Strengthening Transit Through Community PartnershipsThe Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) wants to transform Chicago’s Central Manufacturing District (CMD) into a food-producing facility. The CMD is a city-owned complex in the near South Side which currently lies nearly vacant. Over 100 years old, the CMD was the first planned manufacturing district in the country, and was once one of the largest manufacturing districts in the entire world, home to over 250 businesses at one point. To those who know that neighborhood, the CMD is mostly known for the 12-story clock tower that stands at its main entrance. Now the CNT has some thoughts on how to return it to some of that glory.
The Center for Neighborhood Technology is a think tank dedicated to research and strategy aimed at making cities more livable and equitable. In late 2015, the CNT brought together 28 though leaders to discuss the future of the CMD and propose actions to the city. The CNT set forth a specific mission for the group: “To revitalize the historic central manufacturing District as a 21st century vertical, green, and urban Industrial park that benefits from its central Chicago location, a dense network of related firms, and transportation cost savings from On-site rail-based freight handling.”