The year 2016 … where will you
be, what will you be doing? If city leaders are successful, Chicagoans will be
enjoying the festivities surrounding the XXXI Olympiad. But what if
Chicago
is not
chosen to host the Olympics in 2016? Can the region still be a winner?
To assemble the bid to host the
Games, the City of Chicago and Chicago 2016 Committee had to outline a
comprehensive plan to develop venues for the competitions, transportation to get
spectators, athletes, and all the rest of us where we need to be, and living
accommodations for the athletes and tourists – some might say a lot of trouble
for just a few weeks in the middle of the summer. Yet, the city and Chicago 2016
need an even grander plan to create a lasting legacy of the Games. We need to
know how to make the most of new development to spark and sustain economic
prosperity throughout the city and region. We need to fast-track transportation
infrastructure investments to improve our entire regional transit system. We
have to plan for the addition of 5,000 new homes created in the Olympic Village
without undermining the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) mixed-income
communities, most of which will be completed at about the same time, some in the
same communities.
There is much more at stake in
the CHA’s Plan for Transformation than just bricks and mortar. Nearly half of
the Plan’s 25,000 new homes have been completed, but the new mixedincome
communities are also going to need improved transit, retail, jobs and community
centers to be successful. The Metropolitan Planning Council has been working
with the CHA since it embarked on the Plan for
Transformation to ensure these essential
needs are addressed. We are also urging the city and Chicago 2016 to use MPC’s
“Rules of the Games” to guide planning for the Olympics, and are enthusiastic
about bringing our resources and expertise to this historic community and
regional challenge.
Without a doubt, this is a sports
town. But
Chicago
has a lot more on the line with its
Olympic bid than just putting on a preeminent athletic competition. If we start
working on our legacy plan now — well before the fall of 2009 when we know if we
are chosen — when the summer of 2016 is over, we will have something to show for
our efforts. We will already be well on our way to making
Chicago
a perfect 10.
MarySue
Barrett