Calumet Area Land Use Plan and Design Guidelines

The Chicago Department of Planning and Development is studying industrial uses on Chicago's Far South Side, including the Calumet, Burnside, and Pullman industrial corridors; Lake Calumet; the Illinois International Port District; portions of the Calumet and Little Calumet rivers; along with hundreds of acres of protected open spaces.

Initiated in the spring of 2024, the study is evaluating industrial corridor effectiveness as economic engines and vital job centers. The process includes numerous opportunities for community-based collaborations with the City to guide future growth and investment.

For more than 150 years, the Calumet area has been home to Chicago's heaviest industries in addition to waste recycling and international shipping and trade. The area also boasts unique environmental assets that includes hundreds of acres of waterways, marshes, wetlands, forested areas and associated wildlife.

Expanding on the success of the 2002 Calumet Area Land Use Plan and the 2004 Calumet Design Guidelines, the update will create a formal, 20-year vision that balances the City’s economic development, public health, and environmental sustainability goals. An updated land use plan will identify appropriate future land uses while updated design guidelines incorporate best practices in site design and landscaping, stormwater management and sustainability. The study is also incorporating major themes from the 2023 Citywide Plan and associated environmental justice considerations.