Creating mixed-income developments in Chicago: developer and service provider perspectives

Mixed-income development has been embraced by policymakers across the country as a promising means of deconcentrating poverty and revitalizing inner-city neighborhoods. The unprecedented scale of Chicago's effort at mixed-income development provides an important opportunity to learn about the possibilities and challenges of this approach. Most of the new developments have completed at least one pre-occupancy phase of construction, marketing, and resident outreach. This paper explores the perspectives of two key actors in the mixed-income development process: private developers and social service providers. In-depth interviews were conducted with 26 individuals working on nine of Chicago's major new mixed-income developments. This qualitative analysis uses the perspectives of these key actors to identify some of the major early challenges of the mixed-income development process in Chicago. Implications for the future of mixed-income development and public housing transformation in Chicago and across the country are considered.