05/21/2025

SPO 2025 Firm Crawl

The SPO 2025 Firm Crawl was held on April 4 in Chicago, IL. The UIUC Student Planning Organization (SPO) toured planning, architectural, and engineering firms throughout the day, making connections and learning about the profession.

The day ended with a happy hour networking event, where several members were able to make meaningful connections with local professionals and follow up on tour information.

The main challenge during the event was coordination and transportation throughout the city, as many trains and buses were delayed or missed, meaning many students arrived late to the firms. Time crunches were also a problem in the firms themselves, as only about an hour was allotted to each firm, so the depth of conversation was limited.

Despite all that, this event was a great success and the students were able to learn much about the Chicago urban planning scene and connect with a breadth of practitioners in the area.

Author: Anthony Crispin, 2025 SPO Representative