Voorhees & UTC release Planning Transportation for an Aging Illinois

The report provides population projections for the older adult population, assesses housing, transportation, and mobility characteristics throughout Illinois to identify need, and reviews focused conversations with key stakeholders, offering conclusions and recommendations for improvement.  Communities throughout Illinois will need to make significant revisions to current transportation options, explore more varied housing types and greatly augment health and human services alternatives to meet the day-to-day needs of this increasing Baby Boomer population.  Greater cooperation between state and federal agencies and a concerted commitment by elected officials charged with managing human services is paramount to ensuring the welfare of older adults across Illinois in the years to come.

Funding for this report was provided by the Metropolitan Transportation Support Initiative (METSI), which brings together faculty, students, and transportation researchers to address topical issues with the goal to provide thoughtful planning and problem-solving solutions.

Full Report from Voorhees Center »

CMAP Releases Transportation Data Visualization for FUND 2040

01-26-15 CMAPblog

Today the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) released an interactive visualization of the metropolitan Chicago transportation system, providing data to support levying an infrastructure tax. Erin Aleman, Principal Planner for CMAP, will present at GCI about the FUND 2040 proposal on February 18, explaining how the FUND will “support prioritized infrastructure investments that help the region meet its goals for quality of life and economic prosperity.”

The proposal will put forth a mechanism to fund much-needed infrastructure that will reduce congestion, improve livability and mobility, and strengthen our economy. CMAP’s interactive data visualization puts forth a compelling picture of deficiencies in our region’s infrastructure even as it shows significant improvements that have been implemented since the adoption of the GOTO 2040 Plan. In order to keep the momentum going, Illinois needs to return to the levels of infrastructure investment of previous decades.

Join us on February 18 to learn more about the FUND 2040 proposal. The event will be from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Great Cities Institute conference room, and lunch will be provided for attendees. An RSVP is requested at go.uic.edu/fund2040. Great Cities Institute and Urban Transportation Center are co-sponsoring the event.

FUND 2040 will also be webcast live at tinyurl.com/UTC-UIC.16

About the Author:
Jackson Morsey, GCI Economic Development Planner: Primarily working within GCI’s Neighborhoods Initiative, Jackson works in collaboration with community-based organizations, university faculty, and staff to provide technical assistance and services for community and economic development projects.

GCI Faculty Scholar Competition, 2015-2016 Request for Proposals

02-09-15 scholarannouncement

 

UPDATE: Attention Research Scholar Applicants
The research scholar application deadline has been extended until 5 p.m. on Monday, March 16.
Due to ongoing construction in CUPPA Hall, applications may be turned in the following ways:
1. Drop off the application packet to Jackson Morsey at M2 cafe on the corner Peoria and Jackson between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 12:00 noon on Monday.
2. Drop off the application at our temporary offices in Student Residence Hall, 818 S Wolcott, 6th floor, above Student Center West.
3. Send the application via campus mail to Jackson Morsey, CUPPAH MC 107

Open to: All full-time tenured, tenure-track, and clinical faculty at the rank of Assistant Professor and above
Deadline: March 16, 2015, by 5pm.

The Great Cities Institute is inviting proposals for its twentieth annual Faculty Scholar competition. The deadline for submission is March 16, 2015.

We apologize for the lateness of this announcement, due largely to uncertainty related to impending budget cuts. While we do not want to eliminate the Faculty Scholar program, we will likely offer fewer awards and possibly shorter terms.

The Great Cities Institute, a campus-wide institute with a campus-wide mission, is housed in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs. Since its inception in 1995, the Institute has appointed 160 Faculty Scholars from over 36 different departments and other units at UIC. The GCI Faculty Scholars Program provides awardees the opportunity to conduct research that contributes to their professional development, enriches their respective academic discipline and leads to changes in policy and professional practice outside the academy.

For the 2015-2016 Competition the Faculty Scholar proposals will be judged on the extent to which they address UIC’s Urban Mission to connect scholarship and the quality of life in cities and metropolitan regions. We are particularly interested in proposals that connect to the four major research clusters of GCI: employment and economic development; local and regional governance; dynamics of global mobility; and energy and environment.

Proposals from individual researchers and research teams will be accepted. Awards will be made for terms of appointment for up to one full academic year beginning in the Fall Semester, 2015. Research teams may choose to share a one-year appointment, but an individual team may not receive more than one-year equivalent.

If you have any questions concerning the Faculty Scholar Competition, please contact us at gcities@uic.edu. We look forward to receiving your proposals.

Please see attached for full guidelines. Announcement & Guidelines (Word Doc) Application Form (Word Doc)

Expanding PB and Democratic Participation in Local Infrastructure

PB Chicago receives support from Chicago Community Trust

Chicago’s election day is just two weeks away. To help voters prepare, Active Transportation Alliance has just released its’ 2015 Active Transportation Voter Guide. The guide is an educational resource designed to inform Chicago voters and the general public about the views of candidates in their ward on walking, biking and public transit issues.

Participatory budgeting (PB) has proven to be a useful tool for aldermen to engage residents in determining the infrastructure needs in their ward and how to spend discretionary “menu money” to address local transportation and infrastructure needs.

As a PB Chicago Steering Committee member, Active Trans also asked aldermanic candidates if they supported bringing PB to their ward. 73 of 184 aldermanic candidates responded to the survey for a 40% response rate. Of those that responded, 53 aldermanic candidates indicated that they would support bringing PB to their wards if elected.

The Great Cities Institute’s Neighborhoods Initiative has been one of the project leads working to expand PB throughout the City of Chicago. PB is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. The United Nations and the Obama Administration have supported PB as a best practice in democratic governance.

PB deepens democracy, leads to more informed and fairer decisions, provides high levels of accountability and transparency in public budgeting, builds stronger communities, and educates the public about complex political issues and how local government works.

Neighborhoods Initiative brings the resources of the university to communities implementing PB by:

  • providing community level data and maps that educate residents about their wards,
  • training and technical assistance on community development and outreach to marginalized populations,
  • connecting residents with experts in local infrastructure issues, and
  • conducting the research and evaluation of the process to continually refine and improve PB locally.

As a non-partisan 501(c)3 not-for-profit organizations, the Great Cities Institute and Active Trans do not endorse candidates.

About the Author:
Thea Crum, Economic Development Planner: As an Economic Development Planner for GCI’s Neighborhoods Initiative, Thea works in collaboration with community-based organizations and university faculty, staff, and students to provide training and technical assistance on community and economic development projects. She is the lead staff person on the Participatory Budgeting Chicago initiative.

Praxis Paves Way for Next Generation of Executive Leadership

The Praxis Project board of directors announced today that Makani Themba will transition from her role as founding executive director by the end of this year. The transition signals a new phase in Praxis’ evolution as a leading grassroots movement institution in support of organizing and change work on the local, regional and national level.

The Praxis Project board of directors announced today that Makani Themba will transition from her role as founding executive director by the end of this year. The transition signals a new phase in Praxis’ evolution as a leading grassroots movement institution in support of organizing and change work on the local, regional and national level.

GCI Director Teresa Córdova serves as the president of the board of directors for The Praxis Project, which recently announced that founding executive director Makani Themba would be stepping down before the end of the year. The mission of The Praxis Project is to build healthy communities by changing power relationships between people of color and the institutional structures that affect their lives.

The Praxis Project board of directors announced today that Makani Themba will transition from her role as founding executive director by the end of this year. The transition signals a new phase in Praxis’ evolution as a leading grassroots movement institution in support of organizing and change work on the local, regional and national level.

“We are extraordinarily grateful for Makani and her energetic dedication to Praxis and its mission,” said Teresa Córdova, Ph.D., president of the Praxis board of directors and director of the University of Illinois at Chicago Great Cities Institute. “Her visionary leadership has positioned Praxis to provide a unique level of guidance and support to community organizations, agencies and activists committed to building healthier communities.”

From its beginning, Praxis has endorsed the concept of leadership change as a natural part of any organization’s healthy growth and development. A network of partners, grantees and community organizations nationwide utilize and enrich Praxis’ technical support and capacity building expertise.

“By partnering with our stakeholders in the process of embracing fresh perspectives and new skill sets, this leadership shift offers the opportunity for Praxis to model a smooth, effective leadership transition,” said Ms. Themba. “I am confident that making space for a new generation of leadership will help ensure that the work of Praxis and its partners remains creative, innovative and effective.”

Ms. Themba and the Praxis board of directors are currently exploring opportunities for her to continue her relationship with Praxis, including a senior fellowship post.

In collaboration with the board of directors, a transition team is in place to conduct a national search for the next Praxis executive director. The goal is to complete the leadership search and transition process by the end of 2015.

The following board members and transition team members will be participating in this process:

Board of Directors

  • Dileep Bal, M.D., MPH
  • Ajamu Baraka, Ph.D. (Vice Chair)
  • JoAnn K. Chase, J.D. (Treasurer)
  • Teresa Córdova, Ph.D. (Chair)
  • Estevan Flores, Ph.D.
  • Janet Louise Perkins
  • Frank J. Omowale Satterwhite, Ph.D.
  • Lawrence Wallack, Dr.Ph.

Transition Team

  • Ajamu Baraka, Ph.D. (Chair)
  • Sylvia Castillo (Deputy Director, Praxis)
  • Estevan Flores, Ph.D.
  • Marian Urquilla (Strategic Consultant and Coach)

Praxis invites partners, grantee networks and supportive organizations to participate in this leadership transition process. Praxis will share more information about opportunities for engagement in the weeks and months ahead.

For additional information, please contact Sylvia Castillo at sylvia@thepraxisproject.org.

The Praxis Project »

Democratic-Dominated Cities Pass Measures That Could Conflict With State

The Huffington Post reprinted a story on city initiatives that quoted Michael Pagano, Dean of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs and GCI Fellow. Dean Pagano said that while states are sovereign, there’s a question of how much local autonomy should rightfully be allowed. The article originated in the Pew Trust’s Stateline and also ran in Governing Magazine and Government Technology.

Michael Pagano, dean of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said that states are turning to preemption because legislators don’t trust the decisions made by local governments or appreciate their autonomy.

“If the states are squeezing local autonomy so that cities and counties have no decision-making authority, then why have local elected officials at all, if they have no power?” Pagano said.

Full Story from Huffington Post »

Nik Theodore awarded Distinguished Researcher

10-27-14 urbanforumblogimage3

The UIC Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR) has awarded the Distinguished Researcher award to GCI Fellow and UPP Professor Nik Theodore. The Distinguished Researcher award is given to five UIC researchers who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in their field of expertise. Dr. Theodore’s internationally influential scholarship in labor economics yields real world impacts felt not only in academy but the halls of public policy institutions like Congress. His research addresses timely issues including the problems of “wage theft” (undocumented workers paid less than minimum wage or not compensated for overtime), minimum wage, the informal economy, and worker exploitation. His recent scholarship has placed him in the forefront of global researchers studying the growing phenomenon known as “day laborers”. His testimony to various governmental bodies, including state legislatures, are instrumental in shaping contemporary public policy to combat unfair working conditions and increase the minimum wage, and has directly impacted the lives of a large segment of the working poor.

Dr. Theodore’s scholarship is extraordinary in both quantity and quality – averaging 8-10 articles and book chapters per year for the past 15 years. He was named editor of the international journal Antipode in recognition of his standing in the field. According to the 2014 Thomson Reuters ranking of the top cited scholars, Theodore is one of only three social science scholars in Illinois and one of only two urban planning professors in the world listed in the top 1% group. His work has been cited by numerous media outlets including the New York Times, NPR, PRI, NBC, Fortune Magazine, and others.

In honor of the recipients of the UIC Researchers of the Year Award, an awards ceremony and reception will be held on February 25, 2015 from 3:30 pm to 6:00pm in the Michele M. Thompson Rooms of the UIC Student Center West at 828 South Wolcott Avenue.  To RSVP for the award ceremony, or for more information, please go to http://research.uic.edu/roy/rsvp.

Should Urban Universities Help Their Neighbors?

Alana Semuels - The Atlantic

Alana Semuels – The Atlantic

The Atlantic, in an article about whether the University of Chicago should be more involved in its surrounding neighborhoods, quotes Rachel Weber, GCI fellow and associate professor of urban planning and policy.  Weber says residents of neighborhoods near Hyde Park want the university to hire, train and educate more locals.

It’s a tricky question in the neighborhood—whether or not the university should get more involved in development in Woodlawn. When it developed neighborhoods in Hyde Park in the 1960s, thousands of households were displaced, said Rachel Weber, a professor of urban planning and policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. And there’s some tension over the jurisdiction the university’s police department—one of the largest private forces in the country—has over residents who have nothing to do with the university. But some locals think the university could be doing more in other areas, like hiring, training and educating local residents, Weber said.

“There’s a sense that they could be doing more on the employment side,” she said. “Elite institutions have the ability to kind of create bubbles around themselves, and the University of Chicago is no exception.”

Full Story from The Atlantic »

Paper by Phil Ashton named “Outstanding Article of 2014”

Philip Ashton, assistant professor of urban planning and policy. Photo: Roberta Dupuis-Devlin/UIC Photo Services

Philip Ashton, assistant professor of urban planning and policy. Photo: Roberta Dupuis-Devlin/UIC Photo Services

Philip Ashton, Associate Professor in Urban Planning and Policy and former GCI Fellow and Scholar, has published a paper in the Journal of Economic Issues that was selected by the editors as “Outstanding Article of 2014.” The paper, “The Evolving Juridical Space of Harm/Value: Remedial Powers in the Subprime Mortgage Crisis,” was published in the December issue of the Journal, and focuses on the recent wave of litigation against large subprime mortgage lenders.