{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/121530"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/121530","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Examining place-based levers that drive private investments in Chicago’s opportunity zones","abstract":"Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2023-12-04 without embargo terms","abstract_html":"Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2023-12-04 without embargo terms","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Devanarayanan, Anagha"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"M.U.P.","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Urban Planning","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Greenlee, Andrew J","Allred, Dustin"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-08","date_published":"2023-08","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:00Z","subjects":["Opportunity Zones","Community Development","Economic Development","Housing","Neighborhood","Incentives","Chicago","Private Investments","Local Government","Investment Strategies"],"languages":["en","eng"],"rights":["Copyright 2023 Anagha Devanarayanan"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121530","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Greenlee, Andrew J","Allred, Dustin"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Devanarayanan, Anagha"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2023-08","2023-07-19"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Urban Planning"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.U.P."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Opportunity Zones","Community Development","Economic Development","Housing","Neighborhood","Incentives","Chicago","Private Investments","Local Government","Investment Strategies"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2023 Anagha Devanarayanan"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121530"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2023-12-04 without embargo terms","The student, Anagha Devanarayanan, accepted the attached license on 2023-07-14 at 11:39.","The student, Anagha Devanarayanan, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2023-07-14 at 11:48.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2023-07-19 at 16:40.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #19695 on 2023-12-04 at 17:02:40","The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 introduced the Opportunity Zones (OZ) program, which aims to attract long-term capital to real estate projects and businesses in distressed communities. It offers tax benefits to private investors with capital gains tax liabilities who invest in OZ funds, thus driving private capital into these disinvested communities. While the program shares a common goal with other market incentives to revitalize disadvantaged neighborhoods using private capital, there is little evidence of the involvement of local governments and community actors written into the policy. I examine the impact of the OZ program in Chicago and argue that local initiatives, planning practices, and stakeholder motivations significantly shape the program's outcomes and community impact. By analyzing census data, planning documents, and interviews, the study examines favorable combination of local planning incentives that maximize the benefits of the OZ program and explores the relationship between stakeholders as well as the motivations behind their decisions. The study finds that OZs yield the best return on investment as well as most community impact when combined with other incentives. In Chicago, the city's local initiatives enhance the impact of OZs by improving the implementation process and directing the incentives towards vacant properties in distressed neighborhoods. However, since the initiatives prioritize commercial development, the OZ program is likely to predominantly promote such projects. Among the various stakeholders, I emphasize the crucial role of the City of Chicago and nonprofit or community-based developers in OZ implementation. The city can provide oversight and further support nonprofit developers to absorb and retain benefits within the community. Moreover, the City and nonprofit developers are highly committed to creating opportunities for community participation and minimizing the risks of displacement. The study recommends maximizing the involvement of these stakeholders and addressing Chicago's community development needs, particularly in the housing sector, to bridge the gaps in OZ implementation. Given that the OZ program has a time limit, it is important to improve its implementation practices to ensure that private OZ capital, even if for a short period, does not drastically change the neighborhood’s socioeconomic structure and hinder the neighborhood's potential for development."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Examining place-based levers that drive private investments in Chicago’s opportunity zones"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Greenlee, Andrew J","Allred, Dustin"],"dc:creator":["Devanarayanan, Anagha"],"dc:date":["2023-08","2023-07-19"],"dc:description":["Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2023-12-04 without embargo terms","The student, Anagha Devanarayanan, accepted the attached license on 2023-07-14 at 11:39.","The student, Anagha Devanarayanan, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2023-07-14 at 11:48.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2023-07-19 at 16:40.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #19695 on 2023-12-04 at 17:02:40","The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 introduced the Opportunity Zones (OZ) program, which aims to attract long-term capital to real estate projects and businesses in distressed communities. It offers tax benefits to private investors with capital gains tax liabilities who invest in OZ funds, thus driving private capital into these disinvested communities. While the program shares a common goal with other market incentives to revitalize disadvantaged neighborhoods using private capital, there is little evidence of the involvement of local governments and community actors written into the policy. I examine the impact of the OZ program in Chicago and argue that local initiatives, planning practices, and stakeholder motivations significantly shape the program's outcomes and community impact. By analyzing census data, planning documents, and interviews, the study examines favorable combination of local planning incentives that maximize the benefits of the OZ program and explores the relationship between stakeholders as well as the motivations behind their decisions. The study finds that OZs yield the best return on investment as well as most community impact when combined with other incentives. In Chicago, the city's local initiatives enhance the impact of OZs by improving the implementation process and directing the incentives towards vacant properties in distressed neighborhoods. However, since the initiatives prioritize commercial development, the OZ program is likely to predominantly promote such projects. Among the various stakeholders, I emphasize the crucial role of the City of Chicago and nonprofit or community-based developers in OZ implementation. The city can provide oversight and further support nonprofit developers to absorb and retain benefits within the community. Moreover, the City and nonprofit developers are highly committed to creating opportunities for community participation and minimizing the risks of displacement. The study recommends maximizing the involvement of these stakeholders and addressing Chicago's community development needs, particularly in the housing sector, to bridge the gaps in OZ implementation. Given that the OZ program has a time limit, it is important to improve its implementation practices to ensure that private OZ capital, even if for a short period, does not drastically change the neighborhood’s socioeconomic structure and hinder the neighborhood's potential for development."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121530"],"dc:language":["en","eng"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2023 Anagha Devanarayanan"],"dc:subject":["Opportunity Zones","Community Development","Economic Development","Housing","Neighborhood","Incentives","Chicago","Private Investments","Local Government","Investment Strategies"],"dc:title":["Examining place-based levers that drive private investments in Chicago’s opportunity zones"],"dc:type":["text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Urban Planning"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.U.P."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:00Z"}