On Chicago's Goose Island, City Digital Accelerates Smart City Innovation

Data-Smart City Solutions: Say “Goose Island,” and most people will think of craft beer. But on Chicago’s North Side, there indeed is an actual island—a small 1.5 mile stretch of land embedded within the north branch of the Chicago River. For locals, it simply blends in with the urban fabric that surrounds it.

The island likely got its name from some of its earliest (human) inhabitants, a settlement of Irish immigrants in the 1840s. By the 1870s, with Chicago’s industrial boom in full swing, those settlers were soon replaced with coal yards, factories, and railroads, making it a hub of manufacturing for the city from then onward.

Today, Goose Island is transitioning from an industrial hub to a tech-focused one. In 2014, innovation accelerator UI Labs opened its doors on the island to bring together public, private, and academic partners to develop innovative new technologies in infrastructure and manufacturing.

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