Blog

Introduction

Keep up to date with the latest blog posts from our staff & GCI collaborators.

Man speaking into a microphone during a crowded outdoor interview, with reporters and attendees gathered around him.

Jobs for Climate and Justice: A Worker Alternative

Posted on June 07, 2017

GCI hosts Michael Leon Guerrero to discuss climate justice, labor sustainability, environmental organizing, and worker-centered economic alternatives solutions.

Illustrated wall graphic from a freshwater summit, showing hand-drawn notes, maps, icons, and keywords about water justice and Great Lakes issues.

Partnering for the Common Good: The Humanities meets (Social) Science

Posted on May 23, 2017

GCI highlights Freshwater Lab and Hull-House events exploring water justice, public goods, stewardship, and the common good collectively.

Oxford University Press releases new book co-authored by Sanjeev Vidyarthi

Posted on May 09, 2017

GCI announces Sanjeev Vidyarthi’s book on India’s spatial planning, urban development, democratic tensions, and market-driven change contexts globally.

Book cover for From Boom to Bubble: How Finance Built the New Chicago, featuring green panels over a stylized high-rise building.

Rachel Weber receives Best Book Award from the Urban Affairs Association

Posted on April 28, 2017

GCI celebrates Rachel Weber’s award-winning urban studies book and highlights UIC presentations at Urban Affairs Association conference in Minneapolis.

Slide showing the number of out-of-work and out-of-school 16- to 24-year-olds as 58,565, based on 2015 American Community Survey data.

Great Cities Institute Research Sparks Further Action

Posted on April 11, 2017

GCI highlights Opportunity Youth joblessness data and Thrive Chicago’s summit aiming to reconnect people to education and employment.

Real Time Chicago lecture series graphic featuring a city skyline background and the text “Spring 2017.”

GCI takes on Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship

Posted on March 07, 2017

GCI’s Real Time Chicago series explores social innovation, entrepreneurship, economic development, job creation, and community-based solutions.

Audience members seated at red-covered tables during a public hearing or forum, with speakers and attendees gathered in the room.

Abandoned in their Neighborhoods: Youth Joblessness amidst the Flight of Industry and Opportunity

Posted on February 08, 2017

GCI presents youth joblessness report linking unemployment, racial disparities, neighborhood abandonment, violence, and structural economic change in Chicago.

Explaining School Closures: A Report by Rachel Weber, Stephanie Farmer, and Mary Donoghue

Posted on January 10, 2017

GCI shares research showing Chicago school closures disproportionately affected African American students, highlighting racial inequities in education policy.

A great time was had by all

Posted on November 22, 2016

GCI celebrates 21 years of engaged scholarship, honoring founders, partners, Robert Mier, and emerging Stukel Fellows.

New Great Cities Institute report highlights Household Stressors Tied to Poverty

Posted on November 18, 2016

GCI’s household stress study shows how poverty, service cuts, and overlapping challenges burden Chicago-area families and communities.