Courses

HOPE, CHANGE & EQUITY: The Obama Presidential Center and Redevelopment of the Woodlawn Neighborhood

This design and development option studio will explore the urban design impacts of the Obama Presidential Center (OPC) and its ability to act as a catalyst for the equitable redevelopment of the Woodlawn neighborhood in the heart of the Southside of Chicago.

The Obama Presidential Center, set to open in 2026, and the greater Jackson Park district are currently under construction and represent over a billion-dollar investment in Chicago’s Southside. It was conceived of by former President Barak Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as a promise to positively transform the Southside and the future of the Woodlawn neighborhood. The studio will explore multiple sites in very close proximity to the OPC and what an equitable future urban design framework for Woodlawn neighborhood might look like.

The studio will leverage the excitement and energy of the future Obama Presidential Center to reimagine 63rd Street corridor and Stony Island Avenue as a mixed-use, mixed-income, and mixed density district, linking the Woodlawn Community to Jackson Park and beyond through economic development and urban design improvements.

The studio goals are:

  • To promote equitable and inclusive development near the Obama Presidential Center that leverages external capital to invest in the community, build local wealth, and provide economic development opportunities.
  • To explore at Jackson Park a continuation of the rich Chicago culture of high density, mixed-use development, defining the urban edges of the City’s great parks. The target would be to create greater density along 63rd Street, east of the Metra tracks and along Stony Island Avenue.
  • To reimagine a new vision of Stony Island Avenue as a Great Urban Street — a major public promenade connecting the Woodlawn Community to Jackson Park and the Obama Presidential Center.
  • To Re-establish 63rd Street as the center of the Woodlawn neighborhood and promote its redevelopment while respecting community heritage.