*CHICAGOANS: I need your help re: an article*

[Michi]

I am currently writing my master's essay (similar to thesis) at Wayne State University. It's on the new global economy and how the creative class and cultural economies contribute to the knowledge-based reform of regional competitiveness.

A section of my paper talks about the importance of central cities and I am recalling a report that came out in a Chicago media source maybe a year or two ago.

In it, it talked about a guy who loved working in downtown Chicago because just being able to walk to work inspired him while he was on the job. I think he maybe worked at a phone or cable company or something. It talked about how the built environment and the human interaction created by the man made city and natural features offered a stimulating quality of life that made working at a typically mediocre job much more inspiring.

The article was posted on the forum when it came out (I think by Xing, Gnix) or some other well-known Chicago forumer.

DOES ANYONE KNOW WTF I'M EVEN TALKING ABOUT? lol :)

If it helps, I think the article might have been a comparative analysis or rankings of other cities as well.

I've tried searching the internet extensively for this article, but have had no luck.

If anyone recalls this, it would be great if you could keep me from looking for a similar citation elsewhere.

Thanks so much!

[Kevin J]

The closest thing I can think of to what you described is an article about companies based in suburban Chicago who had opened locations in the Loop to better be able to recruit and retain young, creative talent. It highlighted the R & D center that Motorola opened on Michigan Ave. and featured quotes from a cell phone engineer/designer who talked about how working in the energy of the Loop near its consumers was better than being in a sterile office park in the burbs.

The article may have appeared in Crain's Chicago Business, but I don't know for sure. But hopefully, you can use some of the other details I provided as search terms to find it, wherever it appeared.

Even if this isn't exactly the article you were thinking of, it sounds like it might still be useful for the thesis of your master's essay.

[Steely Dan]

was it possibly this one?



http://www.siteselection.com/

'Freaking Awesome' City
Tops All U.S. Metro Areas

http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2007/mar/topMetros/images/pg195a.jpg

JUST HANGIN' OUT: Kudo Tsunado may be the vice president and general manager of EA Sports' regional headquarters in Chicago, but he's just like everyone else when it comes to enjoying all the amenities that downtown Chicago has to offer. Tsunado said the Windy City's vibrant pace and abundance of young talent led him and the other members of his executive team to select Chicago over such competing locations as Austin, Texas.


by RON STARNER
ron.starner bounce@conway.com



Chicago lures young, high- tech talent on the way to becoming the No. 1 metro in America in 2006.

Ask Kudo Tsunoda to explain why EA Sports selected Chicago for a new regional headquarters, and the executive at the global video game giant speaks in frank business terms: "The city is freaking awesome. It has such a vibe and pace to it."

At Electronic Arts, the world leader in electronic sports games, talk like that is part of everyday life in the business world – and Chicago's economic developers hope to hear a lot more of it.
By landing EA Sports' US$6 million, 200- job regional headquarters at 215 West Ohio in Chicago's River North neighborhood, the Windy City capped a remarkable year that saw the metro area secure 165 corporate facility projects totaling more than $5 billion in capital investment, according to the criteria established by the Conway Data New Plant database.

The Chicago- Naperville- Joliet area (including suburbs in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin) easily outdistanced No. 2 Washington, D.C.- Northern Virginia, which had 110 projects, and No. 3 Atlanta, which had 107.

Chicago's victory made it two years in a row and five of the last six for the MSA with more than 9.5 million residents and a work force of over 4.5 million.

Rounding out the top 10 metros of 2006 were No. 4 Dallas- Fort Worth, followed by the metro areas of Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Charlotte, Indianapolis and Nashville.
While Phoenix did not make the top 10 in projects, the Arizona MSA placed second in capital investment, at $3.365 billion. St. Louis came in third with $2.315 billion.
Governor's Cup victor Ohio claimed the most Top Metros in 2006, with nine, followed by Virginia and Florida with eight each; New York, Alabama, Pennsylvania and Texas with seven each; and Indiana with six.

http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2007/mar/topMetros/images/pg196a.gif

Tsunoda, vice president and general manager of the Chicago office of EA Sports and producer of the new Def Jam: Icon video game, tells Site Selection that his executive team selected Chicago because the city stimulates creative minds and enables EA to effectively recruit top young talent.
"Chicago is filled with cool neighborhoods," says Tsunoda, who grew up in New York City. "There's something for any kind of lifestyle you're looking to live."
Tsunoda says the selection of the seven- story, loft- like headquarters between the freeway and Michigan Avenue was the result of a collaborative process. Tsunoda and his team scoured the central U.S. looking for a vibrant, high- tech city that provides the quality of life EA needs to recruit top- end software designers, game developers, graphic artists and computer engineers.
These are the people who make the popular Madden NFL, NBA Live, Fight Night, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, NCAA March Madness and other sports video games that rank among the top- selling games in the world.

http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2007/mar/topMetros/images/pg198c.jpg

The recently renovated 600 West anchors Chicago's thriving new business hub in River North, located just minutes from traditional business centers in Chicago's downtown and Loop.

EA also owns the licensing rights to make games for NASCAR, the National Hockey League and FIFA, the international governing body for soccer.
"We looked at Austin, Texas, but it is hard to find a city that stacks up with Chicago," Tsunoda says. "I can walk from my office and see something cool just about anywhere I go. Chicago has a really good video game community already here. It is active, thriving and growing."
The new EA complex, which opened in late October 2006, is designed as a "pure game development studio," adds Tsunoda. "Eventually, we will add other publishing functions, marketing and public relations support for getting the games to market. This building will hold around 300 people, so we have plenty of room to grow."
Staubach Realty represented EA, "and they were extremely helpful in finding the locations and working through things with the city and the building," Tsunoda says. "Chicago is cutting- edge and has been very supportive of our relocation from Hoffman Estates. Both the city and the state of Illinois were very helpful in bringing us here. The hope is to make Chicago a long- term home and make it one of the premier studios within the EA world."
Paul O'Connor, executive director of World Business Chicago, calls EA Sports "a critical piece. Chicago historically has been a town of radical economic change. We had been manufacturing based, but the shift in our economy had been toward white- collar jobs and professional business services. The lagging piece was the engagement of the technology sector. To see that piece kicking in strongly, combined with our professional talent pool, means the Chicago economy can play with anybody and adapt in the global economy."
The Chicago building boom won't subside anytime soon, O'Connor says. "This city is really on fire. It is rocking and rolling. Mayor Richard Daley's transformation of the neighborhoods is making these areas a great place to live and raise a family, and that in turn has created the highest- end talent pool that is clustered within three or four miles of downtown."

http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2007/mar/topMetros/images/pg205a.jpg

Corporate Attraction a
Full Contact Sport

Other major projects of the past year include United Airlines and The Big Ten Network. United invested $72 million to establish its new corporate headquarters at 77 West Wacker Drive.
Stating that "it's time to fly," United Airlines Chairman, President and CEO Glenn Tilton in July ended months of speculation by declaring downtown Chicago as the permanent world headquarters of "our hometown airline."
United had been headquartered in Elk Grove Township since 1961, but competing offers had come in from Denver and San Francisco. In the end, United decided to stay home and become part of Chicago's central city renaissance. United will consolidate several of its suburban facilities and create an operations center on its campus in Elk Grove Township. Those who support day- to- day operations now will be together in one location.
"Chicago has everything a world- class corporate headquarters could ever want – the best and the brightest people, the ability to travel virtually anywhere and a great quality of life,"
said Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich.
United will receive $5.25 million in tax increment financing from the city of Chicago and $1.35 million in grants from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for infrastructure improvements and job training. Additionally, both the city and the state will propose legislation to cap the jet fuel tax for the next five years.
The chase for The Big Ten Network, ironically, was a preview of the Super Bowl, pitting Chicago against Indianapolis for the right to win a $23.5- million capital investment and 136 jobs.
After intense competition worthy of Roman numerals, the network announced it would locate its studios and offices in a 44,000- sq.- ft. (4,088- sq.- m.) complex at 600 West Chicago, formerly the Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalog House. The site was designated a national landmark in 2000.
"It is fitting that The Big Ten Network, a channel dedicated exclusively to collegiate athletics and university life, will make its home in Chicago, a city that is so passionate about college sports and education," said Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delaney.
O'Connor said it didn't hurt that a "very dense population of Ohio State graduates lives right here in Chicago."

Fresh off that sports win, Chicago has its sights set on landing an even bigger prize: hosting the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. By mid- April, the United States Olympic Committee will decide which of two American cities – Chicago or Los Angeles – will be submitted to the International Olympic Committee for the IOC's final decision in 2009.

"You have to guarantee $25 million from local businesses just to cover the cost of bidding to the IOC," says O'Connor. "But if you believe in yourselves and your city, you do it."

[Chicago103]

I am currently writing my master's essay (similar to thesis) at Wayne State University. It's on the new global economy and how the creative class and cultural economies contribute to the knowledge-based reform of regional competitiveness.

A section of my paper talks about the importance of central cities and I am recalling a report that came out in a Chicago media source maybe a year or two ago.

In it, it talked about a guy who loved working in downtown Chicago because just being able to walk to work inspired him while he was on the job. I think he maybe worked at a phone or cable company or something. It talked about how the built environment and the human interaction created by the man made city and natural features offered a stimulating quality of life that made working at a typically mediocre job much more inspiring.

The article was posted on the forum when it came out (I think by Xing, Gnix) or some other well-known Chicago forumer.

DOES ANYONE KNOW WTF I'M EVEN TALKING ABOUT? lol :)

If it helps, I think the article might have been a comparative analysis or rankings of other cities as well.

I've tried searching the internet extensively for this article, but have had no luck.

If anyone recalls this, it would be great if you could keep me from looking for a similar citation elsewhere.

Thanks so much!

I am a stong believer in the psychological effect an urban environment has on job satisfaction. I am not the highest paid person around, I probably have amoung the lowest income of anybody living in my building and yet because I work in a dynamic urban environment I find my job and life very satisfying. Sure the field I am in is what I wanted to go into but in all honesty if I worked in a suburban office park and had the same pay and nature of work I would probably hate my job for its monotony. The urban environment gives me a break from whatever stress work might give me. I often wonder if the reason that so many americans are disatisfied with their jobs is because so many work in soulless suburban office parks. I have spent time walking around suburban office buildings and it was dehumanizing and depressing, its the 21st Century psychological equivalent of 19th Century factories.

[Michi]

Kevin J, I think you got it. All of what you said is leading me to confirmation that that's what the article was about. I don't think it was Crain's Chicago, but some other similar publication.

Steely Dan, I remember the one you posted, and while that's not the one I'm thinking of, I still may substitute for that one...especially if the other doesn't resurface. I think it might have been sometime in 2005...it was a bit earlier than the one above.

Chicago103, I totally agree with everything you said. The way people like you and I feel are the examples of the lifestyle satisfaction young professionals are looking for. We're looking for that job in our field (somewhat regardless of pay), want the good challenge, and in an environment that offers exciting social urbanity, but with an abundance of recreation both man made and natural. Come to think of it, it all seems to boil down to what is outside. How anyone can be inspired and fulfilled by swarms of surface parking lots, office parks, and traffic jams is beyond me.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond.

[bnk]

Steely Dan, I remember the one you posted, and while that's not the one I'm thinking of, I still may substitute for that one...especially if the other doesn't resurface. I think it might have been sometime in 2005...it was a bit earlier than the one above.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond.

Perhaps you could back date from site selection with these links for other dates.


[Quote]
^^

I have been following site selection magazine for about 5 years now. I was expecting Chicago Metro to top out again. Top Metros are published in the March issue every year.

Check out some of the past titles.

http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2006/mar/p176/

http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2004/mar/p181/

http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2003/mar/p168/

http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2002/mar/p162/


Not bad coming from an Atlanta based magazine.

This stuff is not propaganda, this stuff is real.[Quote]

[bnk]

edit