A lakefront steel plant on Chicago's South Side that has been abandoned since 1992 is the venue of the Dave Matthew's Caravan July music festival.
The face lift of the 589-acre lot has given residents hope of a resurgence in the former blue-collar community, Steve Johnson reports.
"Where there were once 160 buildings, the only structures left on the property - which covers the lakefront from 79th Street on the north to 87th Street on the south - are massive masonry retaining walls once used to hold raw materials and a former clock house now used by a development company to show off its plans to turn the area into a bustling urban jewel.
"By last week, crews hired by Jam had hauled away 59 tons of material: weeds, wild brush and leftover industrial debris."
"Although it has brought some temporary work to area residents, (Ald. Sandi Jackson, 7th,) and others don't think the concert alone will change things, but what it will do is mark the area on Chicago's map in vivid highlighter, maybe make people notice a location they hadn't before, maybe get them to think about moving into one of the nice new homes that are supposed to start going up next year."
FULL STORY: Dave Matthews Caravan a field of dreams

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations
Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.

Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?

Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.
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.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont