The Loop in2040

About the survey

The project

What is the Loop in 2040?

The Loop in 2040 is a Chicago Architecture Center project on the future of downtown Chicago. Its survey asks people who know the Loop to make five hard choices about what it should become. The answers will help inform a report on the future of the Loop, to be shared in early 2027.

Who’s behind it?

The Chicago Architecture Center convened a working group to develop the report, supported by advisors and two research teams.

Working group

  • David Baum, Baum Realty Group
  • Shantay Bolton, Columbia College
  • Keating Crown, Sterling Bay
  • Lori Dimun, Driehaus Foundation
  • Colette English Dixon, Roosevelt University
  • Eleanor Esser Gorski, Chicago Architecture Center
  • Mark Hopkins, Chicago Central Area Committee
  • Donna Lasinski, Chicago Cultural Stadium
  • Rana Lee, Magrover Ventures
  • Dan Lurie, Metropolitan Planning Council
  • Marianne Markowitz, First Women’s Bank
  • Suzet McKinney, Chicago Loop Alliance
  • Cierine Nicolas, ARUP
  • Robert Rivkin, United Airlines
  • Jeff Shapack, Shapack Partners
  • Matthew Tully, Tully Associates
  • Steven Vance, Cityscape
  • Thomas Walstrum, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Advisors to the working group

  • Michael Fassnacht, Clayco
  • Ari Glass, Mansueto Office
  • Steve Koch, Bowline Group
  • Samir Mayekar, Polsky Center, University of Chicago

Architecture and planning research team

  • Juan Betancur, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
  • Sydney Brown, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
  • Yugene Cha, Krueck Sexton Partners
  • Ryan Culligan, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
  • Thomas Hussey, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
  • Manisha Kaul, Krueck Sexton Partners
  • Michael Schoemaker, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
  • Marzia Sedino, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
  • Don Semple, Krueck Sexton Partners
  • Mark Sexton, Krueck Sexton Partners
  • Juan Villafañe, Krueck Sexton Partners
  • Doug Voigt, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
  • Gabriel Wilcox, Krueck Sexton Partners
  • Richard Wilson, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

Economics research team

  • Nate Anderson, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
  • Caelah Borkovec, Illinois Institute of Technology
  • Michael Gregory, BMO Capital Markets

Project leads

  • Jeff Leitner, Leitner Insights
  • Michael Wood, Chicago Architecture Center
What will the working group produce, and when?

A report on the future of the Loop, to be shared in early 2027. It will include policy recommendations for the next mayoral administration, whoever wins next spring’s election. The survey results will inform the report.

Why did I get this survey?

The survey is being shared through organizations whose members live, work, study or do business in and around the Loop, and you received it from one of them. If you didn’t receive a link and want to take part, we plan to release a public survey later this year. Leave your email at loop2040.org to hear when it opens.

Your answers

Will the results be published?

The results will inform the working group’s report, to be shared in early 2027. Individual answers will not be published.

What is collected?

Along with your answers, the survey records your home ZIP code, how you’re connected to the Loop, and which organization’s link you used.

Can I stop and come back later?

Yes. Your answers are saved in your browser as you go, so you can pick up where you left off on the same phone or computer. Each browser can submit only once, so finish on the device where you started.