Estimadas Colegas (Esteemed Colleagues):
As we wrap up the 2014-2015 academic year, we at Great Cities Institute are busily preparing another round of events, research activities, urban design projects, and collaborations. As we continue to harness the power of research, we continue to partner with others to seek solutions to today’s urban challenges.
We continue our work in employment and economic development including projects in youth employment and commercial revitalization. Participatory Budgeting in Chicago continues to expand, as does our analysis of infrastructure financing. Our transnational projects and partners are growing. Through our fourth cluster, Energy and the Environment, we are embarking on a Great Cities, Great Rivers Project (stay tuned).
In the fall, we are partnering with the National Public Housing Museum (NPHM) to launch a series of activities promoting the concept of the public good. Our first event will be in conjunction with the Chicago Architecture Biennial, North America’s largest international survey of contemporary architecture, to sponsor a dialogue that addresses how global cities’ progressive design innovations serve “the Public Good’ with affordable housing and other infrastructures of inclusion.
We are also partnering with the Consulat Général de France à Chicago to co-host a forum that brings together scholars from France and the U.S. to discuss pressing urban issues especially those related to poverty and inequality.
In our multimedia, you will find a link to CAN-TV, Chicago Public Access Television, to view the GCI’s panel, featuring María Belen Loor, from the Ministry of International Trade of the Republic of Ecuador, Building Local Economies through World Trade. Participants on the panel included, Laura Ortega-Lamela, Executive Director, International Business Council, Illinois Chamber of Commerce; Thomas W. Bartkoski, Director, International Business Development, World Business Chicago; and Raul Raymundo, Chief Executive Officer, The Resurrection Project. This was the kick-off event of GCI’s Cities Across the Globe Symposium, which featured scholars from Turkey, the United Kingdom, Mexico, China, Australia, Egypt, Italy, and Nigeria.
In the News, you will find several links to news articles quoting UIC researchers. A great strength of UIC is its faculty. Always, we are proud to highlight the important research being conduced at UIC.
Finally, we want to call your attention to the forum that was held at the end of May here in Chicago, sponsored by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Financial Times. Videos from this forum on global cities can be found here.
We wish you a pleasant summer and will continue to stay in touch with news and updates.
Sincerely,
Teresa Córdova
Director
