Briefings
Chicago’s Current Efforts to Utilize Vacant Lots
In order to reduce the number of vacant lots within the city, Chicago supports multiple programs focused on selling these lots back to the community. All housed under the ChiBlockBuilder Program. This is an application based program to encourage the purchase and development of these vacant lots. It is led by the Chicago Department of…
Transit-Orientated Development
Transit-oriented development (TOD) is a key concept for understanding today’s urban planning landscape. It falls under the broader category of transit-supportive development (TSD), which is the advancement of transport services to the end of encouraging local development. TOD is specifically the simultaneous and reciprocally-supporting development of public transit in tandem with local development, making new…
Chicago Vacant Lots: Policy and Problems
The city of Chicago is home to over 30,000 vacant lots, especially concentrated in the South and West Sides, which have contributed to a variety of economic and social issues. The city owns around 10,000 of these lots, mostly acquired in the 1980s. Chicago’s main response has been in the form of the Large Lots…