Re-Connection - June 2011

June 2011

www.metroplanning.org

This Monday, June 27, MPC hosted our 2011 Annual Luncheon, “What, Where and How? Rethinking the Retail Landscape,” featuring a conversation with Tom Mars, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, Walmart U.S. At the event, MPC also presented the 2011 Burnham Award for Excellence in Planning to Magellan Development Group for Lakeshore East.

Where We Stand

Vice Chair of MPC's Board of Governors Jesse H. Ruiz (left), a partner with Drinker, Biddle & Reath, moderated the conversation with Tom Mars, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, Walmart U.S., at MPC's 2011 Annual Luncheon.

Photo by Karen Kring

MPC was delighted to host Walmart for its first major civic forum in Chicago, to begin an ongoing regional dialogue with the company on how its plans for Chicago—which Mars called a “critically important” market for Walmart—will affect community and economic development in our neighborhoods. We extend a hearty thank you to all of our sponsors, presenters, and of course the 800-plus guests who made the luncheon a success!

At a time when the region and nation is focused intently on job creation and community revitalization, MPC invited the nation's largest private employer to deliver the keynote address at our annual luncheon because we believe the entire region benefits when local employers and civic leaders collaborate. Employers need to be at the table as community development decisions are made. Likewise, community leaders need to have the ear of the business community, and an avenue for sharing ideas that create new jobs, support local workers, and build healthy neighborhoods.

In addition to announcing the news that Walmart is “on the brink” of rolling out a comprehensive minority supplier program, using Chicago as a launching pad, Mars also told the audience that Walmart has learned how important it is to listen to the communities where they are locating.

MPC encourages Walmart and other major retailers to maintain constant communication with communities to ensure decisions about site design, sustainability, workforce development and other critical issues meet local needs.

Read a recap of the event, including transcripts of Tom Mars' remarks, on MPC’s web site. >>

Listen to MPC’s 2011 Annual Luncheon, recorded through a partnership with Chicago Public Radio’s Chicago Amplified program. >>

Check out media coverage of MPC’s 2011 Annual Luncheon.>>

Watch a video about Magellan Development Group’s Lakeshore East, winner of the 2011 Burnham Award for Excellence in Planning. >>

Project Progress Report: Placemaking + Chicago’s Pedestrian Plan

The pedestrian experience is an important aspect of every great Chicago-area place, from Millennium Park to your local community garden. Walkable and bikable streets are essential to foster that experience. As MPC Associate Marisa Novara pointed out in her blog post, “People want to walk”—to go to work, run errands, get to attractions such as Wrigley Field in Chicago or the Riverwalk in Naperville, or just simply wander around enjoying all that Chicagoland has to offer.

As a member of the Mayor’s Pedestrian Advisory Council, MPC is bringing this perspective to community meetings taking place throughout the summer to gather public input to inform the Chicago Dept. of Transportation’s (CDOT) Pedestrian Plan. These meetings give attendees the opportunity to communicate directly with CDOT administrators, and other agencies about pedestrian safety in Chicago and the importance of walkable and bikable neighborhoods and city streets.

Strengthening Chicago’s pedestrian safety standards is just one element of MPC’s Placemaking Chicago project, which supports the creation and care of healthy, social, and economically vibrant places in communities across the region – such as the Polish Triangle Marketplace, a new farmers market on Thursday evenings, starting tonight, to serve Chicago’s Wicker Park and Bucktown neighborhoods. The market was one of the ideas we heard from the community in 2009, when MPC teamed up with WPB, the Special Service Area serving Wicker Park and Bucktown, to lead a Placemaking initiative for the Polish Triangle, an underused public space at the intersections of Division, Ashland and Milwaukee. More than 700 people contributed their ideas for transforming the space, and the Polish Triange Marketplace is their Placemaking, in action! Kudos!

Headlines

June marks celebration of National Homeownership Month but few Latinos at the party

Growing blue: Water, economic development, and corporate stewardship

MPC appointed to study congestion relief options for I-90 corridor

Micropark program expands in Northwest Indiana, creating new gathering places for communities

Making the most of a clean(ish) river

Illinois approves Public-Private Partnerships for Transportation Act

Expanding employer-assisted housing through energy efficiency retrofits

Upcoming events

Jul 28–29	Bring Workers Home - Boston Regional Workforce Housing Forum 9:00 AM–3:00 PM
Aug 18	A Conversation with Charles Fishman, Author of The Big Thirst 11:30 AM–1:30 PM
Sep 26–28	Solutions for Sustainable Communities Conference 8:00 AM–6:00 PM
Dec 1	Bring Workers Home - Portland 9:00 AM–4:00 AM