Chicago

At a recent hearing of the Northeastern Illinois Public Transit Task Force, experts like Peter Skosey made the case for the types of changes necessary to meet Chicago’s goals for increased transit ridership, focusing on transit oriented development.

March 6, 2014 - Chi.Streetsblog

The proposed Ashland Bus Rapid Transit line in Chicago, the latest effort in an ambitious multi-modal transportation investment plan by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and former Chicago DOT Commissioner Gabe Klein, is a game changer for an already unique city.

February 28, 2014 - The Atlantic Cities

Bus rapid transit (BRT) is well known among planners as a cheap method to improve bus service and provide an alternative to rail, but BRT projects around the country have met resistance from an array of status quo interests.

February 26, 2014 - Atlantic Cities

The first step to solving the transit “desert” problem is identifying where those deserts are. But that’s easier said than done.

February 9, 2014 - Atlantic Cities

In the eighth installment of the Urban Juxtapositions series profiled in Planetizen on January 16, Chuck Wolfe asks if we are using the right language when it comes to densifying urban spaces.

February 1, 2014 - myurbanist

As the north side of Chicago has gentrified, many Chicago schools' test scores have improved- evidence that if a city neighborhood attracts enough affluent families, its schools will become more attractive as well.

January 24, 2014 - Michael Lewyn

The October opening of a new 1.9-mile stretch of road on Chicago’s Southside anticipates a 40-year master plan for the Lakeside development—600 acres of new development in the middle of one of the country’s largest cities.

January 24, 2014 - The Architect's Newspaper

As Chicago's population surged in the second decade of the 20th century, one dominant single-family housing type spread across the city. Over the next year the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association will celebrate these distinctive homes.

January 7, 2014 - WBEZ

When Mayor Rahm Emanuel sought out his first transportation chief, he lured Gabe Klein from Washington D.C. This week it was announced that Klein's successor had been found much closer to home: the city's transit authority.

January 2, 2014 - Chi.Streetsblog

Petroleum coke or petcoke, similar to coal, is a nasty though salable byproduct of the oil refining process. Produced from refining tar sands crude in Indiana refineries, it is stored in huge piles in Chicago, blowing dust in the Southeast Side.

December 28, 2013 - NPR Morning Edition

When architecture enthusiasts lost their battle to preserve Bertrand Goldberg's iconic Prentice Women's Hospital in Chicago, many turned their hopes to the design of a fittingly stunning replacement. Will the new design fill the architectural void?

December 16, 2013 - ArchDaily

The movement stems from demographic changes in the work force. For companies seeking younger hires, they need to go to where they prefer to live. Suburban campuses may be replaced by urban headquarters or the addition of satellite offices in cities.

December 10, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Is there a correlation between running red lights and more violent crime like robberies and homicide? Gabe Klein, Chicago's distinguished outgoing transportation commissioner, thinks so. It's been dubbed "the broken windows effect."

December 3, 2013 - Streetsblog

Tell me if this sounds familiar: A city repaves a crumbling street only to dig it up again 9 months later to replace an aging water main. Chicago's new Project Coordination Office (PCO) is intended to prevent such unnecessary and costly headaches.

November 23, 2013 - Governing

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has become the country's first transit agency to receive Federal Transit Administration (FTA) approval to apply for its new “core capacity” grants. The funds would be used to upgrade Red and Purple Line service.

November 20, 2013 - Next City

A nonprofit has converted a former Chicago city bus into a mobile grocery store to bring fresh food to the city's underserved neighborhoods. After stopping operations in August, the service will return with a sustainable business plan this month.

November 18, 2013 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Chicago is America's undisputed leader in using tax increment financing (TIF) to spur economic development. But what is the city getting in exchange for its efforts to fight blight? A new paper says: Not much.

November 15, 2013 - Chicago Magazine

Five years after Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood pioneered participatory budgeting in the United States, the bottom-up budgeting practice is gaining adherents across the country. Can Rogers Park's experiment find success citywide?

November 12, 2013 - Next City

Late last week, Chicago Department of Transportation head Gabe Klein announced that he would be resigning to return to the private sector. During his two and a half years on the job, the city made impressive gains in sustainable transportation.

November 7, 2013 - Chi.Streetsblog

This week, vacancies opened at the top of transportation departments in America's second and third largest cities. Meanwhile, one of the most influential and well respected transportation leaders may soon be out of a job. Let the courtship begin!

November 2, 2013 - Los Angeles Times