In his article, Jack Markowski argues that preservation is both climate and housing policy. Demolishing existing buildings wastes embodied energy and raises emissions, while Edgewater’s older low-rises provide naturally affordable homes and businesses. He rejects the idea that upzoning leads to affordability, instead leading to displacement and loss of neighborhood character.

In this News-Star article, Bob Zuley reported on the Broadway Community Forum at St. Ita Catholic Church, where nearly 300 people gathered to hear from experts organized by Edgewater Residents for Responsible Development (ERRD). The forum presented an alternative to the City’s blanket upzoning plan for Broadway, warning of higher rents, rising property taxes, displacement, and the loss of small businesses. The meeting was disrupted by heckling from a small group of activists but remained focused on ERRD’s evidence-based proposals.

The debate over the future of Broadway in Edgewater has intensified as the city prepares to vote on a rezoning plan allowing taller, denser buildings and expanded commercial uses. Neighbors opposed to the plan have launched billboard campaigns, hired an attorney, and organized forums under the banner of Edgewater Residents for Responsible Development (ERRD), arguing the proposal threatens small businesses, historic buildings, and quality of life.

As Chicago weighs sweeping rezoning along the Broadway corridor, it’s critical to recognize the forces shaping these decisions. The YIMBY movement, an online community of activists who often don’t live in the affected neighborhoods, regularly rallies behind large-scale developments. Their advocacy can tilt zoning outcomes toward developer interests while undermining true affordability and sidelining local voices .

In Chicago’s Broadway rezoning debate, the Tribune Editorial Board urges compromise after repeated delays in council hearings. The city’s sweeping plan to upzone 2.6 miles of North Broadway has stumbled over legal notice requirements, creating an opening for negotiation. Edgewater Residents for Responsible Development (ERRD) has advanced a “Win-Win Roadmap” to reconcile housing growth with livability. The group stresses the need to address traffic, parking, and displacement pressures, protect heritage buildings, and redevelop vacant CTA parcels. The editorial warns that blanket upzoning risks higher property taxes, displacement, and loss of architectural character. It calls on the city to lead with collaboration, balancing density with preservation to secure a “true win-win” for Edgewater and the city.