveness. Our Keynote Speaker, Rt. Hon. Tessa Jowell, MP Minister for the Olympics and London, oversees the Government Olympic Executive and chairs the Olympic Board and will speak to the great opportunity an Olympics bid can have to invest in a city's infrastructure and economy.

WHEN: Thursday, November 29, 2007 11:00 – 11:45 Reception 12:00 – 1:45 Luncheon and Program

WHERE: Grand Ballroom ( East Tower ) Hyatt Regency Chicago 151 East Wacker Drive

As our only fund raising event each year, the Annual Meeting Luncheon provides important financial support for Council programs. With the large cross section of almost 2,000 corporate, civic, government and community leaders and the wide media coverage this event attracts, it is a great opportunity forward to learning valuable lessons about legacy planning from London's experience.

General admission is $150 per ticket and $1,500 per table. Sponsorship tickets and tables are priced from $500 to $25,000. Download an advanced registration form describing table options and benefits at each level or call 312-553-2000 for purchase information.

by Jay Walljasper

My hope that day was to showcase inspiring examples of how everyday citizens made tremendous improvements in the place they call home by putting their heads together with neighbors to conceive new ideas for their neighborhoods and then rolling up their sleeves to put these into action.

A sunny, near perfect September day took me to Chicago, where the Metropolitan Planning Council had graciously invited me to talk about the role neighborhoods play in social change. That's the message of my new book The Great Neighborhood Book(New Society Publishers), written in partnership with my colleagues at Project for Public Spaces (PPS). "The citizens are the experts," has long been the PPS mantra, based on their 30 years of experience helping communities achieve their dreams of becoming safe, lively, livable, lovable places. This phrase reinforces the idea that architects, traffic engineers, public officials planners and other professionals have valuable contributions to make towards neighborhood revitalization efforts, but when their plans turn a deaf ear to a community's own aspirations for the future, the results often fall far short of the goals.

The Great Neighborhood Book offers hundreds of examples of how neighborhood residents all over the country came up with sweeping visions and practical proposals for positive change in their communities. This is what I talked about to a warmly receptive audience at the Chicago Architecture Foundation, which co-sponsored my appearance along with the Metropolitan Planning Council with funding in part from the National Endowment for the Arts. I was impressed with the diverse background and interests of the people I met that afternoon, which ranged from an agricultural economist to an environmental anthropologist to a neighborhood activist working on a fascinating project in Northeastern Indiana with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

My hope that day was to showcase inspiring examples of how everyday citizens made tremendous improvements in the place they call home by putting their heads together with neighbors to conceive new ideas for their neighborhoods and then rolling up their sleeves to put these into action.

• In the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, a man helped transformed his neighborhood simply by putting a bench in his front yard. The first thing he noticed is that older people were walking around the block again because they had a spot to rest along the way. Then he saw other people stopping to talk to one another at the bench, increasing the community spirit of the area. Then, several other of his neighbors added benches to their yard, giving the whole block a more convivial feel.
• In the city of Delft in the Netherlands, a group of neighbors were fed up with cars speeding down their street so one evening, under the cover of darkness, they dragged old couches and tables into the middle of the street. They arranged the furniture in a way that did not block the traffic but did force it to slow down as drivers had to negotiate their way around these objects. Shortly, the police arrived and, while noting that this action was clearly illegal, also admitted it was a really good idea. Soon, the municipal government was creating their own more permanent version of the neighbors' old furniture-and the idea of traffic calming was born. It is now used all over the world to make streets safer for everyone by helping drivers slow down and recognize that the street is not just for cars.
• In Philadelphia, artist Lilly Yeh was confronted with despair at the sight of rubble all over a neighborhood on the city's north side. She decided she must do something and began cleaning up one vacant lot. Local kids watched her with interest and were soon helping her turn this squalid property into an unofficial park and gathering spot. The project grew into the Village of Arts and Humanities, which has created many small parks and public art projects around the area as well as youth, theater, music and job training programs.

As varied as the examples in the book are-geographically, demographically and culturally-there are some common elements that can make a difference in any neighborhood.

Public gathering places: People need places where they can spontaneously and comfortably get to know their neighbors.

Walkability: It's hard to make a connection with people from behind a windshield. Face-to-face encounters are what spark neighborliness. Plus, as Jane Jacobs taught us almost a half-century ago, people on the street are the best deterrent to crime and other social problems.

Social capital: The liveliest, healthiest neighborhoods have one thing in common: People living there are involved in a wide variety of social interactions. These don't have to be activist or cause-oriented groups. Any kind of organization, from a church choir to a card club to a sports league which brings people together will strengthen the social fabric of your community.

A couple of sparkplugs: Two or three dedicated citizens are often all it takes to get things going. When they begin talking to their neighbors about a problem or an opportunity around the neighborhood, things take off from there.

Joining me at the microphone after my remarks were representatives of three neighborhood projects in Chicago whose experience wonderfully reinforced all the points I made about the power of neighborhoods to change the world.

Gardens for All

Pamela van Giessen and Alison Zehr from the Rogers Park Garden Group chronicled the remarkable success of this new organization on the city's far north side in encouraging not just backyard flower and vegetable patches but in reclaiming a neglected city park by creating a gorgeous public garden. This all-volunteer effort, conducted with the approval but little direct help from the Chicago Park Board, has instilled the neighborhood with a new sense of pride and beauty-a major accomplishment for a group less than two years old.

Bike Trails for All

Next, Keith Holt offered his experience in guiding efforts to create a new rails-to-trails bikeway through the South Side of Chicago. Named the Major Taylor Bicycle Trail, for a legendary African-American bike racer who broke all records in the late 19th century, the project hopes to overcome the stigma in minority communities that biking is a white, middle-class pastime. The trail itself was created in spite of safety fears, landowners' opposition and widespread cynicism, finally opened this past summer. It is now enjoyed by bicyclists and walkers of all ages, incomes, and ethnic backgrounds. Holt says, "These are neighborhoods where not many people can enjoy a health club. The trail makes a difference in people's lives and the health of the community."

Every Block is A Village

Then Adell Young , who exhibited equal amounts of shyness at speaking before a crowd and innate forcefulness, stood up to tell a story about her Austin neighborhood on the West Side. She confessed that she had long avoided contact with people on her block out of shame over her son, who was out on the street every day selling drugs. But when things got so bad she finally reached out to her neighbors in desperation, she found that many of them were in the same sad situation. As parents and relatives, they realized they had some influence over the dealers in the street. So they organized a potluck dinners-exactly what helped revive my neighborhood back in Minneapolis-to work out a strategy. Their first step was to offer bowls of chili to the dealers as a symbol that wholesome food will save them while more drugs will eventually kill them. It was a bold move-a group of mostly older women coming out with a pot of chili-and made a statement that the street belongs to everyone. "We showed them what they were doing to our homes," she recalled, and after a number of evenings when neighbors stood witness to their dreams of a drug-free community, the chastened drug peddlers left the block. There was no confrontation, just the moral authority of people standing up for what they want.

These efforts soon blossomed into an informal organization called Every Block's A Village, which is now active on more than 50 blocks of the Austin neighborhood. These groups don't limit themselves to clearing the streets of dealers, they tackle other pressing issues such as the lack and health care services. Out of this has come the West Side Wellness Center, which offers preventive health programs, a dialysis center and other health care needs missing in the neighborhood. The idea for the Center began in the Village Block clubs, who got the ball rolling with $33,000 raised through raffles sales and chicken dinners.

A group of concerned mothers, aunts, fathers and cousins standing up to the unhealthy traffic of drugs in Austin, turned into a positive effort to improve the community's health. Although bashful at the beginning of her talk, Adell Young was full of fire by the time she finished.

Excited by these stories of neighborhood empowerment, I decided that someone should do a follow-up: The Great Chicago Neighborhood Book.

The Great Neighborhood Book can be ordered at www.pps.org . Jay Walljasper is senior fellow at Project for Public Spaces, executive editor of Ode magazine, and writes extensively about urban issues.

To listen to an audio recording of the event, please visit Chicago Amplified.

For more information about MPC's placemaking work, contact Peter Skosey, MPC vice president of external relations.

Yes, the state's Comprehensive Housing and Planning Act movedIllinois closer to a sensible way of encouraging local responses to the profound shortage of affordable housing.  And yes, this legislation   -- especially through the Illinois Housing Development Authority -- continues to seed numerous initiatives beginning to address the profound demand for supportive housing, senior housing, preservation, and other key priorities.

But several key principles of the Comprehensive Housing and Planning Act are still unfulfilled – most notably its focus on incentives for local leaders, especially those outside the housing arena.  ("Can 'Live Near Work' work better?" describes the state's need to step up its overall "live near work" strategy .)

Good Housing, Good Schools can provide financial incentives to the school districts in towns supporting the rehab or development of quality, affordable, multifamily homes. For example, a school district in a community that approves a 45-unit two or three-bedroom condominium or apartment building could receive over $60,000 – enough to pay for an extra teacher.

Too many young families in Illinois are struggling to achieve the most basic of dreams: finding an attractive neighborhood with both housing they can afford and schools they can trust. Good Housing, Good Schools will help ensure more communities in Illinois fit this bill and advance the goals of the state's Comprehensive Housing and Planning Act.

With the bill signed into law, the next step is to get this legislation funded, optimally through the Illinois State Board of Education.  Given that teachers themselves stand to gain from this legislation --  as demonstrated by popularity of the Chicago Public Schools employer-assisted housing program – and that mixed-income housing itself benefits schools, ISBE clearly has more to gain than to lose from this modest investment in this potentially major implications.

Why major?  Since a similar piece of legislation was put into effect in Massachussetts last January, over 1,500 homes were approved in "high job districts," which are comparable to Illinois "live near work" communities.  Similar approval rates would be profound in Illinois, where this legislation can also benefit redeveloping communities in addition to those near job centers. 

As one of the wealthiest communities in Illinois, many are surprised to learn that over the last three years, Lake Forest has quietly passed a series of innovative housing policies to institutionalize the development of mixed-income housing in the city. With the adoption of a comprehensive housing plan in 2005, Lake Forest set the stage to phase in a number of local and regional housing initiatives that will help to ensure local workers and seniors can continue to live the city. After adopting the affordable housing plan, the city established an Ad Hoc Housing Committee that led the charge in establishing the following policies:

• Inclusionary Zoning (2005): Requires 15 percent of the homes in all residential developments of over five units be affordable to households earning 80 percent or below the Area Median Income ($59,600 for a family of four in 2007). As part of the ordinance, there are alternative options for developers to build off-site or pay a fee in-lieu of building all of the required homes on site.
• Housing Trust Fund (2006): Provides financial resources to address the housing needs of individuals and families of low and moderate-income by promoting, preserving, and producing long-term affordable housing; providing housing-related services; and, providing support for not-for-profit organizations that actively address the city's affordable housing needs.
• Demolition Tax (2006): Assesses a $10,000 tax for the demolition of single and two-family homes and $5,000 per unit for multi-unit buildings, which is allocated directly to the Lake Forest Housing Trust Fund.

In 2007, the City of Lake Forest engaged the Metropolitan Planning Council's Community Building Initiative to help the city define its role in the regionally significant redevelopment of the former Barat College Campus, the first residential development subject to the city's new inclusionary zoning ordinance. A complex project, the 23-acre, approximately120-unit Barat redevelopment will include not only mixed-income housing, but historic preservation and environmental protection components as well. To guide this effort, MPC recruited a task force of experts, chaired by Nicholas Brunick of Applegate and Thorne-Thomsen, P.C. to provide advice about successfully integrating affordable and moderately-priced homes into this luxury development; creating a greater range of housing price points on-site; supplemental financing options; and, appropriate roles for the developer, city, and potential non-profit service and development partners.

Some of the Metropolitan Planning Council's Lake Forest Task Force recommendations included:

• Close the price gap between inclusionary homes and high-end market-rate units through increased density, a variety of housing types on site, and changes to some of the more expensive design elements, such as one elevator per townhome
• Work with the Illinois Housing Development Authority to utilize the state donation's tax credit as a way to maximize the value of the development through a transfer of those credits from the developer to the city's housing trust fund
• Institute an association structure that protects affordable homeowners from being overburdened by assessments and work with the local township to assess the affordable properties at a lower rate
• Work with local employers to invest directly in the development and provide assistance to their employees to purchase some of the moderately-priced and affordable homes.
• Institute processes and partnerships to monitor the affordability and tenant selection.

The redevelopment of the Barat campus site will be the largest that Lake Forest has seen and will see in a while. Ensuring that this property has a healthy mix of high-end, moderately-priced, and affordable homes will be president setting for not only the city, but also for other North shore communities and the region.

Due to these new housing policies and the regional significance of this site, Lake Forest, boasting the fourth highest family income in Illinois, has now emerged as an affordable housing leader. In June, Mayor Michael Rummel joined four neighboring communities - Highland Park, Highwood, Deerfield, and Northbrook - to engage North shore employers in both helping meet the demand for workforce housing through employer-assisted housing and contributing to increasing the supply of affordable homes through public-private partnerships and direct investment in housing development. In addition, Mayor Rummel spoke to a national audience in August at an event organized by the National Housing Conference to discuss the vital links between affordable housing development and transportation access.

As more and more communities throughout the region begin to grapple with complex affordable housing challenges, it is nice to know that even the wealthiest communities recognize that a diverse housing stock is essential to a balanced, healthy, and economically strong region.

The Chicago region has typically sought to build our way out of traffic jams and crowded streets. The state continues to build new roads and expand existing streets and highways, while the region tries to compensate by adding more transit service. It seems like we're always behind, struggling to catch up with even more demand for moving people further and further out in the region. There's never enough money to keep up with the demand, and sprawl continues apace. The explanation for this frustrating vicious circle is explained in a paper by Robert Johnson, who is a professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the Universityof California,Davis:

"The most-effective policy sets combine land use policies, such as compact growth, with strong transit provision and not expanding highway capacity. The addition of auto pricing policies, such as fuel taxes, work trip parking charges, or all-day tolls increases the effectiveness of the land use and transit policies. Peak-period tolls, by themselves, increase travel. Expanding road capacity, along with transit capacity, but without changing market incentives to encourage more efficient use of existing roads and parking, results in expensive transit systems with low ridership." – "Review of U.S. and European Regional Modeling Studies of Policies Intended to Reduce Motorized Travel, Fuel Use, and Emissions" Robert A. Johnston, August 2006

Prof. Johnson's reference to "market incentives to encourage more and efficient use of existing roads and parking" is commonly known as congestion pricing. The concept has been around for many years but has become especially popular as of late as major cities like London and Stockholm have implemented a form of the tool, and New York City and other U.S. cities and regions pursue plans to implement various types of congestion pricing. If you are new to the concept and are interested in quickly acquainting yourself with the basics, including case studies of on-the-ground uses of the tool, click through the suggested reading list below.

Suggested Reading

"Road Pricing" Victoria Transport Policy Institute

World Review of Road Pricing

• Phase 1 – Lessons for the UK
• Phase 2 – Case Studies
• Phase 2 – Final Report

Federal Highway Administration's Urban Partnership Agreement program

IMPACTS conference on transportation

- The parking equilibrium equation presented by Prof. Donald Shoup, Department of Urban Planning, University of California, Los Angeles

At a June 5 roundtable co-hosted by the Metropolitan Planning Council and Chicago Architecture Foundation, a panel of experts described the challenges of solving this equation for their communities. Dr. Rachel Weinberger, professor at PennDesign at the University of Pennsylvania and former private industry expert, Ald. Margaret Laurino (39th Ward), and Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th Ward) discussed practical ways to create great neighborhood retail centers by managing parking demand.

More and more successful cities and towns have given up on trying to accommodate more demand for driving by building more highways, widening streets, and increasing parking supply. They've learned that building more room for driving just fills up with even more cars, which leaves the city or town back at square one. So they're taking a different tack and developing ways to manage demand for driving while still increasing the number of people shopping in their retail districts. After all, though the transportation engineering industry does not require or even encourage keeping statistics on this, most successful urban retail districts already have a solid base of people walking, biking, taking cabs, and taking the train or bus to the area. And their desire to shop at the retail district more often is directly impacted by the quality of their experience. You don't need an equation to figure out that sidewalks that have been slashed with curb cuts and parking lots to accommodate more parking decreases foot traffic.

Dr. Weinberger kicked off the event by dispelling many of the myths about parking demand. She noted that communities have been lamenting the perceived parking shortage since the early 20th Century. Dr. Weinberger, who has worked on a variety of parking management projects for the public and private sector, emphasized that communities that focus solely on increasing parking will likely fail to act in the best interest of promoting local economic development and quality of life. Communities that focus on maximizing access, however – whether it be in the form of people walking, taking the bus, biking, driving, taking the train, or arriving by cab – are likely to create the foot traffic that boosts local sales and makes the shopping area lively and inviting. Maximizing access requires prioritizing the most efficient travel options, like walking, over the most destructive, and then managing demand for those options that are most likely to have a negative impact on the shopping area and actively increasing options that will have a positive impact.

Ald. Laurino and Ald. Preckwinkle, both of whom have been leaders in considering the implementation of Transportation Enhancement Districts inChicago, discussed the practical local challenges of managing parking demand while boosting overall access to the shopping area. Transportation Enhancement Districts (TEDs) maximize parking availability by setting the price of on-street parking to a level that ensures there is always a space available, and then returning the additional revenue from the meters to the local community to use for improving access to the district.

After their remarks, the panelists had a lively discussion with the audience about the impact of looming transit service cuts and other practical issues on the feasibility of implementing Transportation Enhancement Districts and other parking management tools in the Chicago region.

Watch the video of Parking 101 , courtesy of CAN-TV.

Learn more about Transportation Enhancement Districts .

View a diagram of the cycle of car-oriented development .

View a diagram of the cycle of people-oriented development .

This roundtable was generously supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.