Conscious Choice: Sensible Growth in Chicagoland

February 2000

Sensible Growth in Chicagoland

MarySue Barrett and the Metropolitan Planning Council

by Bobbye Middendorf

The metropolitan region of Chicago encompasses more that 270 municipalities. It is a big, complex area facing major opportunities and challenges as its anticipated population balloons 25 percent over the next twenty years. In contrast, over the past twenty years, the region has grown by 4 percent. You say you don’t like the pollution, paved-over green space, traffic snarls, and gridlock now? Just wait! On the other hand, under the visionary direction of a group of regional leaders, there may be hope for sensible transportation, housing, jobs, open lands, and infrastructure alternatives during the upcoming period of hyper growth, which in some areas of the region is estimated at upwards of 100 percent.

One of the organizations dedicated to creating a livable Chicago is the Metropolitan Planning Council, a sixty-five-year-old nonprofit organization whose mission is to serve the public interest through the promotion and implementation of sensible planning and development policies necessary for a world-class Chicago region. Under the leadership of MarySue Barrett, one of the area’s most powerful visionaries, the Metropolitan Planning Council is building multiple coalitions for a vital and livable Chicago. It has initiated networks designed to shape policies that enhance the entire region and to support efforts from all quarters to achieve sensible growth.

After seven years of work in the Daley administration, including a stint as chief of policy, Barrett was tapped to head up the Metropolitan Planning Council in April 1996. As president, Barrett has moved aggressively on a mandate to extend the communications and outreach, building on the already-extensive connections that the council maintains. By raising the visibility of the council in the media, with legislators and with business, community, and environmental leaders, Barrett hopes to leverage the accomplishments to date, and to achieve even greater results for the region.

With most of her career spent in the area, including a degree from Northwestern University and experience in the public sector, in both the governmental and nonprofit arenas, Barrett maintains, "I can’t think of a better place to be."

As the Metropolitan Planning Council concludes its sixty-fifth year, Barrett reflects on some of the accomplishments of the organization. "We’ve been there as an architect or contributor to major initiatives, things that have affected the urban and regional landscape dramatically. We were involved in the creation of the Regional Transportation Authority [in 1974], for example." Other milestones of council involvement include: influencing the passage of the Illinois Housing Corporation Act, providing for the establishment of the Chicago Housing Authority in 1937; supporting the Lakefront Protection Ordinance in 1972; initiating an empowerment project for CHA residents in 1985; organizing the Regional Civic Initiative, winning a decade-long fight for recreational and cultural public use of Navy Pier in 1992; and launching Reform‘97: Quality Schools and Economic Growth, a coalition that contributed to the recent enactment of statewide school funding and educational quality legislation.

Transportation Funding Success

In the past couple of years, the Metropolitan Planning Council initiated and strengthened its partnership with the Business Leaders for Transportation. That group offered a unified employers’ voice in support of investment in regional roads and the transit networks. When the Illinois First Transportation Funding Package was passed and signed into law in early 1999, it provided significant resources for addressing road improvements, and traffic gridlock problems, as well as funding for transit infrastructure. "These were significant resources identified for transit from the state. Passage of the package doesn’t mean we have solved all our problems however," says Barrett.

What does the passage of major funding for transportation in northeastern Illinois mean to the region? According to Barrett, "Since 1994, when the prior transportation plan and funding ran out, we have been without a transportation plan. Although the level of funding that passed the legislature in 1999 did not achieve our recommended $7 billion (with $3 billion of that directed to transit), the region did get $5.8 billion in transportation funding over five years."

She continues, "A transportation investment can be used as an opportunity for local municipalities to balance land-use planning. It can be a chance to redevelop, and get it right this time. Or it can be a chance to do it right the first time for those areas where sensible growth planning is something new. The Metropolitan Planning Council is doing what we can to connect transportation and land-use issues. For example, those communities on a Metra stop can look on this as a transportation asset tied to a development opportunity, or transit-oriented development. The community can take advantage of the transit stop to create a mixed-use development." She cites the changes in downtown Chicago as an example. "It’s becoming a twenty-four-hour city, with housing, entertainment, cultural activities, and retail now joining with the daytime business use. There are obvious benefits for both the quality of life and the environment."

The council is working to help local groups recognize the budgetary bonanza they have to work with. She notes, "People are hungry for information. Many communities aren’t aware of what has been funded. Outreach and communication is the first priority. We aim to provide good information to local communities about what is happening on growth issues and on transportation issues."

The Campaign for Sensible Growth

"Because of the growth pattern in northeastern Illinois, we find ourselves in a situation of unplanned growth," observes Barrett. "The Campaign for Sensible Growth is a collaborative effort, from the environmental and conservation communities seeking open lands and green space, from the business and development communities, from municipalities, from community organizations." Spearheaded by the council in conjunction with the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, eight organizations make up a steering committee to guide this coalition seeking balanced growth for the region. The campaign now counts more than eighty organizations signing on to the goals.

According to the Metropolitan Planning Council’s annual report, "Our goals are simple: strengthen the economic competitiveness of northeastern Illinois through smarter use of infrastructure investments and incentives; revitalize and support existing communities; and promote new development that is more walkable, is transit friendly, and preserves natural resources in newly developing areas. The Campaign has built Illinois’ strongest coalition on balanced growth, from which regional leaders can connect to incentive-based strategies."

Barrett speaks of some of the less glamorous issues that come up in relation to these goals. "In the south suburbs, we are working on an intermodal freight plan. At the edges of the region, we are working with the state and regional groups on the EPA process review for extending water and sewer lines. There’s no doubt the process needs streamlining, but without some overall plan and oversight, there’s no incentive for communities to work together. As with all these issues, communities need both technical assistance in conjunction with a unified vision for sensible growth regionally."

Barrett notes, "If economic development is all you look at, you pay a price. All these priorities need to be balanced to achieve quality of life. However, to remain competitive, the region must continue to grow. Growth is a good thing, and brings many positives to the region. That is why we are looking to use incentives to encourage private sector and the development community to enhance quality of life issues by addressing our growth in a planned, sensible way."

She acknowledges that terms like "smart growth" and "sensible growth" are coming into common use by politicians as well as individuals expressing their dissatisfaction with a patchwork of unplanned projects that have led to a sense of sprawl in the metro region. In the last election, then would-be governor Ryan included smart growth issues in his campaign. He has also signed a bill to keep open land in Illinois via the Open Lands Trust.

Strategies pursued by the Metropolitan Planning Council include acknowledging the hunger people have for information, and their interest in connecting with the decisions being made. "The council encourages really basic public education. We plan for small group outreach, and are willing to work with anyone or any group who wants to organize. We also identify the movers and shakers within a community who care about unplanned growth. We encourage them to get involved. When we do the outreach meetings, we share information about the 25 percent growth projections for the region overall, and where we have the particular estimates for a specific area, we share that as well."

She asks, "What do people want? In terms of quality of life issues, things haven’t changed much over the years. People are looking for quality schools, workable transportation, jobs within a reasonable commute. More than an hour commute each way can be a breaking point for people. They are also seeking community assets that make a neighborhood attractive — things like parks, bike paths, open space, walkability. They want a community that works. It takes balance. Quality of life is the end result of balancing many factors."

Because of the growth throughout the region, Barrett emphasizes that different types of development or redevelopment tools come into play, depending on the history of that part of the region. "Redeveloping brownfields and revitalizing traditional neighborhoods require different strategies than what is needed in creating new sensible growth and development at the edge of the region. We always have an eye on issues like accessibility to transit, making it pedestrian-friendly, and including a plan for open space."

Barrett brings up another issue that ties into the sensible growth and redevelopment equation. "There has been an explosion of jobs without the housing or transportation to connect them to people," she observes. There currently exists a mismatch between available affordable housing and available jobs. Through advocacy and education efforts, the council is getting employers to recognize this issue as one that has a profound effect on maintaining a quality work force. She postulates that housing may become the next issue that employers take on, just as a decade ago leading-edge employers addressed the day-care issue for employees.

Building Bridges

According to journalist John McCarron, a twenty-year Chicago Tribune veteran covering urban affairs, now op-ed columnist and member of the editorial board at the Tribune, "MarySue Barrett has a sense of what is needed to make things happen. I see someone who can deal with the state legislature, who can unruffle ruffled feathers to get something to happen legislatively. When the time comes to turn plans into action, she knows how to make that transition."

The Metropolitan Planning Council serves as a bridge between governmental officials, civic and business leaders, and community and environmental groups. "We are actively building a broader network of contacts and expanding our regional presence," says Barrett. In 1999, the council was able to add a north suburban outreach coordinator part time. A similar position is budgeted for the south suburbs in 2000. "There are a huge number of organizations. We are identifying key groups, getting to know their agendas, strengthening our connections with them. We are always looking to add value. We don’t want to take on the responsibility of an established organization, nor an activity that another group is already making a priority. We try to identify the gaps and voids and fill those." Often out of the council’s strong ties with the business community, their efforts succeed in bringing employers and business leaders together in advocacy for the good of the entire region. They complete an important part of the advocacy scenario, especially when combined with other voices that offer the views of community groups, environmental groups, employees, and civic groups.

When asked about the council’s stance on environmental issues, Barrett outlines a charter that is broader, extending well beyond a single issue. "Our most visible activity [relating to this issue] is the Campaign for Sensible Growth. Environmental concerns and priorities are a subtheme of that work. However, if you achieve sensible growth, no matter how, every one of those [outcomes] has a positive environmental by-product. We have long held these values as part of our mission, even as we are strengthening our partnerships with environmental leaders," acknowledges Barrett. "Everyone is trying to get away from the idea that you have to burn a quart of gas to go buy a quart of milk. There’s a lot of support for this in the region. We just need to pursue the right organizing strategies, learn from our successes, and continue to create and seize opportunities."

With major legislative successes in hand and continued local and national economic strength predicted, Barrett sees the opportunity to use the momentum to push ahead. "Now there’s a will and a mechanism to move forward on addressing regional issues. Over the past two years there’s been a groundswell of interest in regional problem-solving. It’s easier to talk about cooperating on regional issues — such things as school funding, clean air, and transportation priorities — because we are not in an us-versus-them situation. The whole region is growing. There is an increasing awareness of the need to act regionally." She cites the Metropolitan Planning Council’s participation in the new regional plan, the Chicago Metropolis 2020 project, as well as the formation of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus. The latter affords an opportunity for the elected officials representing the metro area’s 270 municipalities to present a unified voice to Springfield and Washington, D.C., on the common ground of regional issues.

The work of the Metropolitan Planning Council seems never-ending. Concludes Barrett, "We look to be a constructive force for implementable ideas at the local and state level. We will continue to work on issues related to transportation, housing, and the environment." Regional solidarity seems the best way to go to address the complex issues of this rapidly growing region.

Bobbye Middendorf is an independent writer and artist in Chicago.

Resources

To connect with the Metropolitan Planning Council, call 312-922-5616 or visit their web site.

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