Research Reports

Serving  as a hub for the creation and exchange of knowledge, GCI brings together the resources and intellectual capital of the university and joins it with community stakeholders to produce research that influences public policy to impact the quality of life in the city.  Because GCI’s research is a public good, the Institute is committed to producing and promoting research that is accessible, useful, and responsive to the multi-faceted issues facing the region.

As UIC’s center for engaged urban scholarship, GCI’s goal is to harness our research as a powerful tool to contribute to a more just, equitable and sustainable society.

Cover of Pilsen Quality-of-Life Plan

Pilsen Quality-of-Life Plan

Teresa Córdova, Thea Crum, and Matthew D Wilson | Posted on October 10, 2017

Community-driven Pilsen plan and data report guiding equitable development, cultural preservation, housing stability, economic opportunity, and neighborhood-led change.

Cover of the Great Cities Institute report titled “Why These Schools? Explaining School Closures in Chicago, 2000–2013.” The white cover features dark blue bands at the top and bottom, the UIC Great Cities Institute logo in the upper left, and the report title in red centered on the page. Below the title, the cover lists the publication date as November 2016 and identifies the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Explaining school closures in Chicago, 2000-2013

Posted on November 03, 2016

Report analyzing Chicago school closures, finding utilization, performance, and race shaped decisions disproportionately affecting African American communities citywide.

Photo by Thinkstock: Aerial view of Chicago

Which Chicago is your neighborhood in?

Posted on October 04, 2016

Crain’s Chicago Business highlights census income analysis showing Chicago’s neighborhoods diverging into rising, idling, and declining trajectories citywide.