A community-driven planning initiative involving UW-Milwaukee urban planning professor Dr. Kirk E. Harris received recognition at the 2026 American Planning Association–Illinois Chapter Conference on September 30.
The 95th Street Corridor Plan was honored for its innovation and impactful community engagement strategy. The plan outlines recommendations to guide growth along a two-mile corridor on Chicago’s South Side, emphasizing land use, urban design and transit-oriented development.
Harris helped lead the community engagement effort and contributed to the equity-building aspects of the initiative as a consultant partner with The Endeleo Institute, the community organization responsible for anchoring the planning process.
The effort sought to foster equitable access to new development along the deeply disinvested 95th Street Corridor, Harris explained, building on previous community improvement initiatives in surrounding neighborhoods seeking to overcome historical practices of redlining and racial segregation.
Read more about the 95th Street Corridor Plan.