Vision Driving Development helps Lawndale plan for its future

MPC’s newest report, Vision Driving Development, summarizes the Corridor Development Initiative MPC co-hosted in Lawndale.

February 2, 2009
2 comments

Check out MPC's recently released publication, Vision Driving Development. This report summarizes the Lawndale Corridor Development Initiative (CDI) MPC hosted with Chicago Ald. Sharon Dixon (24^th Ward) and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) this summer.

The Lawndale CDI was a series of three community meetings that engaged more than 100 neighborhood residents. The goal of the meetings was to identify community interests and concerns about development in the neighborhood on Chicago's Southwest Side. Meeting participants worked with architects and developers to create realistic concept plans for new development.

Interested in learning more about CDI? Check out this seven-minute video that explains the process.

If you are interested in hosting a CDI in your community, please complete the CDI application or contact Karin Sommer at (312) 863-6044 or ksommer@metroplanning.org.

Keywords

affordable housing, community building, community development, comprehensive planning, economic development, historic preservation, home buyer, land use, pedestrian access, public transportation, transit oriented development, Urban development, urban planning

Comments

1. REGINALD JOHNS from CHICAGO, IL on February 26, 2009

I attended the meeting last summer on the Corridor Development Initiative for North Lawndale. The meeting was informative and we learned the process of development and the challenges even with areas like Lawndale which is not that highly dense of a population. I wish we could be more informed when projects come to the community even though this was a good start. Love this web-site and keep up the good work.
2. Valerie F. Leonard from Chicago, IL on March 11, 2009

Let me preface my comments by saying that I really appreciate MPC's involvement in this process. You brought a level of knowledge and professionalism that we do not always see in our development process in North Lawndale. You provided sufficient information for residents to make more informed choices. You are to be commended. Having said that, I would like to share my thoughts on how this could have been improved.

I would have liked to have seen broader community representation on the steering committee. For example, the sponsoring local organization had 2 representatives on the committee, while another group, whose membership has been actively engaged in discussions surrounding development in the community, was not invited to be a part of the committee. It would have been helpful to have an application process that was widely publicized in the community, across many community sectors, including the business sector, nonprofits, churches, block clubs, etc.

For more, click here.