When people talk about life in West Chicago, they always mention that the city feels like a small town. What are the secret ingredients that make that true? The place and its people, of course!
Urban fabric refers to the built things in the environment that make a place what it is—like building density, style of housing, sidewalk locations, and the look and feel of business districts. This fabric combines with West Chicago’s diverse people—in individuals, families, businesses, and more—to create the community identity of a welcoming small town in the midst of the suburbs.
West Chicago is also a bit of an island: it is surrounded by forest preserves, the airport, industrial parks, and other land uses that set it off from neighboring suburbs, which adds to its small town character.
What about the land in West Chicago—how is it used? About 39% of West Chicago land is zoned for residential use. Zoning sets the rules about what kinds of businesses and housing can go in certain places, and analyzing zoning can tell us whether we need to make some adjustments to our current rules to help the city keep thriving.
We’ve heard a lot about increasing density in West Chicago.
Being able to increase density has many benefits—creating hustle and bustle and defining a place’s identity are chief among them. Thinking about zoning and density together means we’re thinking a lot about the land West Chicagoans live on top of—how dense is it, or how many people live on each acre of land?
Today West Chicago’s density is less than 1 dwelling unit per acre, half that of DuPage County overall. This means that West Chicago has an opportunity to respond to housing demand and to benefit from increased density in some areas, through both equitable transit-oriented development and multifamily housing.
West Chicago’s transportation advantages are surely obvious to so many residents, with easy access to highways and commercial shopping corridors, freight lines, the Metra, and DuPage Airport. But even with all that connectivity, West Chicago can still be hard to get around, whether because of truck congestion, traffic backups, lack of sidewalks, or pedestrian and bike safety issues.
We’re thinking a lot about ways to improve walkability and connectivity for West Chicagoans. This might look any number of ways, but new gathering spaces that welcome walkers and bikers, capital improvements, and development are often ways to achieve this.
When it comes to development, because of existing land uses like the freight trains, forest preserves, and airport, West Chicago can focus on developing its existing spaces and assets. The city has previously identified certain areas of focus, or priority development areas, and looking at the challenges and opportunities in each one can help us imagine a brighter future. These are
Here are just a few challenges and opportunities that West Chicago should consider in those places.
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The same land uses that limit West Chicago’s development in some ways are huge advantages in others. The surrounding forest preserves, city parks, wetlands, and trail assets make West Chicago a potential conservation leader, as it has already demonstrated in projects like the international Mayor’s Monarch Pledge. However, we have found that access to open space and parks is not equal across the city, and the Illinois Prairie Path is an untapped asset for economic development and connectivity.
West Chicago’s environment and open space make it a potential conservation leader, as it has already demonstrated in projects like the international Mayor’s Monarch Pledge, but the central industrial part of West Chicago remains environmentally vulnerable.
Access to open space and parks is not equal across the city, and the Illinois Prairie Path is an untapped asset for economic development and connectivity
Improvements to roads and sidewalks, and transit improvements and options, can improve mobility and safety while supporting vitality and the city’s identity.