Project Board
Keep an eye on our 🏗 Project Board for real time info on what we're working on and where we need help.
The Spookiest Happy Hour of the Year 🎃
Head on down to the spooky shores of Bubbly Creek for some bubbly drinks at this month's happy hour! The Zombie Zoning Committee has approved our request for a Halloween Party Overlay District for Marz Community Brewing Company beginning Thursday, October 31st @ 5:30 PM.
If you're heading to Marz from downtown, we suggest taking the CTA Red Line or Green Line and transferring to CTA bus route 35. Marz is also a short walk from CTA bus route 9 (Ashland). Costumes are optional but encouraged!
RSVP for our Halloween Happy Hour
More homes are coming to Western Ave!
On October 8th, the Zoning Committee approved upzoning the entirety of Western Avenue in Wards 40, 47, and 49 to B3-3 zoning. This is a monumental moment for Chicago housing politics; for the first time in recent history, alders are updating a corridor with a patchwork of low-density, car-centric zoning classifications to a single pro-housing zoning designation. This means that developers can build abundant housing as-of-right instead of having to litigate each new development's rezoning, a process with a history of corruption.
Importantly, the Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO) still applies to the upzoned parcels, meaning that 20% of all new homes need to be rented or sold at affordable rates.
You may have noticed that one Ward is notably absent from the rezoning initiative: Ward 50. As part of our effort to rezone the entirety of Western Avenue to support abundant housing, Urban Environmentalists has launched a letter campaign urging Ald. Silverstein to join Alders Vasquez, Martin, and Hadden in rezoning Western Ave.'s 50th Ward segment to B3-3 zoning.
Send a letter to Ald. Silverstein supporting Western upzoning!
It's time to allow four-flats citywide 🏘️
Rezoning specific corridors is great, but our housing crisis requires citywide action. That's why we're excited to launch our latest petition urging Chicago City Council to support missing middle housing by allowing four-flats to be built citywide. We recognize that this is our most ambitious initiative yet, so we're teaming up with our friends at Strong Towns Chicago to tackle this critically important policy reform.
The loss of two, three, and four-flats in Chicago plays a major role in the ongoing displacement of low-income residents in gentrifying neighborhoods, as well as the ongoing disinvestment in low-income neighborhoods, where older multi-unit structure are often demolished and the lots are left vacant.
According to the Institute for Housing Studies, since 2013, Chicago has lost more than 4,800 2 to 4 unit buildings representing 11,775 rental and owner-occupied housing units or 4.2 percent of its stock of parcels and housing units.
Our long term goal is to get 4,000 supporters of four-flats citywide. Please add your support and share the petition far and wide.
Tell Chicago City Council you support four-flats citywide!
Evanston housing in the news
We often receive feedback that publishing op-eds is one of the most effective strategies for achieving our policy goals, so we're excited to extend our publishing streak another month! This month, the honors go to UE member Naqiy for his guest essay in the Evanston RoundTable. Naqiy's article connects Former President Barack Obama's call to action to build new homes to the Envision Evanston 2045 comprehensive plan update.
"By combining ample investments in sustainable transportation with walkable mixed-use development, we can begin to build a better future."
What else have we been up to?
- On October 7th, over three dozen UE members turned out for the Broadway rezoning meeting in Uptown. Hosted by Chicago DPD and the 46th, 47th, and 48th Wards, community members were given an opportunity to support abundant housing on Broadway between Devon and Montrose. This corridor is directly adjacent to the CTA Red and Purple Lines, making it a prime candidate for new housing.
- On October 10th, UE members attended a 4th Ward community meeting in Bronzeville to discuss developing thirty city-owned parcels into ETOD.