Decision-making Chicago-style

by George Rosen

This case study highlights the interaction between institutions and individuals in the complex process of urban decision-making and reveals the methods of the "city that works". As a governmental institution, represented by a powerful but constrained Mayor Daley, Chicago is shown as a projector of its own needs and goals in exerting its power and influence in relation to such institutions as the University of Illinois and the state legislature. Economist George Rosen analyzes the 1961 decision to relocate the University of Illinois Chicago campus from a temporary to a permanent site. Examining the decision-making process from economic, social and political aspects, he weaves a fascinating historical narrative which reflects the demands and desires of participants from many levels of society and with strong conflicting points of view. Rosen traces the respective roles played in the process by the university, city and public, as well as the state legislature and the courts. He documents