The “Soul City Corridor” is the stretch of Chicago Avenue extending from Austin Boulevard to Cicero Avenue through Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. The Chicago Avenue Streetscape Improvements project sprang from the Soul City Corridor Development Framework, a planning study by the organizations that together make up the Chicago Central Area Committee (CCAC). The plan was created to guide the development of underutilized land with the goal of promoting economic development, job creation, and new development within the community.
The Plan and the Chicago Avenue project are part of a large City initiative to invest in Southside and Westside neighborhoods and communities. The name “Soul City” was selected as part of a unifying theme for the coordinated development efforts. The branding is rooted in a distinct cultural identity of Black art, music, food, and entertainment with historical roots along the corridor and celebrated in the existing arts and culture scene in Austin. 
Civiltech is providing Urban Design and Roadway Design Engineering services on the Chicago Avenue project. The roadway improvements will help spur new businesses, create a shopping destination for neighboring communities, and strengthen the transit connections that run through the corridor. The project, over a mile and a half long, has been broken into three sections. Construction was completed in 2024 on the stretch of Chicago Avenue from Austin to Central. The middle section of Central Laramie will undergo construction starting this summer. Design on the third section, from Laramie to Cicero, is nearing completion with construction anticipated in 2026.
The corridor design includes exciting Complete Streets components. New bike facilities complete an east-west bike connection through the City and into Oak Park. A primary focus of the project is bike and pedestrian safety. To enhance bike safety, bike lanes are routed onto the sidewalk at bus stops, with paver patterns and paint delineating between bike and pedestrian spaces. The bike lanes then cross the streets on raised crosswalks. The increased safety from this unique design is enhanced by the installation of curb bump outs at intersections which slow down vehicular traffic and bring more visibility to the bike and pedestrian crossings. 
The corridor is one of the first in the city to include bus bulbs. The bus bulbs bump out from the sidewalk area at bus stops allowing buses to stop in the travel lane as opposed to merging in and out of traffic. The increased bus stop area gives transit users more room and space outside of the pedestrian path on the sidewalk. Colored pavers are being used to identify bus stops, and benches are being installed.
Community input and involvement was critical to this project. While the improvement is part of a unified redevelopment effort, the corridor runs through three Aldermanic Wards, which creates individual neighborhood identities within the overall corridor. The Civiltech team has participated in many robust community engagement activities led by Lamar Johnson Collaborative (LJC).
One exciting aspect was incorporating community youth, ensuring they have a voice in the development. Civiltech has been working with Territory NFP, a youth development organization that provides skill-building programs in urban design, public art, and community planning for young people ages 14-21. Using the studio-apprentice model, young people gain essential problem-solving tools and learn how to navigate design projects addressing real needs, on site and in their own communities.
Civiltech and LJC have been working with Territory on the design of Peace Circles, circular benches along the corridor. The inward facing arrangement of the Peace Circle is designed to encourage different types of gathering and foster interpersonal communication. In addition to the design and layout of the benches, Territory has been tasked with developing the artwork to be installed on the backs of the benches. The team produced a variety of ideas including themes such as the history of the Austin neighborhood, love/peace motifs, and more. The art will be installed directly on the benches. The Peace Circles are part of the overall placemaking design for the corridor along with other streetscape furnishings.
Civiltech’s Project Manager, Brandon Bogenschutz, P.E., has been involved with the group and in coordinating their designs into the project. And in March 2024, Civiltech’s Chicago Office Director, Chris Wolff, P.E., and Director of Landscape Architecure Services, Phil Hutchinson, PLA, joined the CDOT Coordinating Engineer for an event in which they were interviewed by the students to allow them to experience engaging with professionals and learn about their roles on the project. The team was asked to provide feedback on the students’ designs for the peace circles.
Public meetings were also critical to inform streetscape design solutions. At LJC led public meetings, Phil presented graphical representations of colors, patterns, and pavers. Community feedback indicated a desire for rich colors, decorative paver patterns, and authentic materials that reflected the architecture along the corridor.
The paver design uses natural clay brick pavers to unify the entire corridor while bringing unique design to each of the three neighborhood identities which roughly align with the three different construction phases. An individual accent paver color was selected to represent each neighborhood zone’s unique character while the primary paver colors unify the corridor. Also, special paver patterns are designed around the peace circles combining all of the colors representing that all of the communities coming together in the peace circles. 
The streetscape design includes bringing more nature to the urban landscape through the installation of planters and trees. Large, curbed planters provide robust planting opportunities, and landscape islands are being installed at intersection bump outs. The design incorporates Structural Soil which promotes healthier and larger trees through enhanced opportunity for root development. Structural Soil is engineered to provide structural support for pavement, while also providing soil and airspace for root growth.
This revitalization makes the Chicago Avenue corridor a true gateway to the City and a shopping destination for both City and suburban residents. The project takes a holistic design approach to the corridor improvements to establish a community identity and make Chicago Avenue a place for people.