Resilient Chicago: A Plan for Inclusive Growth & a Connected City

Despite all of Chicago’s strengths, the city still faces many challenges. Chicago has long been a destination for those seeking a better life and greater opportunity, from the first non-indigenous settler of the city in the late 18th century, to the millions of individuals from different racial and ethnic backgrounds who have since followed. This rich history of migration and immigration has undoubtedly shaped the character and vibrancy of Chicago’s neighborhoods.

Yet discriminatory practices and policies have caused disparities that disproportionately burden Chicago’s most vulnerable residents. These disparities, which often fall along geographic, racial, and socioeconomic lines, notably exist in the areas of public safety, economic opportunity, educational attainment, and transportation access, among numerous others.

As the result of the strategy development process and to focus the efforts of the Chicago Resilience Strategy, Resilient Chicago, four pressing resilience challenges were identified:

• Reducing disparities between Chicago’s neighborhoods;
• Addressing the root causes of crime and violence;
• Ensuring the provision of critical infrastructure; and,
• Promoting engaged, prepared, and cohesive communities.

Resilient Chicago seeks to address these challenges by creating a more connected city where residents, neighborhoods, institutions, corporations, and government agencies are successfully connected in pursuit of economic opportunity, safety, security, and sustainability for all. Resilient Chicago is organized into three resilience pillars – Strong Neighborhoods, Robust Infrastructure, and Prepared Communities – and establishes 12 goals and 50 actions the city can take to support these pillars.

This Resilience Strategy demonstrates, quite exceptionally, the understanding that urban resilience is not only about effectively preparing and responding to acute, sudden shocks such as flooding and fires, but also, maybe even more importantly, acknowledging and addressing the chronic stresses weakening the fabric and ability of a city to function over time such as racial inequality and lack of social mobility.

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