Zine Launch Event Draws Attendees to Civic Engagement
On August 19, 2025, Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) was proud to celebrate the release of In the Zone: A Chicagoan’s Guide to Zoning and Land Use at the Chicago Architecture Center. The zine is the culmination of more than a year of work by the MPC team and partners to make one of Chicago’s most complex systems more accessible and transparent for residents.
The guide breaks zoning down in plain language, using graphics and storytelling to make information approachable, and gives residents tools to engage with what can otherwise feel like an impenetrable system. Thanks to the help of local translators, In the Zone is available in English, Spanish, and simplified Chinese, ensuring it can be a resource for communities across the city.
To mark the launch, MPC hosted an event featuring a dynamic discussion with local creators, artists, and change-makers who are wielding their creative talents for social impact, including the zine illustrator Lucie Van der Elst. Along with Lucie, the panel included Carlos Robles-Shanahan (Duo Development), Angela Esposito (Chicago Architecture Center), Tonika Johnson (Folded Map Project and R.A.G.E.), and moderator Ella McCann (The Executives’ Club of Chicago and EllaMarieTV). The panel remarks explored success stories around education (for students and for educators) as a means of continuing the legacy of informing Chicago residents about planning and showcased the expansion of what community engagement can mean and how it can inform development decisions. The panelists also explored the ways that artfully-created resources and toolkits can foster connection between individuals in different communities and the critical importance of thoughtful research and representation to ensure the toolkit doesn’t uphold or exacerbate stereotypes. The conversation wrapped up with a call to action for audience members to show up and be involved in their communities, and to leverage useful materials like the referenced toolkits as much as possible.
Panelists
Lucie Van der Elst
Lucie is a multidisciplinary artist, miniaturist and illustrator. Born in Paris France, Lucie moved to Chicago in 2016 and has called the city her home ever since. She is our Zine illustrator. View her portfolio of work at: lucie-vanderelst.com
Tonika Lewis Johnson
Tonika is a nationally recognized social justice artist and photographer. She is the creator of the Folded Map Project a multimedia initiative exploring the personal and structural impacts of segregation through photography, dialogue, and storytelling.
Carlos Robles-Shanahan
Carlos is the co-founder and director of Duo, an innovation studio/lab that creates built environement innovations for the benefit of society. His In.Field toolkit helps fuel creativity, create strong relationships, and deepen community engagement.
Angela Esposito
As the Vice President of Learning at the Chicago Architecture Center, Angela’s mission is to educate and activate learners of all ages about Chicago’s rich architectural history. She is passionate about gaining exposure for those underrepresented in design fields.
Panel Moderator
Ella McCann is Head of Partner Activation at The Executives’ Club of Chicago, where she leads strategic collaborations to advance the Club’s mission. She is also the founder of EllaMarieTV and serves on several international and local boards.
Graphic recorder Cori Nakamura Lin brought the panel discussion to life with her visual notetaking presented live onscreen behind the panelists. Cori is an illustrator and graphic recorder specializing in culture-centered storytelling and jailbreaking information for the masses. View her portfolio of work at corilin.co.
Before and after the presentation, attendees were invited to record their own thoughts on activity boards. MPC gathered feedback about how the zine could be used as a resource in the community, and participants were asked to draw elements of their “perfect place.”
The zine itself reflects this same creative approach. With illustrations, case studies, and a recurring character named Zena, In the Zone brings to life the challenges and opportunities of navigating zoning in Chicago. It is designed as a toolkit for residents to share with neighbors, use in community meetings, or reference when considering how zoning affects their community. Learn about the zine here.
The project was developed by MPC staff Emma Boczek, Christina Harris, Debbie Liu, and Morgan Murphy, and the zine was designed by Carolyn Schiffner. The zine is part of the Zoning and Land Use Assessment project (learn more about the project here), which seeks to use research to understand the relationship between zoning and land use and public health, sustainability, and racial equity and make policy recommendations based on the findings. The Community Advisory Group for MPC’s Zoning and Land Use Assessment project, which includes members from 24 civic and community organizations across the city, voiced the needs of their communities, shared their perspectives on the content to prioritize, and contributed their expertise along the way.
The event was generously hosted by the Chicago Architecture Center and supported by The Chicago Community Trust.