Chicago Loop Alliance

Reps from CDOT, Cook County, and Active Trans participated in the "Mobility as a Service" discussion, part of the Chicago Loop Alliance's Downtown Future Series.

At the Chicago Loop Alliance’s annual meeting last week, former transportation commission Gabe Klein discussed how he was able to apply private sector strategies to city government in order to quickly launch several major sustainable transportation projects during his 2.5-year tenure. He also talked about the general trend towards more efficient urban living, including transit-oriented development and the shared economy, fueled by new technologies.

Once again, the Chicago Loop Alliance is rolling out a full slate of placemaking initiatives in an effort to boost downtown retail and promote the arts. The centerpiece of the campaign is Activate, a series of pop-up art parties held in alleys, which the downtown chamber of commerce says led to hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional sales at local businesses. This year’s happenings will take place on May 15, June 12, July 30, August 27, September 18, and October 16 from 5-10 p.m., with specific locations announced the month before on the Activate website.

The Chicago Loop Alliance’s ambitious program of 2014 placemaking projects is drawing to a close. Last Thursday, the group hosted a vibrant arts event in a Loop alley, inspired by the sights and sounds of a Manila marketplace. This was scheduled to be the last of the monthly "Activate" series, which transforms downtown passageways into buzzing art parties. However, due to the popularity of the program, the CLA is throwing one more Halloween-themed shindig, on Thursday, October 30, from 5:30 to 10 p.m. in the Auditorium Theater’s alley, 412 South Michigan.

Despite the dreary weather, two of the Chicago Loop Alliance’s new placemaking initiatives, the activation of Pritzker Park, located at Jackson and Van Buren, and the #CitySeats pop-up seating program, started off with a bang today. A lunchtime celebration of the park’s new café tables drew scores of people, who enjoyed free coffee, savory pies from Bridgeport Pasty’s mini electric food truck, and the sounds of March Forth, a raucous circus-punk marching band featuring dancing stilt walkers.

The Chicago Loop Alliance, one of downtown's chambers of commerce, has announced details about its ambitious slate of summer placemaking campaigns. These include monthly “Activate” arts events held in alleys, the Gateway People Plaza on State Street, new amenities for Pritzker Park, and pop-up lunchtime seating throughout downtown. CLA expects to spend $135,000 on placemaking projects this year, from special service area funds and corporate sponsorships.

Last year the Chicago Loop Alliance, one of the downtown chambers of commerce, rolled out several successful placemaking campaigns, activating underused public spaces in an effort to make the central business district a better place for people to hang out, relax and socialize. These included the Pop-Up Art Loop program, which turns empty storefronts into temporary galleries, the Gateway seating area in the median of State at Wacker, and Activate Couch Place, an arts event held in the eponymous alley.

Chicago's 1,900-mile alley system is one of our most important transportation networks and not something to take for granted. In New York City, for example, alleys are scarce. In Chicago neighborhoods, these passageways provide access for shortcuts, garbage collection and the odd pickup basketball game or garage sale. Downtown, they're useful for garbage, deliveries and savvy bike messengers.

[This piece also ran in Checkerboard City, John Greenfield's column in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets on Wednesday evenings.]