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MarySue Barrett helps the Metropolitan Planning Council nurture the "art of what is possible." continued on page 56 C hicago prides itself on being "the city that works," but making good on that mantra requires strategic plan- ning, ingenuity, and the ability to evolve. For MarySue Barrett, president of the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), which celebrates its 80th anniversary on March 12, it's about collaborating with public- and private-sector groups and organizations to grow the Chicagoland area. "The blueprint for success for the world's most successful cities is that they are con- stantly reinventing themselves," says Barrett, who previously worked as Mayor Richard M. Daley's chief of policy. In a nutshell, it's about nurturing the "art of what is possible," Barrett says, a philosophy that has guided the organization (originally called the Metropolitan Housing Council) since it was founded in 1934 by a group of prominent business leaders who wanted to improve the slumlike living conditions of Chicago's working class. That same year, the Chicago World's Fair—dubbed "the Century of Progress"—proved to be the per- fect venue for MPC's founding executive director, Elizabeth Wood, to showcase two traditional worker cottages: One was left in squalor, and one improved with minimal funds to show how living conditions could easily be improved. "It was an opportunity to talk not only to Chicagoans, but also to the world about the need to do better," Barrett says. Make No Little Plans AS THE METROPOLITAN PLANNING COUNCIL CELEBRATES ITS 80TH ANNIVERSARY, PRESIDENT MARYSUE BARRETT STEPS UP HER QUEST TO FOSTER CHICAGO'S DEVELOPMENT. BY DAWN REISS PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON LITTLE VIEW FROM THE TOP MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 55 Superlatives PEOPLE, CULTURE, TASTE, TREASURES 055-056_MA_SP_VFT_Spring_14.indd 55 2/11/14 2:40 PM