2025 Kreisman Initiative Housing Challenge Symposium

May 15, 2025

The 2025 Kreisman Initiative Housing Challenge Symposium brought together innovative minds and passionate advocates to address one of the most pressing challenges facing our city: the severe shortage of affordable housing in Chicago.

Hosted by the Kreisman Initiative for Housing Law and Policy, the symposium marked the culmination of the inaugural Kreisman Initiative Housing Challenge (KIHC), a groundbreaking competition aimed at inspiring actionable solutions to create 126,125 affordable rental homes in Chicago over the next 3-5 years.

Beginning in January, University of Chicago students—both graduate and undergraduate—were invited to develop comprehensive proposals addressing this ambitious goal. Teams were challenged to craft solutions grounded in funding strategy, planning and design, and community engagement, addressing the critical shortage identified by a recent report from Housing Action Illinois and the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC).

With a $5,000 prize on the line, finalists worked tirelessly to prepare their proposals. The exceptional finalist teams presented their visions during the symposium, sharing innovative ideas to confront the city’s affordable housing crisis.

 

The three finalist teams were:

Reclaiming Space: Using Public Land and Vacancy Taxes to Build and Revitalize Chicago’s Neighborhoods

  • Adam Jensen (Public Policy and Environment, Geography, & Urbanization, The College, 3rd Year)
  • Kelli Lynch (Urban Studies and Public Policy with a minor in French, The College, 3rd Year)
  • Elayna Whiteman (Economics, Human Rights, and Public Policy, The College, 3rd Year)

The 3R’s for Affordable Housing 

  • Prabhdeen Kaur (Masters in Public Policy, The Harris School of Public Policy, 1st Year)
  • Siddha Khatal (Master of Arts in Public Policy with Certificate in Research Methods, The Harris School of Public Policy, 2nd Year)
  • Julian Huang (Computer Science and Math, The College, 1st Year)
  • Jiayu Zhao (Masters in Computational Analysis and Public Policy, The Harris School of Public Policy, 1st Year)

From Shortage to Shelter: The Plan for an Affordable Chicago Rental Market

  • Jeremy Endicott (Masters in Business Adminstration, Booth School of Business, 1st Year)
  • Ryan McCray (Masters in Public Policy, The Harris School of Public Policy, 1st Year)
  • Henry Nieberg (Masters in Business Adminstration, Booth School of Business, 2nd Year)

 

Congratulations to undergraduate students Adam Jensen, Kelli Lynch, and Elayna Whiteman who won the competition with their proposal “Reclaiming Space: Using Public Land and Vacancy Taxes to Build and Revitalize Chicago’s Neighborhoods.” Their plan presented a robust solution including a vacancy tax to be implemented through the city’s Department of Planning and Development. Further congratulations to our the other two finalist teams for their innovative proposals.

Local media outlets including the Chicago Sun-Times and Block Club Chicago covered the event. You can also view the full symposium recordings here.

 

Jury panel members included:

The symposium also included a keynote by Lissette Castañeda, Commissioner, Department of Housing, City of Chicago.

This event fostered bold conversations, collaboration, and momentum toward real change in housing policy and development.