Gratitude and the Work of Great Cities
As the holidays approach, it feels fitting to take a moment to reflect on where we’ve come, what we’ve built together, and what we remain grateful for, as the University of Illinois Chicago’s Great Cities Institute (GCI) marks three decades of service, scholarship, and community engagement.
Remembering the Vision
Back in 1993, when UIC leadership convened a 28-member advisory committee to chart a new “Great Cities Initiative,” they imagined a university deeply rooted in its metropolis: a university that would leverage academic resources not just for scholarship, but for tangible, community-centered change. That vision gave birth, in 1995, to GCI as a bold institutional commitment to Chicago and cities beyond.
Today, as GCI enters its 30th year, we are deeply grateful for the foresight of those who believed a research university could – and should – do more than produce scholarship. They believed in civic responsibility, in bridging the academy with communities, in giving back. We stand on their shoulders.
Grateful for Relationships and Collaboration
At its heart, GCI’s work has always been collective and collaborative. Over the years, hundreds of projects have unfolded, from revitalizing neighborhood commercial corridors to offering communities data, technical assistance, and policy analysis that supports more healthy communities and more equitable growth.
Central to that work is the UIC Neighborhoods Initiative, founded in 1994, which has partnered with over 100 neighborhood-based organizations across Chicago to bring participatory planning and budgeting to life. Through this initiative, thousands of residents have gained influence, collectively shaping decisions about how public resources are spent in their communities. To communities, to civic partners, to residents – we say thank you.
We are grateful for the trust that our partners have placed in us. Grateful for the honest conversations, the shared laughter and the hard work, the long meetings under fluorescent lights and in church basements, at high-school cafeterias or river-front sites, wherever people gather to imagine a better future. It is from this basic human connection, which is grounded in respect and mutual aspiration, that meaningful urban transformation grows.
Grateful for Scholarship That Matters
GCI has never viewed research as a lofty, detached endeavor. Instead, we strive for engaged research, scholarship that intersects with real lives, that illuminates structural inequality, that undergirds public policy, community advocacy, and planning.
Whether working on youth employment, immigrant health-access, commercial corridor revitalization, youth employment, the regeneration of the advanced manufacturing sector, environmental justice, or civic participation, our research reflects the daily lived experiences of Chicagoans and offers tools for change. In doing this work, we are grateful for the many faculty, students, community leaders, and fellow researchers who have lent their time, energy, and intellect to these shared endeavors over the years.
Grateful for the Promise Ahead
As we prepare to celebrate our 30-year milestone on December 1, 2025, we do so not simply to look back, but to recommit. The challenges before our city remain daunting: economic inequality, disinvestment, racial disparities, climate uncertainty, political polarization. But our gratitude lies in knowing that a committed, engaged university-community partnership has never been more important – and never more relevant.
We look ahead with hope and resolve. Grateful for the lessons learned, the partnerships forged, the neighborhoods that now stand stronger, and the possibilities yet to come. We remain dedicated to the core values that shaped GCI: interdisciplinary collaboration; accessible, equity-oriented research; community-centered planning; and a shared commitment to improving life in Chicago, its metropolitan region, and great cities around the world.
In Gratitude
To the residents, civic organizations, community leaders, policymakers, students, faculty, funders, and partners – thank you. Your trust, collaboration, and creativity have made GCI what it is today. More importantly, they contributed to improving the “quality of life of residents living and working in Chicago and its metropolitan region.
As the winter season draws near, and as Chicago bundles up against the cold, we reflect with gratitude and with determination. For as long as cities will face challenges, we will keep believing that through research, partnership, respect, and care our communities can thrive. Here’s to the next 30 years of building great cities, together.
The Great Cities Institute Team
