Establishing an Identity for a Commercial Corridor:
CityLab in Pilsen
Fall 1998
Eighteenth Street Development Corporation (ESDC) and The Resurrection
Project (TRP) requested the City Design Center’s assistance to develop
plans for the 18th Street commercial corridor of Pilsen, a Mexican-American
community on Chicago’s westside. They sought designs and plans for
a plaza that fronts the Resurrection Project offices; identifying markers
for points of entry into Pilsen; designs for new commercial and mixed
uses for several existing properties along 18th Street; and for sites
adjacent to the CTA train station.
The City Design Center coordinated a CityLab studio, in which architecture
and planning students and faculty worked collaboratively with ESDC, TRP,
and Pilsen to evaluate the displacement of current residents and merchants;
safety, parking and traffic congestion; accessibility to existing open
space and lack of sufficient open space; and an internal and external
lack of neighborhood identity. Students proposed reuse of many existing
buildings along 18th Street for commercial, cultural, entertainment, and
residential uses, development of new open spaces, and construction of
neighborhood entry markers. Ismael Guerrero of TRP, was very appreciative
of the students’ contributions: “The students brought a lot
of energy and creativity to the project. It was very helpful to have fresh
ideas and perspectives. Because the students were free to explore all
possibilities, they enabled those of us in the community to also think
outside of the box, and to think on a grander scale than we often allow
ourselves to do.”
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Map of Chicago with project location
Pilsen CityLab students' projects,
elevations of community center.
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Web Site
City Design Center Affiliated Faculty
Tom Forman, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Architecture, and
Associate Director, City Design Center
George Hemmens, Professor, Urban Planning and Policy Program, and Co-Director,
City Design Center
Charles Hoch, Professor, Urban Planning and Policy Program
Phillip Kupritz, Professor, School of Architecture
Katerina Ruedi, Professor, School of Architecture, and Director, School
of Architecture
Collaborating Organizations
Eighteenth Street Development Corporation (ESDC)
The Resurrection Project (TRP)
Funding
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
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