After 22 years in office, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley is leaving office. This piece looks back on his mixed impact on the urban design of the city.
Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin reflects on Daley's tenure and the good and bad projects he ushered.
"Daley had longevity and he had luck. His record-setting 22 years in office, one more than his father, allowed him to experiment and to coalesce the power that led to dramatic changes to the cityscape. Like his father, he had the good fortune to govern during good economic times. He rode that wave to strengthen the city's downtown, improve the city's infrastructure and make Chicago work.
But it did not work for everyone.
The city actually lost population during the last decade, the only one of America's 10 largest cities to do so. While Chicago's burnished downtown confirms its status as a world city, other parts of the city are little different from the urban nightmare of Detroit. The blooming tulips on North Michigan Avenue have not stanched the bleeding of people in Englewood, a South Side neighborhood that lost more than 9,500 people (a quarter of its population) in the past ten years."
FULL STORY: Judging Daley's record on architecture and urban design: A great, but flawed, shaper of Chicago's cityscape
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
California Grid Runs on 100% Renewable Energy for Over 9 Hours
The state’s energy grid was entirely powered by clean energy for some portion of the day on 37 out of the last 45 days.
New Forecasting Tool Aims to Reduce Heat-Related Deaths
Two federal agencies launched a new, easy-to-use, color-coded heat warning system that combines meteorological and medical risk factors.
AI Traffic Management Comes to Dallas-Fort Worth
Several Texas cities are using an AI-powered platform called NoTraffic to help manage traffic signals to increase safety and improve traffic flow.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.