Chicago Tribune Article Cites MPC Research on Pollution Exposure Impacts

Johnson-backed proposal would put additional requirements on new industrial developments. Industry is pushing back.

May 27, 2025
By Brian J. Rogal in the Chicago Tribune

A Chicago Tribune article about the Hazel Johnson Cumulative Impacts ordinance being pushed forward this spring by Mayor Brandon Johnson refers to analysis that Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) is carrying out. In collaboration with the Urban Institute, MPC is conducting research on how zoning and land use impact Chicago’s neighborhoods and residents from an equity, sustainability, and public health perspective. Limited pollution exposure is one of seven priority outcomes being researched to quantify the extent to which zoning and changes in zoning have contributed to Chicago’s long-standing inequities.

In the Chicago Tribune article, a letter by MPC President & CEO Dan Lurie is referenced where he states, “While all Chicagoans ultimately suffer the environmental and health harms of industrial pollution, the evidence is clear that residents living in closest proximity to polluting uses bear these impacts most directly, intensely, and disproportionately.” MPC research shows that most of Chicago’s heavy industry is concentrated in Black and Latinx communities.