Floundering retail. Stunted tourism. Vacant offices. City centers across the globe are facing big challenges borne partly of the pandemic’s ongoing disruptions. Explore how designers, business leaders and city officials are working to keep Chicago moving forward.

Before the 2020 lockdown, Chicago had earned the title of America’s fastest-growing downtown by population. Two years later, city officials are looking to Chicago’s residential growth downtown as a way to stimulate the storefront economy and after-work entertainment culture that was left struggling when many offices went remote. If downtown does skew residential, do jobs move to other areas of the city or does the work become fully remote? How can design be used to reinvigorate our streets and imagine the reuse of buildings to meet post-pandemic needs? And with more change to come, what inertia is there toward embracing big picture thinking and bold interventions? The CAC seeks answers and inspiration during a panel discussion with key experts.