Chicago has long struggled with segregation and great disparities between neighborhoods; to understand what's happening in its property markets, the city must be explored on a neighborhood level.
Chicago's fortunes as a city can be hard to parse. For two years, Cook County has lost more people than any other county in the nation, yet city populations are relatively flat. At the same time, some neighborhoods have seen home values rise at or above the pace set by the nation, while the city as a whole has yet to see its median sale price return to 2008 highs.
Claire Zulkey presents a comprehensive, neighborhood-by-neighborhood guide to trends over the last year and the last decade. While the piece is framed around housing as an investment, an issue that is fraught with complexities, the picture it paints of the city's housing market is clear, detailed and easy to understand.
Read the full story: Where to Buy Now
A ‘shady’ deal: Chicagoans rally against planned Amtrak maintenance facility
The $900 million facility would allow Amtrak to maintain entire trains in one building, which the company says will reduce delays.
Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago
The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.
Extreme heat is paralyzing Chicago’s moveable bridges
If moveable bridges are raised during heatwaves, the metal can expand and jam the bridge's mechanisms, preventing it from lowering.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
NYC DOT wants faster, more permanent street upgrades
The city is examining ways to build more concrete infrastructure without getting entangled in 'decades-long' projects.
'Something we’ve never seen before:' rising utility rates could strain city finances nationwide
Data centers, climate change and other factors have caused utility rates in the United States to increase by 38% since 2020.
Trump to overrule local leaders, lease millions of acres of America’s Pacific Island territories’ seafloors to mining companies
International law says that the Indigenous people of America’s territories have a right to prior and informed consent regarding projects that impact their countries.
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.
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello