They say a picture speaks 1,000 words, and we agree! This illustration was in the youth art showcase MUSE hosted in July 2021 for the West Chicago Comprehensive Plan.
2021 was the year that, despite a global pandemic, MUSE Community + Design hit its stride. Our work in communities allowed us to build new and stronger relationships with neighborhood leaders across Chicago and as a firm we leaned into how our value of inclusion translates to our internal practices. We added four new staff members to our team, expanded our office space, and took on big and exciting projects.
While we’re in the business of thinking about and designing for the future, the breadth and diversity of our work and clients in the last year has been too great not to share!
Here’s a quick roundup of some of our prouder moments from 2021:
- Assembled an unmatched team of women-led firms (All Together Studio, LaVant Consulting, & Rudd Resources) to lead a phase of We Will Chicago, the first citywide plan in a generation;
- Delivered a bilingual comprehensive plan to the city of West Chicago following a bicultural engagement process;
- Designed a program to nurture a pipeline and network of BIPOC community developers in Chicago in order to ensure they have access to transformative opportunities across the city;
- Refreshed CMAP’s Future Leaders in Planning (FLIP) curriculum to help recruit and empower the next generation of planners;
- Partnered with the City of Chicago on the Chicago Climate Action Plan to identify climate action priorities for Chicagoans who are most impacted by climate change;
- Continued our work to improve safety and equity around transportation and mobility, including CDOT Vision Zero programming, managing CDOT’s SAFE Ambassadors program, expanding the network of Divvy stations into Belmont Cragin and Hermosa, working with Cook County on their first ever transit plan;
- Expanded our partnership with Territory through a donation to their capital campaign, hosting an office visit for youth in their summer program, and our Senior Associate Romina Castillo joined their Board of Directors;
- Continued our sponsorship of We Keep You Rollin’ bike and wellness group;
- Joined Brave Space Alliance’s inaugural Brave Business Network;
- Learned how to play shuffleboard;
- Navigated another year of changing guidelines around the pandemic both at work and at home.
We’re grateful to the many partners, collaborators, clients, and community members who have been part of these and other projects this year. Our outlook for 2022 is just as exciting, and we can’t wait to bring you along for the fun!
We’re grateful to the many partners, collaborators, clients, and community members who have been part of these and other projects this year. Our outlook for 2022 is just as exciting, and we can’t wait to bring you along for the fun!
My favorite MUSE Memory from 2021 was walking around Englewood with Jon Veal, the co-founder of Alt_ Chicago, one of our community partners for the Vision Zero South Side project. We met neighborhood residents, out-of-towners, shop owners, and local faith leaders. It was inspiring to learn more about their work and impact. We made a stop for lunch at Haire’s Gulf Shrimp and then went back to Alt_ HQ, where Jon shared Alt_ projects, ongoing initiatives, and potential collaborations.
Adam Glueckert
Associate
I was proud to help facilitate focus groups on behalf of Cook County to advance their transit improvement goals. We heard from recent immigrants, low-wage workers, and unhoused Chicagoans, and compensated them for their time working with us. While these conversations were interesting to me as a transit user, it was particularly meaningful to hear voices routinely left out of planning conversations. It’s imperative that future transit investments improve the lives of transit-reliant Chicagoans.
Uri Pachter
Director
