Research & Evidence Base
CUHS isn't built on hype. Every design decision is informed by real-world case studies, academic research, and hard lessons from projects that came before us.
The city we're building for, in numbers
Before the case studies: the City of Chicago's own published figures, computed live from the 77 community areas. This is the landscape CUHS is designed for.
$21,323
Median per-capita income across the 77 areas
Near North Side ($88,669) to Riverdale ($8,201)
16.4 years
Life-expectancy gap between two Chicago neighborhoods
Near North Side: 85.2 yrs · West Garfield Park: 68.8 yrs (2010)
98 / 100
Hardship index in Riverdale, the city's highest
Least hardship: Near North Side at 1. Median: 50.
56.5%
Households below poverty in Riverdale
Lowest rate: Edison Park at 3.3%. Median: 18.9%.
One city, two realities
Per-capita income in Near North Side and Riverdale, drawn to the same zero baseline. This gap — not any token mechanic — is why CUHS exists.
Near North Side has a per-capita income of $88,669; Riverdale has $8,201.
Source: Chicago Data Portal — Selected socioeconomic indicators by community area. Figures are the city's published values per community area.
Grassroots Economics — Kenya Community Currencies
Since 2010, Grassroots Economics has deployed community currencies across Kenya, serving 60,000+ users. Their Sarafu network demonstrated that local currencies with real utility — paying for goods and services within the community — maintain stable value and increase local economic activity by 20-30%.
Key Takeaway
Community currencies work when they have real local utility.
Why This Matters for CUHS
cUHSD is designed as a utility-first currency. Every transaction on the CUHS marketplace — buying products, booking services, attending events — uses cUHSD. Real utility prevents speculative collapse.
Chiemgauer — Germany's Regional Currency
Running since 2003 in Bavaria, the Chiemgauer is one of the longest-surviving community currencies. Its demurrage mechanism (3% annual holding fee) encourages spending over hoarding, resulting in 2.5x faster circulation than the euro in the local economy.
Key Takeaway
Incentivizing circulation over hoarding strengthens local economies.
Why This Matters for CUHS
CUHS plans achievement-level discounts and reward multipliers to incentivize participation and circulation — a design goal for later phases, not a live earning program.
CityCoins — Post-Mortem Analysis
MiamiCoin and NYCCoin launched in 2021 with celebrity endorsements and city government backing. By 2023, both had lost 99%+ of their value. The fatal flaw: tokens had no real utility beyond speculation. City treasuries received funds but provided no services back to token holders.
Key Takeaway
Celebrity hype and government backing mean nothing without real utility.
Why This Matters for CUHS
CUHS design rule: every planned token must have defined utility (marketplace, vault data, or governance) — no speculation-only tokens. This is a design constraint, not a claim that tokens are live.
Terra/UST — Collapse Analysis
In May 2022, the $40B Terra/UST ecosystem collapsed in 72 hours. The algorithmic stablecoin maintained its peg through arbitrage with LUNA — a circular mechanism with no real collateral. When confidence broke, the death spiral was unstoppable.
Key Takeaway
Algorithmic stablecoins without real collateral are inherently fragile.
Why This Matters for CUHS
The planned cUHSD design uses a multi-collateral vault model (USDC, DAI, and eventually real-world assets) with a target minimum 150% collateral ratio and circuit breakers — avoiding algorithmic-only pegs. Not deployed yet.
Chicago Data Portal — Oracle Data Sources
The City of Chicago maintains one of the most comprehensive open data portals in the US, with 1,200+ datasets covering health, economics, safety, education, and infrastructure across all 77 community areas. This real-time public data powers the CUHS oracle system.
Key Takeaway
Real, verifiable, publicly auditable data creates trustworthy oracles.
Why This Matters for CUHS
The CUHS oracle formula scores community health across 7 weighted feeds: property values, crime rates, employment, spending velocity, education outcomes, business growth, and DAO completion rates. The off-chain v0 publishes each area's score with every feed's source and status via the public oracle API — feeds without a trustworthy source are excluded and reported, never estimated. On-chain publication follows in the smart-contract phase.
Bernard Lietaer — Complementary Currency Theory
Economist Bernard Lietaer (1942-2019) spent 30 years researching complementary currencies. His work demonstrated that communities with diverse currency systems are more resilient to economic shocks — similar to how biodiversity strengthens ecosystems.
Key Takeaway
Monetary monocultures are fragile. Complementary currencies build resilience.
Why This Matters for CUHS
CUHS is not designed to replace the US dollar — it complements it. Planned cUHSD would create a parallel local circuit while connecting to the broader financial system. Dual-economy resilience is the goal, not a present claim.
Built on Evidence, Not Hype
Every technical decision in the CUHS ecosystem is informed by real-world data and hard-won lessons.