On Dec. 13, MPC, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, and Metropolitan Mayors Caucus issued a new report, Supporting and Sustaining Interjurisdictional Collaboration for Housing and Community Development. The report recommends policy reforms and best practices needed to sustain and replicate the successes of three pioneering community collaborations in Cook County that have been working across municipal borders since 2009 to advance unified revitalization strategies.

Where We Stand

While communities in our region and across the country have a long history of coordinating to provide services – such as fire protection and waste management – cooperative planning and development is relatively untested ground. Driven by the need to respond to the pervasive foreclosure crisis, since 2009, three clusters of suburbs – in south, west and northwest Cook County – have been demonstrating the promise of collaborating on community development through a model known as interjurisdictional collaboration. These communities have blazed new trails, working together to advance jointly agreed upon reinvestment strategies, building local capacity while attracting more than $35 million in new public and private sector investment.

The report from MPC, CMAP and the Mayors Caucus documents their successes and challenges, and recommends policy reforms and best practices needed to support existing clusters and to make it easier for this model to be replicated across metropolitan Chicago and other U.S. regions.

• Read a wrap-up of the roundtable held in conjunction with the report's release
• Read Supporting and Sustaining Interjurisdictional Collaboration for Housing and Community Development

MPC by the Numbers 2012

What a year 2012 has been! Just as news outlets look back at the year in headlines, here at MPC we think there's value in taking a moment to reflect on the milestones we've reached over the past 12 months. MPC by the Numbers is a numeric snapshot of these accomplishments, drawn primarily from data and indicators we track on a quarterly basis. These figures represent hours of work by staff and volunteers working hand-in-hand with government, industry and community leaders to forge pragmatic and workable policy solutions that advance a competitive, equitable and livable Chicago region.

Read MPC by the Numbers 2012.

With 2013—and an ambitious work plan—right around the corner, we hope you will support our work to help us achieve even more in the coming months. To learn more about how MPC works and what we stand for, check out the Agenda in Action.

Headlines from MPC

• Stagnation, progress in Chicago trigger ideas for President Obama's second term

Water

• Grant program in Logan Square lets rain, investment soak in
• Putting the Infrastructure in Green Infrastructure

Infrastructure

• Dude, I Don't Want a Car!
• Union Station at Capacity while Amtrak ridership up in Illinois
• Don’t miss Santa on the CTA!
• Chicago Water Taxi: contributing to the future of public transportation

Thank you to our donors

MPC is thankful for all of our donors in 2012, large and small. We appreciate their support in tackling policy and planning challenges to contribute to a Chicago region with a strong economy, quality homes, reliable transportation choices, vibrant communities, and abundant natural resources. In particular, MPC would like to thank our major 2012 donors:

$250,000 and above