Humboldt Construction Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of a Chicago CDC, has been providing local employment and high-quality work for over 30 years.
In the 1960s, the West Town/Humboldt Park area of Chicago was suffering from arson, abandonment, redlining, and the loss of manufacturing jobs. It was also home to the Northwest Community Organization (NCO), one of several Chicago groups started by legendary community organizer Saul Alinsky and his followers. NCO had been formed to give the residents of the neighborhood a voice on concerns ranging from housing to city services, crime, and education. It had been pushing the city for years to tear down vacant decrepit housing (with some success) and to encourage the development of new affordable housing to take its place (with less success).
Frustrated by its inability to get others to develop in the neighborhood, in 1967 NCO created the Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation, named after an 1800s developer in the area, as “The Housing Arm of NCO.” The prevailing spirit was “No one else is doing right by this community—so let’s redevelop it for ourselves!”
Read the full story: Keeping The Jobs In House
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
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City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
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