The project will bring money and visitors to Chicago’s South Side, but the community wants more assurances that the future of residents will be a priority.
Audrey F. Henderson reports on a series of ongoing issues surrounding the Obama Presidential Center, which will be located in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side. The center is expected to generate close to $250 million annually and bring thousands of jobs to the area, but concerns remain about the economic and environmental impacts of the project.
The Obama Foundation has refused to sign a community benefits agreement, but community activists say it is necessary to ensure accountability. Residents are also concerned that plans to close off a major thoroughfare in the park, along with the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected at the center each year, will result in extreme congestion in an area where transportation options are already lacking. In addition, a lawsuit filed by Protect Our Parks challenges the location of the center on parkland and will likely lead to project delays.
Henderson notes that worries about the long-term equity impacts of the project and the city’s geographic inequality are driving the opposition:
In many ways, displacement and gentrification represent the elephants in the room for the Obama Presidential Center. The disparity in income and amenities is significant between much of the south and west sides of the city and the more affluent North Side. Residents of neighborhoods adjacent to the proposed Obama Center fear that they will be priced out of their homes, especially if they are renters, says [Jawanza] Malone.
Still, Henderson says that the center will likely overcome these various challenges, unlike the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which lost its bid to build in Chicago in 2016.
FULL STORY: Will Obama’s Presidential Center Invigorate or Gentrify Chicago’s South Side?
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
How California Transit Agencies are Addressing Rider Harassment
Safety and harassment are commonly cited reasons passengers, particularly women and girls, avoid public transit.
Significant Investments Needed to Protect LA County Residents From Climate Hazards
A new study estimates that LA County must invest billions of dollars before 2040 to protect residents from extreme heat, increasing precipitation, worsening wildfires, rising sea levels, and climate-induced public health threats.
Federal Rule Raises Cost for Oil and Gas Extraction on Public Lands
An update to federal regulations raises minimum bonding to limit orphaned wells and ensure cleanup costs are covered — but it still may not be enough to mitigate the damages caused by oil and gas drilling.
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
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
City of Laramie, Wyoming
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.