Chris Devins
Chris Devins is a local Mural Artist/Urban Planner who creates outdoor Public Art installations designed to attract tourists and increase community pride. He is part of a team that won a 2016 Best Practices award from the Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association.
CDC began in Bronzeville, Chicago as an outgrowth of Chris’ work on the Residents at Risk study conducted by the Urban Institute and Harvard University. Residents at Risk was a profile of the Ida B. Wells/Madden Park housing complex conducted just as residents’ homes were being demolished. As he pondered the loss of yet another important Bronzeville development, Chris began to think about Identity and the role it plays in a neighborhood’s economic and social viability.
The Bronzeville Legends Identity Initiative was a part of Chris’ Master Thesis, the East 39th Street Commercial Corridor Plan. The plan is a comprehensive development plan that envisions the future of the corridor, based on current real estate market data.