Case Study Site Visit: Puerto Rican Cultural Center

Humboldt Park neighborhood has been the center of Chicago’s Puerto Rican community since the 1970s and is home to many Puerto Rican-owned businesses. In recent years, home prices and rents have skyrocketed in the historically disinvested neighborhood. The Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC), located on the neighborhood’s Paseo Boricua commercial corridor, is working with local partners to slow gentrification and displacement by building community wealth, creating employment opportunities, and attracting investment while honoring and preserving the community’s cultural heritage and resources. 

PRCC was instrumental in creating SB1833, an Illinois bill that allows for the designation of cultural districts across the state. The legislation, passed in 2021, is intended to help communities slow gentrification through cultural preservation that stimulates economic development. With the passage of SB1833, PRCC is working to have the Paseo Boricua neighborhood officially designated as “Puerto Rico Town.” PRCC’s case study reviews the behind-the-scenes work to pass the bill and includes interviews with key figures involved in creating the legislation. The study examines barriers organizers encountered and looks at future steps and mechanisms for implementation.

The SBAN site visit will coincide with the annual Fiestas Patronales Puertorriqueñas. The visit will include walking tours of Puerto Rico Town, known for its murals by local artists, and panel discussions with business owners, scholars, community leaders, and local politicians. Discussion will focus on the history of gentrification in Humboldt Park, the potential economic benefits of a cultural district designation, challenges and limitations of PRCC’s approach, and what steps can be taken to ensure its success. Attendees will learn about how similar policies could be implemented in other communities, including how to develop and find the political will to pass similar preservation legislation.