The Metropolitan Initiative Forum for the Chicago Metropolitan Region.
Where is the Daniel Burnham for the 21st Century?
When Burnham offered a vision for Chicago early in the 1900s, it became a road map for the region.
"It was a soul shining vision of what could be... [and] it looked the problems of his time directly in the face," said Elmer Johnson, director of the Metropolis Project of the Commercial Club. As a result, "for the next 20 years, it became their guide for action."
But Chicago has outgrown the issues of Burnham's day. The city of big shoulders is bigger and broader. Its arms now extended into neighboring counties and states. And the problems such as poverty, housing, transportation, pollution, race and jobs are complex open wounds that must be dressed before those shoulders can turn and face the future.
It was with the hope of crafting this focus that nearly 70 area planners, academics and leaders such as Johnson came together on May 12 at the Mid-America Club.
It seemed like a lot of talk.
Indeed, it was--four hours worth of talking.
And the result? A commitment for more talking. But more than just talk, this was a key conversation and a first step toward finding a common language to be able to craft a modern "guide for action" to ensure the region a cohesive future, eliminate redundancy and fully utilize the area's resources and potential.
The forum for the Chicago Metropolitan Region was one of a dozen organized across the country by the Center for Neighborhood Technology as part of "The Metropolitan Initiative: Learning Sustainability, Region by Region."
The initiative, sponsored by the John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Metropolitan Planning Council and The Metropolis Project of The Commercial Club, was intended to spur these cross-country conversations to recraft the relationship between the federal government, states and the metropolitan area.
The federal government contributes between 15 to 20 percent of each region's economy and that area should have a say in the creative use of those monies.
Then, not only could each region be better equipped to address its long-term problems but each could also learn from the others. The forums will be completed by June and after a national meeting of the regional participants tentatively set for July, a list of recommendations will be sent to the federal government.
"The complex urban issues can only be solved if we think of them in a regional context," said Adele Simmons, president of the MacArthur Foundation, in opening the program. "Think of this as a participatory process for us to hear from you--what you are struggling with," said MarySue Barrett, president of the Metropolitan Planning Council. But, she added, this forum was also designed to add another voice. "Too easily we forget another partner that should be at the table--the federal government."
Too often, the federal government in language and law has not yet fully recognized the growth of cities into regional areas.
"[But] the fundamental fact that there is a need to think regionally and beyond is coming to be accepted nationally and that is a very good development," said Frank E. Kruesi, assistant secretary for transportation policy, U.S. Department of Transportation.
This thinking was evidenced in those who attended. The federal government was well represented with: Martin A. Spitzer, executive director of the President's Council on Sustainable Development; Dr. Marc A. Weiss, special assistant to the Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Adela Backiel, director of sustainable development and senior advisor U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and Kruesi.
For the most part, the federal officials agreed that this was a time for them to listen and learn. But Spitzer reminded the group some of the goals of his council, created by President Clinton in 1993. Among the things that must grow for a region to sustain itself: jobs, productivity, wages, capital, savings, profits, information and knowledge. But equally crucial to the mix, he added, are the things that must not grow: poverty, waste and pollution.
Scott Bernstein, director of The Center for Neighborhood Technology, explained, "What we need is to find a way to come to grips with two connect-the-dot enterprises in Washington D.C. and here." The ground rules for discussion were simple, Bernstein said. "One, suspension of disbelief," he said, so all sides could see clearly what could be achieved with cooperation. "And two, It can't be about asking Congress for more money. We must make do with what we have got."
To provide a starting point, Julia Parzen of J.P. Consulting wrote a 15-page briefing paper for the session. In it, she defined the region, its history, governmental structures, economy, ecology and societal patterns.
In the next 20 years, the region faces a phenomenal escalation of growth. In the 20 years from 1970 to 1990, the population grew 4 percent --and another 4 percent was added between 1990 and 1995 alone, Parzen wrote.
The region is more than just Cook County and the collar counties, she continued. If it is defined according to commuting patterns, then it includes nine counties in Illinois, three in Indiana and extends north to Kenosha, Wisc. And the regional issues to be addressed, Parzen wrote, include: "job creation and competitiveness; skills and training; poverty; housing costs and match between jobs and housing; local government fiscal capacity; educational quality; infrastructure budgeting; congestion; pollution; preservation of farmland and open space; and capacity to act as a region to address regional issues."
"We have a lot of issues but there is a lot going on," Parzen said in presenting an overview of the report. "The question is how do we make more happen?"
To that end, the discussion was divided into several areas: What works with regional cooperation, what works against it and what is the federal government doing--right or wrong.
Barrett first instructed the group to look for role models, what already works. For example, compared to many other areas, this region fared well during recent economic slumps. "Were we lucky as a region or were we good?" said Barrett. "Basically, a little bit of both. That is the theme I would like to explore."
Ted Wysocki, of CANDO--the Chicago Association of Neighborhood Development Organizations--and Tim Brown of Clean Sites explained the Brownfields redevelopment projects funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have been successful in both Chicago and Northwest Indiana.
"Brownfields are an issue all across the country," said Brown. "The federal government, the state government and many of the key players have been involved. So the barriers have been addressed."
Another example of success was the change to federal highway spending, which resulted in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act in 1991. ISTEA allowed local communities the opportunity to use the federal money for what makes sense locally.
Kole Williams reported that the federal government had been effective locally in promoting open housing by linking it to Community Block Grants. Cook County has required that communities seeking block grant funds present an open housing plan and, when they haven't delivered, have cut off the funds. In contrast, the recent Presidential Executive Order on Open Housing has had no impact, as it did not succeed in solving the fragmentation among federal agencies.
Wim Wiewel of the University of Illinois at Chicago recommended the adoption
of a point system in the working of federal contracts, where additional points are given to proposals that provide--or come out of--efforts at metropolitan cooperation.
"ISTEA reorganized regional areas, mandated that planning be done by region," said Jacky Grimshaw of the Center for Neighborhood Technology. "What ISTEA has done is to say that transportation is connected to air quality and connected to land development," said Philip Peters, executive director of the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission. "Here's three issues that have been brought together with federal reorganization. It gives a model of how to work."
ISTEA has forced regions to cooperate and coordinate. ISTEA is up for reauthorization this year, Kruesi pointed out, which will mean a discussion of more than $185 billion in funds for the next six years.
"The section 42 tax credit has been the most important vehicle to bring money into the housing market," said Mary White of the Bank of America. "Creating wealth in our neighborhoods, there is no better way than through the individual homeowner."
What does not work?
The list was longer.
"The mismatch between housing and jobs," said Thomas Forman of the Chicago Association of Planners and Architects. "We need a greater cohesiveness in terms of
models. It comes down to the issue of political strategy and political will. And I think the issue of race has to be brought in if we are really going to deal with this."
"Growth has gone beyond the collar counties and is indeed sapping the energies of the city itself," said Joyce O'Keefe of the Open Lands Project. "I think we can't be too traditional and I think the issue of farmland protection becomes key."
Elmer Johnson cited three impediments to regional cooperation: property tax systems that induce people to think locally, zoning and building codes and fragmented governmental systems.
Funding is often fragmented among different governmental bodies. And sharing of information between areas has gotten much more difficult since newspapers are putting more emphasis on zoned news coverage.
"That hardly knits one region together," said Barrett.
Another problem is the growing gap between the rich and the poor. "We're getting an increasing understanding that growing inequalities are not conducive to economic growth," said Simmons.
And often, obstacles can come from the agencies originally set up to bring about change. "There is increased competition between not-for-profits for dwindling resources," said Laura Washington, publisher of The Chicago Reporter. Marie Leaner,
consultant to the Center for Neighborhood Technology, pointed to a gap in language. "People in the sustainability arena do not speak the same language as the general public," she said. "If we are going to advocate for a variety of arenas coming to the table to engage in collaborative regional planning, we're obliged to develop ways to communicate, across the jargon, in order to address interdependent issues and problems."
Then, there is the federal government.
What, it was asked, does it do wrong?
"The role of the federal government is to provide information... and then really to get out of the way, " said Robert Weissbourd, board chairman of CNT and a Shorebank vice president. "We need to get better information and better ways to translate that for our groups."
"The scenario that I think the federal government has not been discussing is fair housing. . . block busting and redlining in the regional area," said Mike Kruglik of the Alliance of Congregations.
"A potential federal role here is to provide the information that allows us to see when our communities have joint stakes," said Bernstein.
Rosanna Marquez, director of programs in Mayor Daley's office, said when the federal government steps into a cooperative role as in the brownfields projects they were able to coordinate and oversee. And often in a federal initiative, the federal government's presence can move a project along.
"With the Empowerment Zone Initiative, something that Mayor Daley has been very active in, we sought the appointment of someone here with the authority to interpret regulations," said Marquez, adding that the appointment never happened.
There is another dilemma. "Federal programs are being dissolved to the states," said Kale Williams of the Loyola University Center for Urban Research and Learning, even as areas are finding it necessary to operate as regions across state lines.
It seemed like a laundry list of problems.
Those attending agreed to continue the conversation. But how best to focus and further it?
"One of the factors missing here is the state factor," said Jerry Butler, Cook County Commissioner. "Most of us are creatures of the state. . . without that piece sitting at the table, it is difficult to come to any conclusions."
"We also need representatives from communities and CEOs," said Mary Gonzalez, Metropolitan Alliance of Congregations.
Linda Bolte of the Chicago Area Transportation Study said business leaders and more elected officials were needed. "If you don't have some of those groups who are making the decisions. . . then you have missed the boat."
"What kind of discussion would add value? A lot of stuff has been said here but we are all over the map," said Marquez, adding it might be more useful to break into smaller groups, each discussing a specific question.
The federal voices encouraged another meeting and more work on developing a regional vision.
"This is important for a lot of reasons," said Kruesi. " There has been a lot of very good work done here. The papers that were presented were provocative . . . some were dead wrong and I would have liked to have seen some more discussion.
"But there is a framework that has been developed."
"These forums have direct impact for setting our agenda for the next two years," said Spitzer. "We can talk in Washington among ourselves but the pressure for change always comes from outside Washington."
It would help though if the next step would include "thinking in more concrete terms what can we do to really make things change and make a change in how the federal government, the state government and the local government can work together," said Backiel.
Johnson suggested that if the group could "have before us a draft plan of what these challenges are, those by modern social conditions . . . . And we would use that draft as the basis for the next forum."
"This is not an easy conversation," said Bernstein. "To have it has never been easy..... But we're interested in keeping the conversation going. It might be a question of getting the right people to the table but there are ideas here in progress that we can affect the shape of--and it seems there are a number of opportunities."