Benchmarking Inclusive, Equitable Economic Growth w/Metro. Planning Council

Benchmarking Inclusive, Equitable Economic Growth: Chicagoland is blessed with tremendous human capital, abundant natural resources, and world-class institutions. Unfortunately, Chicago’s wealth, along with many other indicators of quality of life, is inequitably allocated.

MPC’s Cost of Segregation report found that Chicago is the 5thmost segregated region of the country, a reality that impacts nearly every facet of life. In order for this to change, and for the region to grow in an equitable fashion, our region needs a common set of goals and indicators. We know that the region ranks 53rd in labor market access with only 23% of commuters able to reach employment in under 90 minutes (Illinois Department of Economic Security, 2017). More than half of Chicago’s renters are now cost burdened by housing, spending more than 30% of their income on housing. In Chicago, rents are increasing far faster than wages. Among the 500 largest cities in the country, Chicago suffers the largest gap in life expectancy with a 30-year gap between Streeterville and Englewood (NYU School of Medicine, 2019). MPC will be convening stakeholders across the city and region to build a shared understanding of the best approaches to equitable growth, and the best indicators of progress. The project will use data across domains to help benchmark progress on inclusive, equitable growth years into the future.

Come hear Dan Cooper, Metropolitan Planning Council's Director of Research on Wednesday, December 4th at the Microsoft Technology Center Chicago! For easy access to the facility, please sign up with first and last name.

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