Communities

Auburn Gresham
Chicago Lawn
Douglas, Grand Blvd. and
   North Kenwood-Oakland
East Garfield
Englewood
Humboldt Park
Little Village
   (South Lawndale)
Logan Square
North Lawndale
Pilsen (Lower West Side)
South Chicago
Washington Park
West Haven
   (Near West Side)
Woodlawn

The New Communities Program is supported by a major grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Visit our community development blog, Community Beat.

Quality-of-life planning  :  NCP publications  :  Maps and data  :  Image bank  :  Links

Chicago Neighborhood Plans
Adobe Acrobat Document (2.795 MB)

This 2005 document includes summaries of all 14 Quality-of-Life Plans plus essays on the planning process and cross-cutting issues. It is an oversized document best printed on legal-sized paper (8.5 by 14 inches). Set page setup to legal-size and, if necessary, scale the page or check the shrink-to-fit-page option.

Quality-of-Life Planning - Overview
Adobe Acrobat Document (4.909 MB)

This overview of the NCP planning process was presented at the American Planning Association's National Planning Conference on April 24, 2006, in San Antonio, Texas. It was presented by Les Pollock, Camiros, Ltd.; Joel Bookman, LISC/Chicago; Joy Aruguete, Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp.; and Jim Capraro, Greater Southwest Development Corp.

Updated Quality-of-Life Plans
Three communities worked in 2006 and 2007 to update their previous plans.

Pilsen: A Center of Mexican Life
Adobe Acrobat Document (1.754 MB)

South Chicago: Change on the Horizon
Adobe Acrobat Document (5.361 MB)

West Haven: Rising Like the Phoenix
Adobe Acrobat Document (2.187 MB)

Quality-of-Life Plans 2005
Ten new quality-of-life plans were officially released by New Communities Program neighborhoods on May 18, 2005, culminating 18 months of planning that involved more than 3,500 people citywide. Each of the plans is available in Adobe PDF format below. These are large downloads (about 5 MB each), so they may take a while on slower connections. Shorter summaries are also available.

Auburn Gresham: Chicago's Best-Kept Secret | Summary
Adobe Acrobat Document (5.893 MB)

Chicago Southwest: Making Connections | Summary
Adobe Acrobat Document (5.528 MB)

East Garfield Park: Growing a Healthy Community | Summary
Adobe Acrobat Document (4.661 MB)

Englewood: Making a Difference | Summary
Adobe Acrobat Document (5.635 MB)

Humboldt Park: Staking Our Claim | Summary
Adobe Acrobat Document (3.718 MB)

Little Village: Capital of the Mexican Midwest | Summary
Adobe Acrobat Document (4.916 MB)

Logan Square: A Place to Stay, a Place to Grow | Summary
Adobe Acrobat Document (3.294 MB)

North Lawndale: Faith Rewarded | Summary
Adobe Acrobat Document (2.796 MB)

Quad Communities: Connecting Past, Present and Future | Summary
Adobe Acrobat Document (3.909 MB)

Woodlawn: Rebuilding the Village | Summary
Adobe Acrobat Document (5.506 MB)

Earlier Quality-of-Life Plans
Three quality-of-life plans were completed from 2000 to 2002 during the NCP pilot phase, the New Communities Initiative. A fourth, for Washington Park, was completed in 2004. To download these files in Adobe PDF format, click on the name of the community. These are large downloads that may take some time on slower connections.

Pilsen Quality-of-Life Plan
Adobe Acrobat Document (2.56 MB)

South Chicago Quality-of-Life Plan
Adobe Acrobat Document (1.76 MB)

Washington Park: Rebuilding the Neighborhood
Adobe Acrobat Document (4.05 MB)

West Haven Quality-of-Life Plan
Adobe Acrobat Document (2.74 MB)

Planning Handbook
Adobe Acrobat Document (5.90 MB)

This handbook provides a roadmap to the quality-of-life planning process. It provides guidelines for organizing the process, a sample schedule and examples of components that will become part of the plan. Available in PDF here; to purchase printed copies, contact the New Communities Program.

Planning Handbook (Spanish)
Adobe Acrobat Document (2.72 MB)

The handbook is available in a Spanish translation that does not include all graphics from the English version.

Tools and publications

Quality-of-life planning  :  NCP publications  :  Maps and data  :  Image bank  :  Links

New Communities Program

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