Chicago architect Wendell Campbell stands in front of the $25 million Gary Civic Center (1980)
By Melvin Thompson- March 28, 2011
No sense losing sleep over population loss. News of such outward migration is increasingly commonplace and certainly not limited to the hard hit City of Gary, Ind., as St. Louis, Mo., Birmingham, Ala., and even Chicago can attest. While Gary’s dwindling numbers over the past decade do raise eyebrows, the city should instead espouse to emulate innovative best practices in post-industrial towns experiencing much the same.
Like Youngstown, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Pa., Detroit, Mich., or any other forward-thinking Rust Belt city, Gary desperately needs to reinvent itself to tell a more compelling story. The greatest disservice a community can do is to marginalize its own culture. There is untapped history here that the city should recognize and emphatically embrace.
Case in point: …
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Map by Michael Piskur
Northwest Indiana's population change from 2000 to 2010
2010 Census data reveals dramatic shifts in Northwest Indiana and Northeastern Illinois’ population over the last decade. While much of the news coverage about the 2010 Census data has focused on the political ramifications of population changes, this new portrait of the region has a host of policy implications as well, from the need for workforce housing to impacts on traffic congestion. Over the next several weeks, MPC will offer snapshots of these regional shifts and analysis of how they will affect our work. Today’s post assesses how population changes in Northwest Indiana are informing regional redevelopment efforts.
MPC Research Assistant Michael Piskur contributed to this post.
Census snapshot
While total population numbers across Northwest Indiana’s Lake, La…
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Source: U.S. Census and Illinois DNR, map by Ryan Griffin-Stegink
This map is also available as a high-resolution PDF.
2010 Census data reveals dramatic shifts in the region's population over the last decade. While most coverage of the 2010 Census data has focused on the political ramifications of these population changes, this new portrait of our region means a host of policy implications as well, from the need for workforce housing to impacts on traffic congestion. Over the next several weeks, MPC will offer snapshots of some of these regional shifts and analysis of how they will affect our work. Today's post assesses the relationship between population growth and water supplies.
MPC Research Assistant Ryan Griffin-Stegink contributed to this post.
Census snapshot
Recently released 2010 Census data confirms what many suspected: The collar counties of the Chicago region are growing more quickly than…
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Jane Hornstein
Renovations are beginning on the Maywood Apartments using Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding
By Jane Hornstein- March 24, 2011
Guest author Jane Hornstein is a senior project manager at IFF and former MPC employee.
On March 10, the West Cook County Housing Collaborative, a joint effort between the municipalities of Bellwood, Berwyn, Forest Park, Maywood, and Oak Park, gathered to celebrate the beginning of renovations on the Maywood Apartments, a 26-unit affordable housing development at 1015-17 S. 4th Ave., in Maywood, Ill.
Maywood Mayor Henderson Yarbrough, Sr., welcomed Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Economic Development Bureau Chief Maria Saldana, Forest Park Mayor Anthony Calderone, and Oak Park Mayor David Pope, among others, at the groundbreaking and celebration.
The Collaborative, formed to coordinate efforts to address housing issues and improve the supply of affordable…
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Photo by Chantal Hayes
By Randy Blankenhorn- March 14, 2011
MPC is partnering with CMAP on a series of roundtables that focus on specific issues within GO TO 2040, the region’s new long-range plan to guide policy and investment decisions in northeastern Illinois through mid-century and beyond. The first roundtable, on Feb. 18, focused on how the public and private sectors can help to implement the plan, and the next event on March 25 will focus on how federal and state legislation can help our
Randy Blankenhorn, Executive Director, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
Photo courtesy of CMAP
region to achieve its goals.
Federal agenda
For metropolitan Chicago to maintain the strong, vibrant communities that are key to economic competitiveness, state and federal legislation can play important roles. The success of GO TO 2040 is…
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