{"id":5235,"date":"2018-12-20T21:32:15","date_gmt":"2018-12-20T21:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loopchicagodev.wpenginepowered.com\/downtown-futures-series-inspires-a-smarter-chicago\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T21:30:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T21:30:16","slug":"downtown-futures-series-inspires-a-smarter-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loopchicago.com\/es\/chicago-loop-blog\/downtown-futures-series-inspires-a-smarter-chicago\/","title":{"rendered":"Downtown Futures Series Inspires a Smarter Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chicago Loop Alliance completed its third year of the Downtown Futures Series, a trio of conversations \u2013 moderated by David Broz, principal of Gensler Design<\/a> \u2013 with innovative minds to create a smarter Chicago. About 240 stakeholders attended this three-part series, which explored a variety of topics designed to position the Chicago Loop in the driver\u2019s seat of innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first topic in 2018, The Talent Equation<\/em> = Space + Amenities + Neighborhood<\/em>, emphasized the value employees assign to a company\u2019s office space design, access and convenience of public transportation, and top-notch residential amenities. In a panel comprised of Tim Handorf, co-founder and CEO of G2 Crowd<\/a>, Eddie Lou, executive chairman and co-founder of Shiftgig<\/a>, and Maggie Brophy, leasing director of Telos Group<\/a>, Chicago Loop Alliance explored how a premier downtown can impact\u00a0 a company’s employee equations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Airports: Connecting Downtowns to the World <\/em>explored the relationship between Chicago airports and the Loop business district. Keynote speaker Susan Kurland, deputy commissioner of Airport Service Development at Chicago Department Aviation<\/a>, discussed the $8.7 billion expansion of O\u2019Hare International Airport to increase its total number of annual passengers from nearly 80 million to 100 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ron Shimizu, vice president and senior engineer manager of WSP Consultants<\/a>, offered insights into the transportation projects between the Chicago\u2019s airports and the Loop. Sammy Patel, CEO of Midway Partnership Vantage Airport Group Chicago Management<\/a>, discussed Midway Airport\u2019s significant changes to its roster of restaurants, highlighting the addition of local dining options that provide travelers a taste Chicago\u2019s diverse culinary tradition<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third and final event in the series, under the topic Strong Neighborhoods, Strong Downtown<\/em>, zoomed in on how cities comprised of healthy neighborhoods, filled with residents, job opportunities, and culture, are more attractive to people and investment. As the keynote speaker, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development<\/a> David Reifman presented the city\u2019s investment in underserved neighborhoods through equitable-development programs<\/a>\u00a0 that use funds generated from downtown construction projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Karin Norington-Reaves, CEO of Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership<\/a>, discussed how her organization is training and matching people in different professions with a variety of jobs. Jahmal Cole, founder of My Block, My Hood, My City<\/a>, stressed the importance of an inclusive downtown. He encouraged the audience to venture out of their comfort zone and experience the whole of Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chicago Loop Alliance will announce the next slate of Downtown Futures Series topics in 2019. In the meantime, stay tuned to our Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chicago Loop Alliance completed its third year of the Downtown Futures Series, a trio of conversations \u2013 moderated by David Broz, principal of Gensler Design \u2013 with innovative minds to create a smarter Chicago.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[64,65,21],"class_list":["post-5235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-loop-news","tag-economic-data","tag-events","tag-free"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDowntown Futures Series Inspires a Smarter Chicago - Loop Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/loopchicago.com\/es\/chicago-loop-blog\/downtown-futures-series-inspires-a-smarter-chicago\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Downtown Futures Series Inspires a Smarter Chicago - 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