Redrawing the American (suburban) city

Five or six of the region's top city planners now work for towns in the Chicago Southland; traditionally, the Southland has been like the La Brea Tar Pits for municipal planners (who, admittedly, are sometimes like dinosaurs).

But that professional capacity is growing now for all sorts of reasons - fat kids, global warming, empty nesting, stimulus funding, the threat from new suburban edge communities. Here, one of those Southland top talents, Blue Island's Jodi Prout, gets some recognition from the Natural Resources Defense Council's publication, OnEarth.

As a bonus, check out the snooty caption beneath the picture of State Street in Chicago. Someone's a hater!