Save the date for CMAP launch event
Please join the Chicago Metropolitan  Agency for Planning on February 24 for a fun, open house event where you can learn the new plan's name and -- more importantly -- discuss what you want the plan to accomplish. RSVP required and a government-issued ID is needed to gain entrance to the building.
CMAP is beginning to develop a new comprehensive plan that will be the successor of GO TO 2040. The next plan should build on the previous plan's vision and major policy objectives. In some cases, the plan will explore these prior topics in greater detail, providing more specific and actionable guidance for implementers. The next plan may also emphasize a number of additional topics that were not explored in GO TO 2040. The information below outlines the approach that CMAP will take to developing the new plan, which is slated for adoption in October 2018. As with GO TO 2040, it will again be a highly transparent and collaborative effort involving partners and stakeholders from across the seven counties and 284 communities of northeastern Illinois.
The CMAP offices are ADA accessible. If a member of the public requires a reasonable accommodation in order to attend a meeting or has questions, please contact Berenice Vallecillos ( bvallecillos@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8623) at least five business days before the meeting. For more information on the next regional plan, visit CMAP's project webpage.
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Artplace America's National Creative Placemaking Fund
ArtPlace America provides support through the National Creative Placemaking Fund for projects that lead through the arts, integrate with a community's economic development and revitalization strategies, and have the potential to attract additional support. Successful proposals will: 1) focus on a neighborhood or other geographic community; 2) work on a challenge related to agriculture/food, economic development, education/youth, environment/energy, health, housing, immigration, public safety, transportation, or workforce development; 3) engage artists and arts organizations; and 4) identify metrics to measure progress.
More than $10 million is available to fund projects that work with artists and arts organizations to help build stronger, healthier communities anywhere in the United States. Projects generally receive funding ranging from $50,000-$500,000, which can be used for programming, planning, implementation, capital investments, artist fees, and salaries. Applicants must register with ArtPlace America by February 16, 2016.
For more information on the National Creative Placemaking Fund, visit the program webpage.
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Report highlights factors affecting housing projections
The Urban Land Institute and PwC have released this year's iteration of the Emerging Trends in Real Estate publication. The forecast was compiled through nearly 1500 surveys and over 400 interviews of industry professionals representing property owners, investors, banks, developers, and similar areas of expertise. As in previous editions the publication highlighted a number of trend topics, many of which will be of interest to local observers of the real estate sector.
The report shed some light on the changing attitudes of Millennials towards city versus suburban living. Current location patterns indicate a strong preference for urban residences among Millennials with 46% living in urban centers and 24% residing in suburban areas. However, with many expressing a desire to live in a detached single family home within the next 5 years, it is believed that this divide will begin to narrow. Among those Millennials expected to migrate to suburban communities, their living preferences will be different from those of preceding generations. One economist described the most desirable suburbs among millennials as "diet urban" - communities that blend the features of urban and suburban locations. Such preferred attributes would include suburbs that are accessible to central cities, transit oriented, and have mixed use neighborhoods. A 2015 study noted that Millennials prefer walking to driving by 12%. It also observed that among Millennials that choose to live in the suburbs, 3 out of 4 preferred locations within 20 minutes of the city.
A complete copy of the report is available through the Urban Land Institute's website.
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 Kane County Recycling Notes
The economics of recycling
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Feature photo credit: Midwest Fiber 2013 by Jennifer Jarland
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Kane County is home to one of the region's most robust recycling programs. The Kane County Recycles office maintains, evaluates, improves, and expands opportunities for reuse, recycling and waste diversion in Kane County. The office has recently published a series of articles focused on the benefits of recycling - the first of which emphasizes some of the benefits to the local and national economy.
Billions in Recycling Profits
Even though recycling commodity markets are at an historic low, there is still huge value in recycled metals, glass, paper and plastics. Resource Recycling recently reported on recycling revenues of three of the largest national waste and recycling haulers (one of which is Waste Management), and while it is down significantly from last year, recycling still accounts for much of their revenue. Together, the three companies' recycling businesses brought in $1.19 billion in the first three quarters of 2015, down from the $1.45 billion for the same time frame in 2014. Recycling markets tend to fluctuate over time, so it's a pretty good bet revenues will go up again.
More Economic Benefits of Recycling
Moreover, the recycling industry provides an estimated 471,587 direct and indirect jobs, and is responsible for at least $106 billion in annual economic activity in the U.S. It saves our "waste" from being wasted and therefore conserves precious and limited resources.
Virtually everyone agrees that recycling is a "worthy" effort. It's the right thing to do for the environment, it helps preserve precious natural resources. Ultimately, it's one of the efforts that will prevent us from being buried under mountains of our own waste products.
But fewer people, perhaps, realize that recycling also is "worth it" from an economic standpoint -building revenue, producing jobs and creating value to our local, regional and national economy.
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