The October opening of a new 1.9-mile stretch of road on Chicago’s Southside anticipates a 40-year master plan for the Lakeside development—600 acres of new development in the middle of one of the country’s largest cities.
The former site of a U.S. Steel manufacturing plant will spend the next 40 years transforming into the Lakeside mixed-use development, reports Steven Vance.
The first sign of the new 600-acre development is the extension of South Lake Shore Drive, in the works for over a decade—even before developer McCaffery Interests and architecture and planning firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill revealed the Lakeside master plan in 2004.
“The $64 million, state and city-funded road now connects to 79th Street at Rainbow Beach Park in the north and crosses the Calumet River with Ewing Avenue in the south. It does more than provide a bypass of residential areas to the west.”
The extension is critical to the success of the first development component of the Lakeside master plan: “South Lake Shore Drive, which connects to Lake Shore Drive via South Shore Drive and Marquette, gives Lakeside the edge it needs to attract retailers to anchor its first phase, called the Market Common.”
FULL STORY: Drive On, Southside

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

Vehicle-related Deaths Drop 29% in Richmond, VA
The seventh year of the city's Vision Zero strategy also cut the number of people killed in alcohol-related crashes by half.

As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.

Texas Safety Advocates Raise Alarm in Advance of Tesla Robotaxi Launch
The company plans to deploy self-driving taxis in Austin with no oversight from state or local transportation agencies.

How to Fund SF’s Muni Without Cutting Service
Three solutions for bridging the San Francisco transit agency’s budget gap without reducing service for transit-dependent riders.

Austin Tests Self-Driving Bus
Autonomous buses could improve bus yard operations for electric fleets, according to CapMetro.
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.
Borough of Carlisle
Smith Gee Studio
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)