Like many great cities of the world, Chicago owes its rise and prosperity to the waterways that literally carried the building blocks of its early economy. While re-engineering a river system made the city an industrial powerhouse, it also sacrificed the landscapes that made it a biodiversity powerhouse. Multibillion-dollar riverfront developments like The 78 celebrate the river as a post-industrial asset, but they also provide high-profile opportunities to turn large parcels at the river’s edge into accessible landscapes reminiscent of pre-industrialization. For over 60 years, Openlands has worked on important landscapes across our jurisdictionally complex region, methodically reconnecting a once-cohesive web of blue and green. In Chicago, we envision a river system that threads together landscapes as diverse as our neighborhoods. With over 155 miles of riverfront land in the city, the system could connect communities of people, habitats and wildlife.
The post Chicago Sun Times – Don’t let development at The 78 squash public access to the Chicago River appeared first on Openlands.
The post Chicago Sun Times – Don’t let development at The 78 squash public access to the Chicago River appeared first on Openlands.