Made in Chicago: Bringing Manufacturing Back to Cities Through Industrial EcoDistricts

Five miles southwest of Chicago’s Loop sit three nearly vacant buildings that were once part of the Central Manufacturing District (CMD), one of the first industrial parks in the country. In their heyday, these three buildings housed tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs, the sort of well paying, blue collar work that is largely a relic of a bygone era. Each building is about a half million square feet, and a freight rail line runs adjacent to the site (though investment would be needed to... Read the rest of this entry »

 

Smart Cargo-Oriented Development Relies on Progressive Public Policies and Smart Business Investments

A Crain’s August 15 article, “This rail yard is bustling, and that’s very good for greater Chicago,” provides an excellent introduction to an important, and often overlooked, segment of the economy. But Chicago’s intermodal freight activity can be even more beneficial than the article suggests, provided that our region capitalizes on our freight transportation assets through a combination of progressive public policies and smart business investments. One of the biggest growth opportunities... Read the rest of this entry »

 

Cutting Pollution through Cargo-Oriented Development

On June 27, the Chicago Tribune published a lead story about air pollution linked to freight transportation. The story cites new research that found higher than average diesel soot pollution near a Chicago-area rail yard. It’s time that railroads and community leaders start seeing the opportunities to transform freight rail from noisy polluter to sustainable urban revitalizer. Intermodal freight rail is arguably becoming the most efficient way to move goods to and from... Read the rest of this entry »

 

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