Working Toward a Healed City

Racism and political dynamics have polluted Chicago’s community planning process and resulted in the city’s failure to fulfill civil rights obligations. Remedying the adverse effects of Chicago’s deeply rooted aldermanic prerogative will take time, commitment, and leadership from the City’s administration, elected officials, and neighborhood-level stakeholder groups. 

This report highlights key areas of overlap between incoming Mayor Lightfoot’s agenda and the findings of our previous report, A City Fragmented: How Race, Power, and Aldermanic Prerogative Shape Chicago’s Neighborhoods. This report outlines best practices for incorporating equity into a comprehensive planning process, presents ideas for correcting community input processes developed with housing advocates, and suggests next steps for the administration to ensure all Chicago’s neighborhoods receive the resources necessary to thrive.