Thank You!
Thank you for joining us for Invisible Lines — The Legacy of Redlining in Chicago on February 15, 2023. We hope you enjoyed the in-depth conversation that explored the ways that historic redlining has shaped our current state of housing and segregation across the Chicago region, as well as the work being done to address the impacts facing communities most affected. We hope you accept our challenge to consider how you can advance this work moving forward.
View photos from the in-person event on our Flickr page.
We hope you'll join us next May for our next installment of the Neighborhood Exchange Series. Sign up to join the mailing list.
For questions, contact United Way Public Programs.
Join The Listserv
Additional Resources
If you're interested in learning more about this topic, we recommend the following resources:
• WBEZ's Where Banks Don't Lend
• Metropolitan Planning Council's Cost of Segregation report
• Tonika Lewis Johnson's Folded Map Project
• Hyde Park Herald's Redefining Redlining with Amanda Williams
• The Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University's The Plunder of Black Wealth
• The Federal Reserve of Chicago's New Evidence on Redlining by Federal Housing Programs in the 1930s
Featured Panelists
Commissioner Marisa Novara
As Chair of the COVID-19 Emergency Housing Response Team, Novara led the effort to secure 1,200 hotel rooms and 900 additional shelter beds to meet the needs presented by the pandemic. Novara ensured the passage of 8 bills in three years, while leading the country’s first Racial Equity Impact Assessment (REIA) of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit developments.
Before joining the City, Novara was vice president of the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC). During her eight-year tenure at MPC, Novara designed and managed the Cost of Segregation project, a 2017 study that concluded how decades-old patterns of racial and economic segregation cost the Chicago region an estimated $4.4 billion in additional income each year. She also led the subsequent creation of the region’s first comprehensive guide to a more racially equitable future, among other reports, studies and articles.
Prior to MPC, Novara directed affordable rental and for-sale housing development for Lawndale Christian Development Corp. in the North Lawndale community, where she lived and worked for more than a decade.
Darlene Oliver Hightower, J.D.
Previously, Darlene served as VP, Community Health Equity at Rush University Medical Center. Darlene also led the development of West Side United, a cross-sector, collaborative aimed at improving health and economic vitality on Chicago’s West Side. Her leadership in health equity throughout the COVID-19 pandemic was nationally recognized, as Darlene was honored in 2020 as a U.S. News and World Report Health Care Hero.
Chris Brown
Previously, Chris has worked as an organizer, funder, program manager, and researcher. Having grown up in Missouri, Chris is a St. Louis Cardinals fan and loves talking about baseball.
Commissioner Marisa Novara
Commissioner,
City of Chicago Department of Housing
Read Bio
Darlene Oliver Hightower, J.D.
President & CEO,
Metropolitan Planning Council
Read Bio
Chris Brown
Director of Operations,
Southwest Organizing Project
Read Bio
Event Cohosts
