Chicago Mayor Rah Emanuel and the Metropolitan Planning Council announced the "Our Great Rivers" plan this week.
Good urban planning can make you smile," begins an article by Blair Kamin reviewing the "Our Great Rivers" plan, recently released by the Metropolitan Planning Council.
The 41-page plan "comes with a headline-generating goal," writes Kamin: "Make the now-polluted rivers so clean that people will be able to swim in them by 2030."
Among the plan's "bold strokes," as described by Kamin, an idea "to create parks in rivers, not just alongside them":
Non-navigable stretches of the rivers, including the South Side's notorious Bubbly Creek and the north branch of the Chicago River east of Goose Island, could be remade into "instream parks" planted with wetlands vegetation and dotted with wildlife.
In addition to Kamin's review of the rivers plan, Leonor Vivanco provides a traditional news report, describing results of the 18-month planning process that produced "Our Great Rivers."
FULL STORY: New rivers plan: Bold strokes and big challenges
A Plan to Bike the Length of the Chicago River by 2030
The Chicago River is attracting some of the city's most creative visions for the future. The second plan in recent months proves the potential of the river as an open space asset.
Chicago Sources River Ideas from Citizens
The Metropolitan Planning Council of Chicago wants to get in on the recent upswing in crowdsourced planning solutions. They are looking to the public for input on the Chicago river system's future.
North Branch of the Chicago River Transforming Into a ‘Wild Mile’
A remarkable transformation is underway along the North Branch of the Chicago River, after being channelized and brutalized for well over a century.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Meet NYC’s New Office of Livable Streets
The NYC DOT program will build on pandemic-era initiatives to promote safe and comfortable streets that enhance community and expand uses beyond just moving cars.
Transit Riders Face the Highest Safety Risks in These 10 States
According to federal data, the average number of safety incidents on public transportation averaged 55.2 per 100,000 people across all states between 2010 and 2023. Which states came in well above the national average?
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
