The Chicago Spire

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am a huge booster of Chicago. In my mind, it is a nearly perfect city, combining many of the great attributes of a metropolis (great restaurants, job opportunities, arts, etc.) with less of the negative aspects of the two cities bigger than Chicago -- New York and LA (The second city is cheaper, less cut-throat, and has transit at both major airports).

Perhaps one of the greatest things about Chicago is its skyline. I would say it is unrivaled in the U.S., and many architecture buffs go there to see everything from the eclectic and spectacular skyscrapers downtown to the beautiful prairie school houses of Frank Lloyd Wright. Well, there is a new skyscraper being built called The Chicago Spire . The building will be the tallest in North America when it is completed in 2011. It is always a big deal, aesthetically to put an addition to the skyline of Chicago, but I think this makes a wonderful contribution.

Nevertheless, the Weiss speaker on last Thursday, Christine Westfall from the Orange Community Housing and Land Trust , has me thinking about who could possibly afford these new units. This building is just one of a number of high-end residential buildings going up in the downtown area. Unlike Chapel Hill, Chicago does not have an affordable housing ordinance, so buildings like the Chicago Spire can go up without needing to be inclusive of middle and lower income residents.

While renting in Chicago continues to be relatively cheap, buying a place has become increasingly expensive. I hope planners, politicians, and lovers of Chicago are working on a way to be sure that all the people who make the city great will be able to continue to live there. This is truly a struggle for sustainability and urban livability.