A pedestrian crosses an overpass above the CTA tracks and the Eisenhower Expressway as the Chicago skyline looms overhead during the morning rush hour on Oct. 5, 2022.
The city’s glittering downtown expanded in all directions over the decade, with new apartment and office towers sprouting up in surrounding neighborhoods, but areas such as Englewood and many others across the South and West sides fared poorly, researchers from the Washington, D.C.-based think tank found. And there’s no easy explanation for why this happened, and no easy solutions, said Brett Theodos, the lead researcher.
Chicago saw an especially healthy level of investment in the nonresidential sector including offices, manufacturing, warehouses and distribution centers. It ranked ninth among the top 100 cities, with $8,648 per employee invested on average each year. “The needs are real, but Chicago has a lot to build on, and the infrastructure to deploy investment,” he said.