New in the GO TO 2040 video series is an overview of the Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program begun in March 2011 by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), with support from a three-year, $4.25 million competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as part of the federal interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

Watch Video: CMAP Local TechnIcal Assistance program

Through the LTA program, CMAP staff are helping communities to implement the GO TO 2040 comprehensive regional plan, which recently was adopted unanimously by leaders of the seven-county region. This overview video features several of the initial projects, including:

• Comprehensive plan for the Village of Campton Hills
• Land use planning and redevelopment of the old Joliet Prison site
• Green and Healthy Neighborhood Plan for the City of Chicago's neighborhoods of Englewood, Washington Park, and Woodlawn

After a CMAP request for projects in January elicited more than 220 proposals from 133 municipalities, counties, interjurisdictional groups, and nongovernmental organizations, the agency has begun partnering with the first wave of local communities identified for planning assistance.  (Download a full list of projects.) 

"The strong response to our call for projects is clear evidence of the need for CMAP's LTA program," said Randy Blankenhorn, CMAP executive director.  "Local long-range planning is vitally important for the implementation of GO TO 2040, which is the region's plan for sustaining economic prosperity and livable communities through mid-century and beyond.  In today's challenging fiscal environment, the HUD-funded effort is helping to meet the demand for community-based planning."

In coming months, CMAP and LTA partners will tell the stories of other local planning projects.  Keep up with and get involved in the latest GO TO 2040 implementation activities at www.cmap.illinois.gov/moving-forward.