An emerging trend in urban economic development has civic boosters turning to the National Park Service for support

Pulllman is the historic Chicago neighborhood where train cars and labor history were made throughout the 19th and 20th century. Like so many other formerly industrial areas, it is now searching for a 21st-century identity. In January, the grandest reinvention of all was introduced to the U.S. Congress. The idea: designate Pullman as a national historical park, under the administration of the National Park Service. Pullman park, with its explicit economic development focus, could be highly influential in a part of the country rich in struggling urban neighborhoods and desperate for federal support to revitalize them. Journalist Sam Worley takes us to Pullman to explore what a federal park designation could mean for Chicago and other cities seeking new ways to reinvigorate neighborhoods.

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