Chicago Architecture Biennial – Les Lumières : The Good City Panel
Odile Compagnon is an architect with a practice of almost 40 years in Chicago, IL, and Paris, France. She teaches architecture and scenography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She likes to always have something to say when someone asks her “What’s Good?”. Odile is a founding member of the Good City Group.
Traci Wile is a community organizer, artist, and designer. She teaches architecture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She deeply believes in working for and with people to foster empowered, cohesive communities. Traci joined the Good City Group in 2020 as executive director and is spearheading the participatory engagement effort.
Formed in March 2013, the Good City Group came together around the idea – offered by the group’s early proponent, Victor Margolin (1941-2019) – that the “good city” can inform our roles as civic innovators who care deeply about Chicago’s future. The group was born out of a collective desire for cross-disciplinary, experimental proposals that affect our everyday experiences. We explore inventive, equitable approaches to placemaking, urban design, and environmental justice at a hyperlocal scale that can have a broad impact for residents. The Good City Group was instrumental in the recently awarded Al Fresco Grant by Chicago Department Of Transportation to the Westridge neighborhood on the north side of Chicago, and received special recognition from the 2021 Design a Better Chicago program.