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Vision, Mission, and Value

GCI staff connecting with community members under a tent, sharing work and building solutions together, reflecting the vision to address cities’ complex challenges.

Our Vision

Formulate solutions to tackle the multi-dimensional challenges of the changing socio-political economy of cities and their metropolitan regions.

GCI presenting with city stakeholders, demonstrating its mission to link academic expertise with partners to address urban issues.

Our Mission

The mission of the Great Cities Institute is to link its academic resources with a range of partners to address urban issues by providing research, policy analysis and program development. Tied to the University of Illinois Chicago Great Cities Commitment, GCI seeks to improve quality of life in Chicago, its metropolitan region, and cities throughout the world.

GCI working with community members and local leaders on Southeast Side planning, reflecting its values of engaged, collaborative, and equity-focused research.

Our Core Values

The Great Cities Institute is committed to convening UIC faculty and researchers across disciplines to address today’s urban challenges, producing engaged research that advances equity and quality of life, fostering broad access to knowledge and dialogue, creating spaces for learning and collaboration, and strengthening community planning and service delivery through the sharing of University resources.