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| Venue: |
Chicago Architecture Foundation, 224 S. Michigan, Chicago, IL
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| Duration: |
11 June - 20 November, 2009
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Organizer:
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Chicago Architecture Foundation
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| Reviewer: |
Robert Lau, CTBUH Journal Associate Editor
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Download PDF of exhibition review here
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Learn more about this event here |
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Credit: Chicago Architecture Foundation
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Inspired by the models of Shanghai and Beijing, the Chicago Architecture Foundation has organized the creation of a 1”=50’ physical model of Chicago, now on exhibit in the lobby of 224 S. Michigan. Besides the model there are posters and videos to explain the planning issues that have created this metropolis. The exhibit introduces the many issues of urban planning that have formed the Chicago of today.
Chicago’s Urban Planning
Like many metropolises, the city of Chicago had humble beginnings but has become a global destination. In the early 19th century, it was just a frontier town. In the later 19th century, it grew by leaps and bounds, to become a major urban center in the nation. There were many reasons for this growth and the city has evolved into what we see today.
Urban planning was not at the forefront when the town was incorporated. As this exhibit displays, the planning of a city involves many sometimes competing forces. It also changes over time. The priorities of some are challenged by others. The interests of business, commerce, government, working-class, and community have clashed over the years. The fight over ‘forever to remain vacant of buildings’ for Grant Park as the city’s front yard remains a case in point. This exhibit describes the major planning issues that have defined the city but not the story or debate that may have accompanied these urban planning topics.
Railroad Crossroads of America
Chicago became the hub of Midwest transportation when the Illinois and Michigan Canal opened in the 1840s. The railroads followed soon after. These moneyed interests planned their own destinies, forging ahead into the new frontier. The town grew around them. That was the urban planning. By the end of the 19th century, the working-class masses were huddling in the city’s poorest neighborhoods, toiling in the manufacturing center of America. The town had become a city and commerce was still king. It also became apparent that much could be done to improve the quality of urban life.
The El
By the 1890s, intra-city transport was a major issue. Streets were clogged with horses and pedestrians. New York City had found a solution by building an elevated steam train to ride above the street mayhem. Chicago soon followed suit with an ‘El’ of its own. Now the skyscraper could be born because the dense Central Business District could be accessed from the surrounding neighborhoods. Rapid transit was born.
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| Credit: Chicago Architecture Foundation |
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Credit: Chicago Architecture Foundation |
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1909 Burnham Plan
By the beginning of the 20th century, many community and business leaders were convinced that urban planning could go a long way to improve urban living. Jens Jensen created and attempted to connect neighborhood parks. Daniel Burnham created a Plan, supported by the business community, for recreating Chicago as a world-class city. All Chicagoans would benefit. The six main points of the Burnham Plan included lakefront uses for all, creating cultural and civic institutions, reorganizing the city’s streets for greater efficiency, creating parks for green space, creating regional highways to remain a transportation hub, and planning the city’s railroad terminals.
The goals of his Plan were lofty and far-reaching. Some of them have never materialized. Many of them have and Chicago is better for it. It was a grand attempt by the city’s leadership to promote urban planning to benefit all of the residents along with the business interests.
Highways and Expressways
Technology marches on. The auto has changed the face of America. Innovative arterials like the two-story Wacker Drive and the limited-access Lake Shore Drive became realities. To stay competitive, urban planners demolished neighborhoods to create urban arteries for the car. The growing pains of the city were not always kind to some. In the interest of the region’s progress, this was deemed necessary. Now seen as a necessity, our expressways have in many ways polarized our displaced citizenry.
Urban Renewal
The working-class was drawn to the city to create this metropolis. Their interests have not always been heard. Urban renewal was a major subject in America after WWII. Chicago’s high-rise public housing projects were created in this era, with the best of intentions. Many of them have now been demolished, to be replaced with mixed-income neighborhoods in the ‘Plan for Transformation’. With the current economic downturn, these new neighborhoods are incomplete. Within the city, there still exists a significant gulf between the wealthy neighborhoods and the ‘projects’, as the public housing units are called.
O’Hare Airport as Global Connection
One of the most important elements of the city is the connection it has to the outside world. To be a global leader, an airport is essential. O’Hare International has become that connection to the world. With modest beginnings and frequent delays, the airport ‘took off’ after WWII with political and business support. It remains as one of the great assets to the city. Years of planning went into O’Hare as its benefits are reaped today and for the future.
Now we are engaged in a green world for sustainable technologies. New challenges await the region. If Chicago is to remain a leader, it must continue its urban planning. The future depends on it.
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| Credit: Chicago Architecture Foundation |