News

Following are news stories that feature Kreisman Initiative affiliated faculty, students, and staff:

Decline in Loop Property Values Could Impact Chicago Homeowners

Crain’s Chicago Business, features Christopher R. Berry

All-Affordable Condo Development Offers Middle-Income Families Homes in Heart of the City

WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight,” features Emily Talen

Chicago Considers Six Proposals to Revitalize LaSalle Street

WBEZ’s “Reset,” features Emily Talen

Events

Following are events about housing at the University of Chicago, and beyond:

Understanding Neighborhood Racial Change

November 16

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

The United States is segregated, and racial stratification is a defining feature of American cities. Various types of demographic sorting have created and reinforced patterns of racial segregation. The Economic Mobility Project’s virtual event, Understanding Neighborhood Racial Change, will highlight research showing that households choose neighborhoods based on selected criteria, such as race makeup. Daniel Hartley, senior economist at the Chicago Fed, and his co-authors present a forward-looking model of neighborhood choice in which households hold preferences for neighborhood features, including racial composition, and they find that many households strongly prefer to live in same-race neighborhoods. To provide a more granular analysis of racial residential sorting, Marcus Casey, director of undergraduate studies and associate professor of economics at the University of Illinois Chicago, and his co-authors address the following question: To what extent are households responding to the identities of their new neighbors versus the internal changes in the neighborhood that accompany them? The research presentations will be followed by a panel discussion with Andre Perry, senior fellow at Brookings Metro; Rachael Woldoff, professor of sociology at West Virginia University; Valerie Wilson, director of the Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy; and Ashley Bell, CEO of Ready Life. Stacey Vanek Smith, NPR journalist and former host of The Indicator from Planet Money, will be moderating the panel.

Tax the Rich, End Homelessness?

November 15

Institute of Politics

The student-led event committee Chicago Style presents, Tax the Rich, End Homelessness? Chicago’s New Proposal to Combat Housing Insecurity. Over 68,000 people struggle with homelessness in Chicago — much more than what can be supported by the city’s current resources. A new proposal aims to change that. Featuring Infiniti Gant from Not Me We (an organization of South Shore housing activists), this event on “Bring Chicago Home” will discuss the novel proposal and what it has been like to fight this campaign. Supported by the new administration under Mayor Brandon Johnson, “Bring Chicago Home” would raise the real estate transfer tax for the most expensive properties to fund housing and wraparound services for the homeless population. A perennial problem faced by cities across the US — will a tax hike end homelessness once and for all?

Data Analytics for Community Planning

October 24

Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation

Throughout the year, the Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation will bring leading practitioners to campus to discuss their work. This year, we kick off with Joseph Minicozzi, AICP, founder and principal of Urban3. He will explain and help visualize market dynamics created by tax and land use policies through award winning geospatial analytic tools and graphic story-telling. Minicozzi’s compelling message is that subsidizing sprawling development is not fiscally sustainable. He will share insights about the intersection of data analytics, urban and community planning, and the opportunities for communities to utilize local data to plan for their futures.

Blockbusting and the Challenges Faced by Black Families in Building Wealth through Housing in the Postwar United States

October 17

Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation

Dan Hartley, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, will speak about impacts of blockbusting, i.e. large-scale racial turnover of urban neighborhoods orchestrated by realty professionals using aggressive and discriminatory practices.

Institute of Politics Affordable Housing Challenge

October 15 (registration deadline)

Institute of Politics

The Institute of Politics is hosting its fourth university-wide Affordable Housing Challenge soliciting student-generated policy solutions to solve the affordable housing crisis. Register by October 15, 2023.

Does Every Person Deserve a Safe & Affordable Place To Call Home?

October 10

Kate Brown, former Governor of Oregon

Institute of Politics

The answer is yes. However, the gap between this value and reality is stark. The pandemic placed unparalleled strains on affordable housing supplies and rental assistance and resulted in increased houselessness. Effective leadership at the state level can make a difference. What are the challenges for state and local government? What are the opportunities for public-private partnerships? How did I take this on and what work is left? RSVP