Chicago Welds Ahead

The winds of change have swept across Chicago’s manufacturing corridors many times. Around the turn of the 20^th century, the city’s economy was shaped by large steel companies that dominated its industrial landscape. Over time, however, those companies gradually disappeared as Chicago’s infrastructure matured and manufacturers dispersed to other regions. The decline accelerated after 1960, driven by foreign competition, automation, union resistance, and plant relocations (Ref. 1). More recently, manufact..