Download
The Chicago area has one of the largest Polish-speaking communities outside of Poland, with more Polish spoken than any other foreign language, except Spanish. Our presentation looks at what resources currently exist for transportation information in Polish, demographics of this community, how this group gets information and how to best reach them to provide transportation information. We review current demographics of the Polish and Polish-American community in the Chicago area through a literature search and maps, as well as lessons and concepts that would be applicable in working with other foreign language groups to promote transportation services.
Our study attempts to address the following questions:
- How large is the Polish speaking community in the Chicago area?
- Where do they live? What is the mix of city vs. suburban residents?
- What public transportation information currently exists in Polish?
- How does the Polish media in Chicago cover transportation issues?
- What events and outreach should be used going forward to reach this community?
- What lessons can we learn that can be applied in marketing transportation services to
other ethnic/niche markets in the Chicago area?