Rebuilding the Industrial Lakefront and Downtown in East Chicago

City-of-East-ChicagoEast Chicago is proud to welcome students from Harvard University on March 5, 2014. Ten students from the University will be working on a field study that will focus on economic development areas of the City of East Chicago. The city has implemented several new improvements and will be able to accommodate the students with their research endeavors. The Field Study course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the dynamics and complexities of reality that create contemporary urban physical environments.

The course emphasizes the integration of design and development aspects of projects that respond to realistic market demand, political, financial and other regulatory constraints. The study will consist of interviews as well as observations that deal with data collection from the Lakefront and Downtown areas.

The course is intended for architects, planners, real estate students, landscape architects and others who want to improve their skills in design and financial analysis within the context of real world urban development.

East Chicago, proudly embraces it’s cultural heritage as its strongest foundation. The East Chicago Department of Redevelopment and Community Builders are jointly sponsoring the course. The class will focus on creating a viable master plan for redeveloping four neighboring areas. The areas include the marina and waterfront, the Main and Broadway Mixed Use “Main Street,” the residential and education district, and the public lakefront commercial/residential destination district.

“We are pleased to host Harvard University as our guests. This is a wonderful component to add to the rapid progress we are making with our Downtown Harbor initiative. This is an exciting opportunity for us to engage their young minds and gather an outside perspective on future possibilities. Pride is on the Rise in East Chicago,” stated Mayor Anthony Copeland.

For more information contact the Mayor’s Office at 219-391-8200.