Featured projects

US EDA University Center
The EDA University Center @ UIC promotes green economic development through strategic community driven services that expand forward looking eco-friendly businesses and develop a highly skilled workforce talent pool that is prepared for these opportunities.

Gentrification Index
The Socioeconomic Change of Chicago’s Community Areas, also known as the Gentrification Index, examines neighborhood change across Chicago from 1970 to 2010. It uses key indicators to measure how much a neighborhood’s wealth or poverty has changed in this time.
This report shows that inequality is growing in Chicago. Some neighborhoods have grown wealthier, while others have grown poorer. At the same time, the number of middle-class neighborhoods has gone down.

ADA PARC
The ADA-PARC is a collaborative research project of 7 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Regional Centers. It is a Participatory Action Research Collaboration (PARC) that 1) looks at participation disparities experienced by people with disabilities, 2) examines key environmental factors contributing to these disparities, 3) highlights promising practices at state & city levels, and 4) develops strategies for dissemination and utilization of findings by ADA Centers and others.

Illinois Defense Network
The University of Illinois was awarded a $5.5 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Economic Adjustment to assist Illinois communities that have been adversely impacted by changes in federal defense spending. IDN is a data-driven program that is quantifying the breadth of Illinois’ defense sector – as well as its potential vulnerability – to help build community and industry resilience.