For the first time in more than 25 years, Chicago is updating the city's Cultural Plan by taking stock of its existing cultural assets and identifying opportunities for “cultural hubs,” reports Christopher Bentley.
Spurred by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a one-time ballet dancer and long-time supporter of the arts, Chicago has embarked on an update to the city's Cultural Plan, which was drafted in 1986 under Mayor Harold Washington. The update began with four town-hall-style meetings held in Feubruary, part of a major public outreach effort that will also utilize social media. According to Bentley, "[t]he city will also host 19 'neighborhood cultural conversations' and ten 'cultural sector focus groups' in the coming months," with the aim to produce a draft plan by early summer.
The 1986 plan is credited with kick-starting the renovation of Navy Pier and spurring the creation of the North Loop Theatre District, both major tourist attractions.
Early feedback gathered during the current process points towards more locally focused initiatives. "[L]ocal participants have sounded a common refrain in Chicago politics: Focus on the neighborhoods. Many hope the new plan will decentralize the city's economic development, nourishing the artistic communities of Chicago's more than 200 neighborhoods," reports Bentley.
FULL STORY: Planning for Art
Museum of Public Housing Opens in Chicago
The museum highlights the history of public housing in the United States using displays intimately woven with family artifacts.
Chicago Transit Agencies on Brink of Major Crisis
Without additional funding, regional transit agencies will be forced to cut services by 40 percent.
Study: Most Chicago Rideshare Trips Could Be Made by Transit
Researchers found that 99 percent of rideshare trips could be made by buses and trains — but the time savings roughly equal an hour’s wage.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.
BLM To Rescind Public Lands Rule
The change will downgrade conservation, once again putting federal land at risk for mining and other extractive uses.
Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path
Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service