In neighborhoods such as Chicago’s Greektown, rising commercial rents, redevelopment, and changes in property ownership can displace long-time small businesses, weakening cultural identity, reducing locally rooted services, and concentrating economic opportunity in fewer hands. You face a broader urban challenge in which market pressures and uneven investment reshape who can remain, work, and access community resources, with direct implications for economic inclusion and inequality.

How can we map Greektown’s assets, interview long-time small business owners, and present our findings through a group presentation and short video so that Greektown residents, business owners, and community groups can protect the neighborhood’s history, support long-time shops, and expand fair access to local jobs and services?

Possible partners in Greektown Chicago include the National Hellenic Museum and the Greektown Chicago Business Association. The National Hellenic Museum can share Greektown’s immigrant and business history and use student-created neighborhood history panels, short videos, or group presentation materials in education or public programs. The Greektown Chicago Business Association can connect small groups with long-time business owners, highlight current concerns about rent and ownership change, and use student findings from presentations and community share-outs for outreach, advocacy, and neighborhood promotion. Students may also work directly with a long-time small business owner or community partner in Greektown as an interview source and authentic audience for recommendations.