Chicago’s Next Chapter in Equitable Transit-Oriented Development

Five years ago this June, the City of Chicago adopted a bold vision and framework for equitable transit-oriented development (ETOD). The Chicago Plan Commission unanimously adopted the ETOD Policy Plan, which itself was created through a cross-sector and community-driven collaborative process.

Fast forward to 2026, Chicago has become a national leader in promoting ETOD through enacting policy change, matching investments in projects with innovative technical assistance, supporting community-led advocacy and planning, and sustaining cross-sector collaboration.

Elevated Chicago and our members recently released a report, the State of ETOD in Chicago, to reflect on this progress in the five years of implementing the plan. The findings? We’ve made a lot of progress as a city, but we still have more to do. Thankfully, we have once-in-a-generation opportunities in the Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA) Act, the Red Line Extension, efforts to bring Bus Priority Infrastructure to five corridors, and more.

As we look to the next five years, I’ve been reflecting: what has led to this success?

Intentionally centering equity as our shared goal. Equity is both an outcome – where individuals and communities have the resources, supports and protections they need to thrive – and a process – where communities closest to the challenges are a part of crafting solutions. The City Council and Chicago Plan Commission recognized the need to bring equity intentionally into how TOD happens in Chicago. That has been the North Star of the ETOD Policy Plan and the guiding framework behind all that Elevated Chicago does. As the leader of a multi-sector and city-wide collaborative that brings together organizations and institutions with a broad diversity of perspectives, experiences, priorities, and identities, the most critical ingredient to Chicago’s success in ETOD has been the ability to stay rooted to a shared vision of equity.

Deep investment in relationships. Of course, a breadth of perspectives also means that transformative systems change takes time and trust. Undergirding Chicago’s progress towards ETOD has been the sustained collaboration seen in the ETOD Working Group, which Elevated Chicago has co-convened with the Mayor’s Office for nearly seven years across multiple mayoral administrations. As a space for accountability, problem solving, information sharing, and two-way learning, the continuity of the working group has helped create consistency and momentum for advancing the City’s ETOD vision. That foundation of trust and collaboration matters now more than ever. As Chicago prepares for a new wave of transit investment and a newly empowered regional transit agency, the relationships, shared vision, and collaborative structures built over the past several years position the city and region to seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity.

Chicago is well positioned to remain a national leader in ensuring that development near transit truly benefits residents, especially existing, long-time and lower-income residents who have not benefited from TOD investment in the past. Alongside historic investments in transit, new tools and funding could soon help accelerate ETOD projects if future NITA leadership commits resources to a joint development program, incentive funding, and dedicated staff capacity. By applying the lessons learned from Chicago’s journey to advance ETOD, we can maximize the impact of transit investment to expand access and opportunity for families across the region, protect against displacement, and build community wealth.