Chicago's Metropolis Plan Released

The Metropolis Plan is one ofthe most ambitious NGO-led regional plans ever created. The Urban Network that Peter Calthorpe proposed last year was devised as part of the transportation recommendations for the Metropolis Plan -- essentially, the plan recommended a network of arterials, boulevards,freight roads, and expressways. The arterials would break into coupletswhen entering towns. Apparently, the Urban Network didn't make the final cut: the Metropolis Plan documents recommend a new emphasis on improving arterials and boulevards' performance for transit and non-motorized modes (ironic, since theyreused the MPO/DOT's "Strategic Regional Arterials" map, and the DOT's designstandards bar walkable design) and enhancing street connectivity, butdon't mention the arterial couplets. Something else of note: one appendix (Appendix 2, "Modeling," pages 27-36) includes a detailed discussion of the "development types" (remarkablysimiler to Transect zones) which underlied many of the plan's assumptions. By redistributing more of the projected new households or jobs to more urban "development types," the plan was able to achieve significantly betteroutcomes than the business as usual scenario. [Editor's note: Special thanks to Payton Chung for the outstanding summary.]

Thanks to Payton Chung