The urban challenges that Gary faces plague many areas of Northwest Indiana and the greater Chicago area, according to a representative of Chicago's Metropolitan Planning Council.

Kristi DeLaurentiis, manager of local government and community relations with the MPC, spoke about efforts to combat those issues during the presentation "Shaping NW Indiana and Gary's Future" on Friday at a luncheon meeting of the Lake County Achievement Committee at Teibel's Restaurant in Schererville.

The MPC has partnered with The Times Media Co. as part of the One Region: One Vision initiative, which Times Publisher Bill Masterson Jr. and Times Executive Editor William Nangle spearheaded about two years ago.

The MPC is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that has been developing, promoting and carrying out solutions for regional growth throughout the Chicago area since 1934. Its board includes 60 businesses from Illinois, Indiana and southern Wisconsin.

"We're seeking interjurisdictional cooperation," DeLaurentiis said. "We're not creating another plan."

More than a dozen plans already have been proposed to re-create Northwest Indiana, DeLaurentiis said, including the Marquette Greenway Plan, the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission's 2040 Plan and the Gary-based Broadway Plan.

"These are strong plans. We're trying to see how best to move forward with catalytic projects," she said, defining catalytic projects as those that can spur other investments.

Gary will be the focus of a charrette, or intensive workshop, that is being planned, DeLaurentiis said.

"Gary's challenges are not solely their own," she said.

Arrangements are being made to bring national experts on redevelopment and revitalization to that meeting in Northwest Indiana, possibly in April, DeLaurentiis said. Those consultants can share information about projects that have worked in other depressed areas such as Youngstown, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, she said.

In the meantime, there are positive signs of progress being made to solve such problems as shrinking populations, abandoned buildings and brownfields, DeLaurentiis said.

For example, St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago is offering down payment assistance to employees who want to buy homes in the city's North Harbor redevelopment area. Employer-assisted housing initiatives are being used around the nation to help build livable communities, she said.

"This is one tool to jump-start the homebuying process," DeLaurentiis said. "These are small successes that can reap dividends."