Connecting
Communities
The Central Neighborhoods of Chicago
October 24, 2001
Heart and Soul of the Region
The Central Neighborhoods Connecting
Communities summit focused on the area of Chicago
bounded by North Avenue, Pershing Road, Lake
Michigan and the city limits to the west -- the core
of the six-county metropolitan region. Virtually no
community in Central Neighborhoods is immune
from the impacts of daily commuter travel. The
people who make their homes within the central area
have a much more complex transportation network to
contend with than in other areas. Not only must we
concern ourselves with our own travel needs, but
with the needs of several hundred thousands of
people who work in our communities or pass through
on their way to the Central Business District. Many
of our communities were dismembered to build
expressways in the 1950s and 1960s. We benefit
from transit but also contend with an abundance of
viaducts, rail lines and rail or bus maintenance/
storage facilities that pierce our communities.
The Midwest's major business and financial district
sits in the Central Neighborhoods region. The labor
movement has deep and significant roots in this part
of town. Central Neighborhoods were the original
ports-of-entry for a myriad of immigrant groups and
for blacks migrating from the south. Shopping areas
range from the Magnificent Mile, to Maxwell Street,
to the mercados of 18
th
and 26
th
Streets. Even the
community shopping areas generate inbound traffic
as third and fourth generation Americans, tourists
and urban aficionados travel to neighborhoods like
Chinatown, Little Italy or Ukrainian Village to
purchase specialty items
Lakefront parks, museums and sports stadia that are
actively used by the whole Chicago region can
generate crushing amounts of traffic during special
events. The major inland parks (many designed by
Jens Jensen in the early 20th century) and the
boulevard system linking the parks are assets more
commonly used by community members. In addition,
the colleges and universities situated in the Central
area, most of which are commuter schools, attract a
great number of daily travelers.
Housing in Central Neighborhoods ranges from
Hancock Center highrise units, to modest Chicago
cottages, to Victorian mansions, to multi-unit courtyard
buildings. Public housing was once plentiful in the
region. Areas where public housing was once
dominant are being redeveloped as mixed income
communities; replacement housing for all displaced
tenants is as yet a promise, not a reality. Gentrification
is putting increased pressure on a tight housing market.
The steady stream of upper income homeowners into
near-in communities is now radiating out to
communities more distant from downtown. Many new
residents are attracted to our communities by the
walkable neighborhoods, traditional streetscapes and
access to local business and services.
700,000 Residents, 7 Metra Stations
Our Diverse Communities
Central Neighborhoods include a diverse array of
neighborhoods like Pilsen, Streeterville, Austin,
Humboldt Park, McKinley Park, South Lawndale and
Bridgeport. There are communities with a very
distinctive neighborhood character and communities
with great diversity. Our summit was equally diverse
and included representatives of the disabled
community and non-English speakers (translation was
provided).* On average, households in the Chicago
Cenral Neighborhoods had less than one car per
family. Our three most frequent modes of travel are
transit, bicycle and walking (in rank order). Of the
completed surveys (see footnote) only four of us
indicated children under 14 were in the home; in all
households children walked to school all or most of
the time (one was driven sometimes). On average, we
do five errands a week on foot, in addition to walking
to transit stops and stations. Given a range of choices
for improving transportation in this part of the region,
we would focus on public transportation and bicycle
and pedestrian travel.
Challenges and Solutions
Increase Economic Development Through
Transportation Investment
In spite of the fact that there about 900,000 jobs in our
part of the region, we feel strongly that economic
development that benefits our communities has not
been maximized. The areas around transit stations
could generate additional jobs and economic activity
for the neighborhoods, with appropriate planning.
The "Main Streets" of our neighborhoods need to be
enhanced or resurrected. Infill development would
bring new opportunities, both for jobs and residential
growth. Incentives that build on existing assets like
fully-developed infrastructure should be used to
encourage job creation in the city. New development
should cater to walkers rather than to cars.
The bias toward accommodating cars in the city's
zoning regulations should give way to a preference for
land uses that generate jobs, rather than storing cars.
Large parking lots destroy the walkable character of
our communities. The real costs of parking should be
paid by the users; in other words, free parking should
be discouraged in our communities (except for
handicapped parking). In cases where car parking lots
are necessary, build multi-story, mixed-use
stuructures.
Efficient Public Transportation is Key
All major CTA and Metra lines crosscut our
neighborhoods, leaving us with the drawbacks of dark
viaducts and noisy rail yards. Some of the
infrastructure most critical to our communities, like
the Blue Line Douglas Branch, has deteriorated to the
point where service is seriously impacted. In spite of
the fact that almost 700,000 people live in our
communities, there are only seven Metra stations
outside the central business district; three of those are
on the Metra Electric Line, providing access to tourist/
conventioneer destinations like the Lake and
McCormick Place. Access to employment in job-rich
suburbs ranges from difficult to impossible. We have
a strong perception that working class and minority
communities are less well served by transit than more
affluent communities.
Transit use could be greatly increased among our
neighbors. Our access to cultural institutions like the
Museum Campus is difficult from some locations,
particularly from south-central areas. While we would
like to see expanded service on the whole system, we
were almost twice as likely to identify east-west bus
routes that need increased frequency as north-south
routes. Giving buses exclusive use of lanes would
make transit more efficient.
*Because the paper and pencil survey administered was not available in Spanish, the results are somewhat different than verbally
reported information. For example, based on written responses, it appears that average household size is only 1.7 persons. The
mono-lingual Spanish speakers all described themselves during the summit as having children and may have somewhat larger
households than the average calculated here.
We are perturbed by buses that are infrequent or do not
run at night and by frequent "bus bunching." Sometimes
bus drivers are disrespectful, shutting their doors on
riders or not stopping near the bus stop, especially in
winter when travel is more difficult. We notice that the
quality and maintenance of transit equipment is
substandard. We would like to see the trolley service
that is available downtown made available in our
communities, as well as expanded shuttle bus service to
job centers. Alternative fuel vehicles should replace
diesel buses.
The long-neglected Douglas Line rehabilitation has
finally begun, but other opportunities to expand rapid
transit for the hundreds of thousands who start their
journeys in our communities remain on the back burner.
The west-side leg of the Green Line has a new station at
Garfield Park, but there are still several stretches of one
to one-and-a-half miles with no stops. We strongly
support a north-south CTA line that would link the Red
Line, Green Line, Orange Line and Blue Line without
requiring a trip all the way downtown, providing better
access to suburban job centers.
Transit is an asset to all of us, but especially to seniors
and children. The independence of the oldest and
youngest populations makes our communities uniquely
and universally navigable, even as the rest of America
becomes more and more auto-dependent. Paratransit,
hydraulic lifts, closer coordination with schools and
other assistance will increase transit access.
Enhance the Walkability of Our Communities
Walkable communities are among our greatest assets.
Generous sidewalks are inexpensive investments that
promote public health, community cohesion and
community economic development. We would
maximize these assets by revamping all sidewalks to
meet the requirements of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (making walking easier for seniors and
parents with strollers too). Benches, tables, bus shelters
and other street furniture are essential components of
"livable communities" and will encourage walking at
very little cost. Children should have safe and
comfortable access to schools. The most efficient
independent mode of transportation available to childern
is walking and it should be supported and encouraged.
Traffic calming devices that are aesthetically pleasing
should be part of the solution to high volume, high
speed traffic.
Safe walking requires changes to the roadways too.
Improved pedestrian signal timing, better lighting, and
pro-active enforcement of pedestrian rights are all
essential to maintaining and increasing walkability in
our communities. The city must reverse the practice of
businesses and city crews that dump snow on sidewalks
when streets are cleared. Sidewalk access to bus stops
should be given priority by snow removal crews.
Bikes are Better
Bike use expanded rapidly as the city has provided a lot
of bike racks and a relatively small number of
designated, safe routes over the last decade. Cycling is
probably more prevalent in our area of the region than
anywhere else because of the number of destinations
under five miles that can be reached by bike.
Investment in bicycle infrastructure should be
dramatically increased and include many more safe
routes, strengthened sanctions against threatening or
careless car drivers, expanded bikes on transit
(specifically on Metra and on CTA buses), and bikes
available for the use of the general public. Right-of-
way under elevated CTA lines should be considered for
bike routes. Transit centers and other destinations
should include secured, sheltered bike storage.
"Car Free Villages"
Some of us recommended expanding on the natural
assets of our communities and creating two "Car Free
Exemplary Communities." These would be areas
closed to cars but with infrastructure suitable to
pedestrian, bicycle, shuttle bus, CTA, and emergency
vehicle travel. Temporary parking lots at the outskirts
of the "village" would be available. Landscaping
improvements and playgrounds would draw people
onto pedestrian boulevards (formerly known as streets).
A mix of residential and commercial uses would assure
the availability of a wide range of local products and
services, as well as a healthy market for those
businesses.
Our Vision for Our Communities
In determining what the future holds, we put a very high
priority on better access to jobs, especially the jobs that left
our communities for the suburbs. We see a strong
relationship between preserving our environment, having
safe and convenient travel options, and community economic
development. We would like to see the public involved more
in local and regional planning; the official planning groups
would benefit from hearing our strong support for rebuilding
our existing, walkable neighborhoods with a local mix of
housing, jobs and services near transit.
We want the rest of the region to understand our communities
not as places to "get through" as they travel to work in the
Loop or to play at the Lakefront, but as historic communities
that embody the best features of urban design and community
cohesion. Future decisions about open space, housing,
The Chicago-Central Connecting Communities summit participants came as individuals and as
members of groups. The people who helped plan the summit came from the following groups:
Bethel New Life
Blue Line Transit Task Force
The Citizen Transportation Plan is a project of the Chicagoland Transportation and Air
Quality Commission, part of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, 2125 W. North Ave.,
Chicago, IL 60647, 773-278-4800, ext. 2030. Visit us on the web at www.cnt.org/2030.
Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization
Interreligious Sustainability Project
League of Women Voters of Illinois
Metro Seniors in Action
Metropolitan Planning Council
Mid America Institute on Poverty
Sierra Club
Sustain
Connecting Communities Regional Partners
Business and Professional People for the Public Interest
Chicago Design Consortium
Chicago Metropolis 2020
Chicago Rehab Network
Chicagoland Bicycle Federation
Citizen Action-Illinois
Council for Disability Rights
Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest
Friends of the Chicago River
Westside Health Authority
Westtown Leadership United
Recommendations
Transit-oriented development promotes economic development and a high quality of life.
Encourage more
transit-oriented development, especially in disinvested areas. Economic development should promote pedestrian
access, as a complement to transit accessibility. Maximize the use of vacant land for purposes that generate
healthy tax revenues and create good paying jobs, rather than using land for parking. Create incentives for infill
development and re-use existing infrastructure.
Efficient public transportation is essential.
Increase transit access from Central Neighborhoods to outlying job
centers. Improve the quality of existing transit service to make transit a pleasurable experience. Transit
investment like the Douglas rehabilitation program, additional Green Line stations, and the Mid-City Transitway
will pay big dividends because of the large number of transit users in our communities. Improve transit
maintenance, accessibility, and convenience for all, but especially for seniors, students and the disabled. Bus
routes that we would like to see improved include, but are not limited to, Ashland and Chicago Avenues. We
suggest a policy goal for the region: meet basic public transit needs before adding any more road vehicle capacity.
Invest in pedestrians.
Vigorously promote more pedestrian travel by providing sidewalks that are ample, smooth
and ramped at intersections. Create inviting urban spaces by the addition of benches, tables, bus shelters, plazas
and pocket parks. Reclaim urban streetscapes for pedestrians by maximizing sidewalk widths and changing
roadway construction to slow automotive traffic. Vigorously enforce traffic laws so that pedestrians regain the
right-of-way over vehicles that are turning or impeding pedestrian travel. Special consideration should be given to
children, especially when they are travelling to school.
Increase bicycling options.
We have come a long way in promoting bicycling in Chicago, but our progress is
evidence of the potential for even more significant payoffs from relatively modest investments, like increased
signage, increased bike parking (especially in car parking areas, rather than interfering with pedestrians). Make
sure that all destinations are accessible by bicycle. Completing the link between transit use and biking is essential
to provide a full-service biking environment. Car drivers must be compelled to respect the rights of cyclists as
well as pedestrians.
A new model for Chicago.
Create model "Car-Free Villages" (there is an existing two-block stretch on
Sunnyside, between Beacon and Magnolia, which already serves as a local forerunner for this concept). Provide
appropriate infrastructure to communities wanting to reclaim their streets for pedestrian or bicycle travel, for
recreational uses and for community courtyards. Use the new land once used for parking and automobile
infrastructure for increased greenery and playgrounds. Provide frequent shuttle bus service to transit and the
"Main Street" of that community. Offer temporary parking on the periphery of the village as people adjust to
using other modes.