The Future of the Metropolis

In the late 1990s, Elmer Johnson (Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago; The Aspen Institute) recommended that the Academy convene a small group to consider the "future of the metropolis" as a potential academy study. To focus the project, the group suggested that Johnson undertake a comprehensive case study of the city of Chicago and its metropolitan region. In addition to providing a plan for the Chicago area, the goal was to create an informative strategic guide for city leaders in the US and other advanced industrial societies as they wrestle with the urban problems of the 21st century. As such, the case study would provide the basis for broader Academy analyses of the challenges facing metropolitan regions.

The intertwined economic and social objectives of the study were driven by dreams of what the Chicago region could become in the next hundred years. The recommendations set forth in the plan are intended to enhance the economic vibrancy of the city and its surrounding area and to provide the best possible living conditions and equity of opportunity for all its residents. Areas covered by the report include education, transportation, land use and housing, the environment, governance and taxation, economic competitiveness, and race and poverty.

The report, Chicago Metropolis 2020, edited by Elmer Johnson, was published by the University of Chicago Press. The Academy, the Energy Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Chicago Community Trust, and the McCormick Tribune Foundation provided funding for the study and publication.

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