When the Great Fire burned most of Chicago to the ground
in 1871, civic planners rebuilt a city that made the US an
architectural influence worldwide. The Chicago School, as
it became known, is easily recognizable today, for the first
skyscraper in the world was constructed in Chicago in 1885.
Now, Chicago wants to re-invent itself again, this time
as the “Greenest city in America.” At the spurring
of Mayor Richard M. Daley, who took office in 1989, Chicago
has been transformed into one of the most attractive cities
in the US.
Daley’s initial pledge - to replant the “urban
forest” of his youth – has evolved into a sophisticated
city planning agenda that involves expanding parks, constructing
environmentally sound buildings, restoring wetlands, generating
renewable energy and conserving the city’s natural
resources. Since 1989, the city has spent $5.2 billion improving
Chicago's walkways, streets, parks and neighborhood communities.
Daley’s agenda has again made Chicago a global influence – this
time a success story on how a city can pursue environmental
goals and achieve economic success at the same time. Within
the past decade, Chicago has attracted more than 100,000
residents, added tens of thousands of new jobs in its downtown
districts, has built thousands of homes and hi-rises, and
has created a $9-billion yearly visitor and convention industry.
(Source: The New York Times)
According to the results of the 2000 census, the city’s
population increased by 112,000 people (such a boom hasn’t
happened since the 1940’s), with many people moving
into Chicago’s downtown neighbourhoods and revitalizing
the area. Abandoned buildings and parking lots have been
transformed into new businesses, parks and community gardens,
and the Daley Administration has initiated a $600-million-a-year
program to repair neighbourhoods and city parks - planting,
in total, an estimate of 500,000 trees, and creating Millennium
Park, 24.5-acres of protected land that join together the
fastest-growing neighborhoods in Chicago.
In addition, Chicago is putting up some of the most energy-efficient
buildings in the country. Daley’s administration gives
out permits to developers much faster if they construct “green” buildings,
and the city is also issuing grants for “urban heat
islands,” to residents. These grants are available
for people to install rooftop gardens, efficient roofing
materials and solar panels as a means to provide clean, renewable
energy to their homes.
Daley’s “Greenest city in America” is
not an eccentric experiment. It is an effective strategy
that is in sync with the changing expectations that business
executives and residents, especially young professionals,
have for cities. In 2001, for example, Boeing moved its headquarters
from Seattle to Chicago, in part because the company’s
executives said that they wanted to live there.
As Charles Shaw writes in Building the Greenest City in
America: “There is an entirely new citizenry making
this city their home, “knowledge workers,” the
lifeblood of the exploding creative and business service
economies. For cities to compete in the Information Age,
they need to be attractive to these new urban dwellers who
want diverse, tolerant, and vibrant cultural environments
that are practically and aesthetically engaging.”
Even Donald Trump had to comply with Chicago’s civic
environmental laws. The Trump International hotel and Tower
Chicago needed go through a series of revisions and extra
requirements to satisfy Chicago, with the final plans of
the tower including a landscaped “river walk” along
the Chicago River.
This is a step closer to the downtown revitalization plan
envisioned by Daly, in which someday terraces full of cafes,
shops, trees and fountains will weave their way around the
river – creating a much different world from when buildings
faced away from the Chicago River to avoid its
stench.
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