Thriving Communities

The Chicago, Calumet, and Des Plaines rivers are three of our city’s greatest assets. Investments such as new boat houses and riverbank restoration are helping people in the Chicago region change the way they think of and experience our rivers. Our Great Rivers is a collaborative, comprehensive 30-year vision for the Chicago region's waterways. Together we are reconnecting communities and their rivers.

MPC partnered with the Latino Policy Forum and UIC’s Great Cities Institute for an in-depth study of Latino population trends that have occurred in the region over the past decade. Topline: Latino's are drivng growth in the region.

Much has happened in the five years since MPC released Our Equitable Futures. In light of significant shifts accelerated by COVID-19 and a refocusing on racial justice, we're looking back to see what has been accomplished, what learnings we can take from these recommendations, and how we should look to the future to build a more equitable region.

To expand housing options for low-income families, MPC is working with regional public housing authorities and governments at all levels to pool resources in support of developing new affordable rental homes in communities with good schools, transit access and jobs.

MPC is supporting a group of municipalities in Chicago’s south suburbs as they work together to combat neighborhood decline and blight, by piloting cross-border strategies that build municipal capacity and maintain the quality of investor-owned properties.

As Chicagoland residents’ housing preferences change, MPC, Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning are working with municipalities to create and update housing plans through the Homes for a Changing Region initiative and online Homes toolkit.

Housing is fundamental to personal stability, and when individuals lack it, the consequences are dire. This is especially true for those who are returning to local communities from prison. When the basic need for shelter is not met, justice-involved individuals struggle to reintegrate at great cost to public safety and the fabric of our communities. It's time for a new approach to moving from incarceration to community.

The independent Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) works with governments, businesses, community leaders, and advocacy groups to promote racially equitable and environmentally sustainable planning and policy solutions necessary for every neighborhood to thrive.  To this end, MPC’s work focuses on creating Thriving Communities, Equitable Infrastructure and Just Public Systems.

The independent Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) works with governments, businesses, community leaders, and advocacy groups to promote racially equitable and environmentally sustainable planning and policy solutions necessary for every neighborhood to thrive.  To this end, MPC’s work focuses on creating Thriving Communities, Equitable Infrastructure and Just Public Systems.

COVID-19 brought the Chicago region—and the world—to its knees, sickening our residents, stressing our institutions, commerce, and infrastructure, and underscoring the inequities between our communities. MPC offered expert analysis and recommendations on a unique moment in American history.

Developed over many months in collaboration with stakeholders, and informed by the lived experience of members of the community, MPC has created a blueprint of strategies for community action against displacement.