Kanye West is renovating his childhood home on the South Side of Chicago, but hasn't always had the permits to do the work until after the fact.
"Kanye West has run into trouble with the city as he renovates the South Side home he grew up in nearly four decades ago," reports Tracy Swartz.
"The city issued a stop-work order in February after it said it found plaster had been removed without a building permit," according to the article. "Work has resumed, though plans for the house are unclear."
It's not the first time Kanye has run afoul of the permitting and approvals process. In 2019, building regulators forced the demolition of several prototypes for utopian housing designed and built by Kanye without permits in Calabasas, California. The Chicago controversy has more humble origins, however. The house where Kanye spent eight years of his youth had fallen into disrepair and foreclosure before Kanye's company bought the property in 2018.
Read the full story: Inside the saga of Kanye West’s childhood home in Chicago
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
California’s ‘unrecognizable’ water plan may go down the drain
After four years of regulatory processes, water agencies say the plan to overhaul how cities and farms take water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has changed dramatically.
Chicago Avenue bridge construction delays enrages city leaders
The bridge has been closed since 2025. The city originally aimed to re-open it in December, and now expects to finish construction in 2027.
NYC bus network redesign speeds up Queens buses
Rush routes have seen a 4.6% speed increase after the redesign.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority