Chicago, IL
Housing | 2026
Identifying housing pressures near a redevelopment project to prevent displacement and advocate for community benefits.
New development can exacerbate displacement pressures on surrounding neighborhoods through increased demand for real estate, potentially leading to higher residential and commercial rents. Residents may not benefit from economic opportunities unless the new development is constructed under binding requirements. In Chicago, the 78 is a planned 62-acre redevelopment project that includes a new soccer stadium, a corporate campus, and thousands of new homes. Seeking a community benefits agreement (CBA) with developers, the CBA for 78 Coalition has formed as an alliance of community organizations and leaders of nearby neighborhoods. The Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, a member of the coalition’s steering committee, will help produce data on the factors influencing displacement risk to combat potential negative impacts of the 78 on residents and businesses.
The Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community will collaborate with the Teen Coalition for Chinatown and the DePaul University Institute for Housing Studies to understand the risk of displacement in the six focus neighborhoods: Chinatown, Pilsen, Bronzeville, Bridgeport, McKinley Park, and Brighton Park. The Teen Coalition, comprised of organizers and youth leaders, will assist the Coalition with resident surveys and focus groups about current housing conditions and perspectives on the stadium project. The Institute for Housing Studies will analyze housing market conditions and how declining affordability might amplify affordability pressures. Integrating the data with community feedback, the partners will publish a report on potential displacement impacts and uplift residents’ visions for their neighborhoods. The team will also produce community fact sheets outlining the risks for each neighborhood and interactive maps hosted on the Landlord Mapper platform.
Through this study, the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community and their partners aim to provide residents and community organizers data to advocate for development that supports residents and local businesses. To bring assets back to the communities surrounding the development, the CBA for 78 Coalition intends to use its findings to inform the demands of the CBA. The coalition also plans to present project findings to the Chicago Plan Commission and the Department of Planning and Development, who will influence approval of the remaining development plans, to prevent displacement in south and southwest Chicago.