EDA University Center: Recent Work
Significant portions of the United States economy are shifting away from carbon-intensive, fossil fuel-driven activities, and moving toward a green economy defined by cleaner, more efficient, and higher-output practices. Through applied research and technical assistance, the UIC UC promotes sustainable and equitable green economic development. Targeted at policy makers, the work looks to help our leaders address the climate crisis while also investing in underserved communities and creating jobs within the growing Green Economy. The research team at The Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement at UIC has published a series of reports on green economic development, including Chicago Region’s Clean Energy Economy, Digital Skills in the Green Economy, Green Economy Occupations in the Chicago Region, and The Landscape of Green Infrastructure in the Chicago Region.
Chicago's Clean Energy Economy Heading link
This report investigates changes in occupations classified as part of the green economy from 2011 to 2020 on regional, state, and national levels, and compares the green economy to the economy as a whole.
Digital Skills in the Green Economy in the Chicago Region Heading link
This report describes digitization in the Green Economy, educational programs for popular software used for Green Economy occupations, and gaps where certain software education is lacking in the Chicago MSA region.
Green Economy Occupations in the Chicago Region Heading link
This report and its associated one-pager tool summarizes information on technologies, certifications, economic data, and the main tasks associated with the job for 264 Green Economy occupations in the Chicago region, capturing more than 1 million workers. We find that these jobs are better paying and have lower educational barriers to entry, compared to the economy as a whole.
The Landscape of Green Infrastructure in Chicago Heading link
This report gives an overview of the existing green infrastructure economy in the Chicago region; outlines industry challenges and identifies strategies to address said challenges; and provides an analysis of growth and concentration of core occupations associated with green infrastructure work. It also explores the need to consider equity issues in this industry. We find that more than half of green infrastructure-related occupations are growing and have a strong concentration in the Chicago metropolitan area.