The $176 million Phase I design concept for Navy Pier unveiled last week promises a "parklike" feel along the banks of Lake Michigan.
The Chicago Tribune's Kathy Bergen and Cheryl Kent report: a design team led by landscape architect James Corner is envisioning the "the Spanish Steps in Rome" on the banks of Lake Michigan. Corner, whose design of the High Line in Manhattan highlights a distinguished career in the design and planning of public parks and open spaces, presented "a much-needed refurbishment of a facility with unsophisticated aesthetic qualities."
"For those who walk out to the east end of the 3,000-foot pier, raised lookout platforms will provide lake views, and a water feature will create a cloudlike mist that visitors can walk through," say Bergen and Kent of some of the “softened” Pier’s key design elements. Plans extend to the interior of the facility as well, redesigned by Gensler's Chicago office to "be de-cluttered and given a more open, contemporary feel."
Initial reaction from the design community has been positive: "’Anything that makes it more parklike is all to the good,’ said eclectic Chicago architect Stanley Tigerman. ‘It can only go up, architecturally.’"
FULL STORY: Plan aims to turn Navy Pier into more of a park

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
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LA to Replace Inglewood Light Rail Project With Bus Shuttles
LA Metro says the change is in response to community engagement and that the new design will be ready before the 2028 Olympic Games.

Paris Voters Approve More Car-Free Streets
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo says the city will develop a plan to close 500 streets to car traffic and add new bike and pedestrian infrastructure after a referendum on the proposal passed with 66 percent of the vote.
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