Great Cities is featured in another Block Club Chicago article! The project has its roots in a community revitalization plan led by Special Service Area No. 5 and the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Great Cities Institute, Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza (10th) said. Neighbors identified a need for “a more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly […]
GCI News
Keep up to date with the latest news coming out of GCI.
Participatory budgeting allows community members who can’t legally vote to still have a voice
Associate Director Thea Crum is interviewed by ABC 7 on Great Cities Institute’s work on participatory budgeting. Through participatory budgeting, community members get a voice. They can propose neighborhood infrastructure projects in their wards, such as road or park improvements, and those projects then go up for a vote in […]
Chicago’s Decades of Segregation Feed South and West Side Hardships
Authors Shruti Singh and Isis Almeida discuss issues caused by historical segregation in their Bloomberg article. Great Cities Institute’s Matt Wilson is interviewed and highlights the economic inequalities in Chicago. Many of these same neighborhoods continue to face the highest levels of joblessness, poverty and inadequate housing, according to a study by […]
During Second Consecutive Year of Significant Gap Reduction, City of Chicago Projects $127.9 Million Shortfall In 2023 Fiscal Year Budget
The City of Chicago Mayor’s Press Office discussed the 2023 Budget Forecast in its recent press release. The article highlights a budget gap and how the city’s Office of Budget and Management is working to find savings and efficiencies to reduce this gap. The budget, along with the 2023 Responsive […]
100th Street Calumet River Project would create new recreational trail on Southeast Side
In a Streetsblog Chicago article, Ruth Rosas interviews Jack Rocha (GCI) and Alex Perez (Active Transportation Alliance) on the history, opportunities, and next steps for this project. To stay up to date on the project, please visit this page or if you have any questions, please contact Jack Rocha at jrocha3@uic.edu. Residents […]
Residents share priorities, needs at city budget forum in Austin
In an AustinTalks article, author Francia Garcia Hernandez discusses topics residents requested be focused on in the 2023 city spending plan. Great Cities Institute will be compiling results and comments from this forum and two others to create a public report that will be released in August. “We want you […]
Chicago Leaders to Kick Off Budget Season Weeks Before Officials Are Set to Detail Deficit
In a WTTW News article, author Heather Cherone discusses the upcoming three “budget engagement forums” on July 21, July 23 and July 30. The city’s budget forecast for 2023 will not be released until August. The feedback at those forums will be compiled into a public report to be […]
The dubious value of ‘value capture’ financing
In a co-authored New York Daily News op-ed, Rachel Weber, UIC professor of urban planning and policy and a faculty fellow with the UIC Great Cities Institute, writes about New York City’s proposed Penn Station redevelopment and the project’s financing structure that is similar to the one used for the nearby Hudson […]
Illinois census data shows state undercounted by nearly 2%, gaining 250K residents, bureau admits
Alex Linares, an economic development planner at the UIC Great Cities Institute, spoke to ABC 7 Chicago during a report on Illinois being undercounted in the 2020 census. The U.S. Census Bureau suggests Illinois was undercounted by nearly 2%, and actually gained another 250,000 residents. “We are not going to find out […]
Boom, not bust? Illinois undercounted in 2020 census, actually grew to 13 million — largest population ever
A Chicago Sun-Times article on Illinois being undercounted in the 2020 census includes comments from Rob Paral, a senior researcher with the Great Cities Institute at UIC, who says the state’s outreach program and the pandemic helped keep the undercount from being even worse. The coronavirus might have indirectly helped keep the […]