Planning Efforts in Chicago, Illinois: The GO TO 2050 Plan

Planning efforts in Chicago
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Planning Efforts in Chicago
The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is the body responsible for planning efforts in Chicago. The Agency was developed in 2005, and in 2010, it adopted the GO TO 2040 plan to foster transition across different regions in Chicago (CMAP, 2020). The Agency began to develop a successor plan of GO TO 2040 in 2016, and in October 2018, it adopted GO TO 2050. The GO TO 2050 is a long-range plan to help the seven counties and 284 communities located north-eastern Illinois (CMAP principles, 2020). In these counties, the newly developed plan addresses transportation, housing, and economic development.
Using the GO-TO 2050 plan, different counties have different priorities based on their resource plans. For example, Cook County, the largest county in the state, is a hub of business and residents, and its priority plan is to develop and sustain viable communities. The county plans to achieve this mission by fostering economic activities and business development, ensure affordable and fair housing, and support programs that address homelessness (Cook County, 2019). Consequently, Lake County prioritizes excellent and safe transportation to tackle the growing population and transportation (Lake County, 2020). Additionally, Jasper County has a different comprehensive plan highlighting population, economic development, and natural resources as the top three targets. Thus, each county in Chicago has different priorities in terms of development. However, these priorities agree in some areas because the overall goal is the development and improving human life. Moreover, their priority plans have competing goals; for example, when Cook County prioritizes affordable housing, the issue of employment pops up because one has to secure a job to afford a house. Thus, development priorities in various counties differ in one way or the other.
From the discussion above, the priorities of various counties in Chicago converge. They converge because the overall goal of the state is to ensure sustainable and viable economic development. In illustrating this, the above discussed three counties will help. The priority of Cook County is to foster economic activities and foster business development. Consequently, the Lake County prioritizes transport development (Lake County, 2019)....