What works in Chicago
All catalogues · United States of America profile
Quality scores are 0–100 rubric scores; “strong evidence” reflects study design; adoptions count documented replications elsewhere. Know more
Evidence snapshot for Chicago
Chicago has deployed data-driven approaches to improve public health and urban infrastructure. Chicago's food inspection forecasting model used machine learning to rank restaurants by violation risk, catching 69% of critical violations in the first half of inspections versus 55% under standard practice, and finding problems roughly 7.5 days earlier. The Array of Things sensor network, developed by Argonne National Lab and the University of Chicago starting in 2016, deployed open-source sensors across the city to measure air quality, noise, heat, light and traffic, with the underlying platform later expanded to place 115 air-quality sensors on bus shelters through Project Eclipse. Evidence on these initiatives is strongest for engineering performance and operational deployment; documented policy impact remains more limited.
Drawn from: Chicago's Food Inspection Forecasting Model — Ranking Restaurants by Violation Risk to Catch Problems Sooner · U.S. Soccer's $24M Equal-Pay Settlement and Identical Collective Bargaining Agreements (2022) · Array of Things — Chicago's Open-Source Urban Sensor Network · UChicago Law's 'Rethinking Legal Education' Strategy — Coordinated Device Ban Across All Nine 1L Courses · Chicago Green Alleys — Permeable-Pavement Alley Reconstruction, ~400 Built and Unevenly Sited · Chicago's Strategic Subject List — A Decade of Predictive Policing Without Evidence It Reduced Violence
Generated from this place's cited practices only. Always check the linked sources.
Strengths & weaknesses vs peers
Strengths
Innovation +38 pts 100 here · 62 average
Effectiveness +32 pts 100 here · 68 average
Impact on gender equality +29 pts 100 here · 71 average
Curator validation +27 pts 100 here · 73 average
Multi-stakeholder collaboration +26 pts 100 here · 74 average
Evaluated outcomes +21 pts 100 here · 79 average
Transparency, ethics & data protection +20 pts 67 here · 47 average
Water & soil — retention, infiltration, erosion control +19 pts 67 here · 48 average
Achievement / evidence +12 pts 100 here · 88 average
Evidence of impact / measured results +9 pts 67 here · 57 average
Weaknesses
Governance, capability & sustainability -8 pts 56 here · 64 average
Inclusiveness / equity -9 pts 33 here · 43 average
Transferability / replicability -10 pts 50 here · 60 average
Scalability -12 pts 50 here · 62 average
Equity & inclusion -17 pts 33 here · 50 average
Evidence of learning impact -26 pts 0 here · 26 average
Carbon — sequestration / storage, evidenced -28 pts 0 here · 28 average
Efficiency -33 pts 0 here · 33 average
Biodiversity — conservation / improvement, evidenced -48 pts 0 here · 48 average
Gender-mainstreaming embedding -89 pts 0 here · 89 average
Score profile vs peers
Coloured bar: Chicago. Grey bar: peer average across the corpus. Both on a common 0–100 scale.
Points compare this place's average on each dimension with the average across all evaluated places, on a common 0–100 scale. Know more
Top good practices here
U.S. Soccer's $24M Equal-Pay Settlement and Identical Collective Bargaining Agreements (2022) · 74
Array of Things — Chicago's Open-Source Urban Sensor Network · 71
Chicago Green Alleys — Permeable-Pavement Alley Reconstruction, ~400 Built and Unevenly Sited · 27
Each number is the practice's overall 0–100 quality score against its catalogue's rubric. Know more
Recommended to adopt or replicate
Transferable practices from elsewhere that address this place's gaps.
Ciudad Mujer — El Salvador's Integrated Women's Services Programme · fit 100/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Backed by strong evidence
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Already adopted in 3 other places
SASA! Community Mobilisation Programme against Intimate Partner Violence — Uganda · fit 100/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Backed by strong evidence
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Already adopted in 4 other places
Rwanda's Land Tenure Regularization Programme — Titling Land in Women's Names · fit 90/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Backed by strong evidence
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
- Rated highly transferable
- Backed by strong evidence
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Already adopted in 6 other places
Abolition of Chhaupadi — Ending Menstrual Exile Huts in Nepal's Far- and Mid-Western Districts · fit 82/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Guyana's One-Third Gender Candidate Quota — Two Decades of Sustained Representation · fit 82/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Serbia's 40% Electoral Gender Quota — From One-in-Three to Near-Parity Party Lists (2020-2025) · fit 82/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Bogotá's Care Blocks (Manzanas del Cuidado) · fit 82/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Fit estimates how well a practice matches this place, 0 (poor) to 100 (excellent); the list is ordered to favour practices that address this place's gaps. Know more