Morton Arboretum, MKSK submit winning proposals for a greener Chicago
Building a greener, healthier and more connected Chicago is the mission of a new ideas competition by World Business Chicago.
The economic development organization put out a call for bold ideas, asking residents, community organizations, and professionals to imagine what the city could become over the next 25 years. The competition, announced earlier this year, is called Horizon Lines: Visions of Chicago 2050.
After going through nearly 200 submissions, two winners were chosen. The Morton Arboretum was chosen for its Green City Rising Idea, and landscape architecture and urban design firm MKSK was chosen for its project Wonderways!
While the Morton Arboretum is located in west suburban Lisle in DuPage County, the Green City Rising proposal is geared toward the city of Chicago — all of it.
"Green City Rising imagines the entire city of Chicago, hopefully beyond, as an arboretum," said Morton Arboretum president and chief executive officer Jill Koski. "So what that means is the entire city will be an interconnected network of neighborhood green spaces that will really reflect the rich cultural diversity of those individual communities, so community residents will help and partner and work with us to build sort of tree-lined, beautiful streets that increase sort of, you know, economic development, build community green spaces where people can be outside and a part of nature — but really, the entire city as a living, breathing arboretum."
The proposal noted that Chicago is projected to become a climate haven by 2080, and the Green City Rising project would expand climate resilience ailing with public health and community strength.
Currently, tree canopy coverage is uneven around the city, with many neighborhoods on the South and West sides having limited access to green space, and thus higher temperatures and worse environmental stressors. Green City Rising envisions a city where every neighborhood is lush and green by 2050.
Koski said the Morton Arboretum has already been working to make Chicago greener.
"The good news is Green City Rising, our vision and proposal, builds upon work that we've been doing for well over a decade, so the arboretum is already working in more than 89 communities across the city — all community-led projects," said Koski. "So every project, every neighborhood looks a little bit different, which is fantastic."
Koski said the Morton Arboretum's Chicago Region Trees Initiative already has resources that will help individual residents plan trees independently in their own neighborhoods, or building their own neighborhood arboretums or green spaces.
MKSK's Wonderways! proposal seeks to reimagine the city's historic 28-mile boulevard system, which serves as a belt connecting parks around the city. The idea is to turn the boulevard system into a network of "climate commons," with an expanded tree canopy, native plantings, walking and bicycling connections, and gathering spots.
"I think it would look very alive with community members, families, friends — everyone coming together. It would be transformed into a space that would be safe and accessible for people to come and gather as a community," said Brett Weidl, principal and landscape architect at MKSK, "but it would also be used as a climate commons— g so we're saying, this is an environment that we can mitigate stormwater runoff. We have a major stormwater problem with all of the intensity of storms that we're seeing in climate change. So how can we mitigate the effects of climate change while also bringing communities together, strengthening each other?"
The Wonderways! proposal highlights plans for an expanded tree canopy, layered planting systems, continuous trails, and adaptable plazas — and that's just for the summer. In the winter, the proposal calls for opportunities for sledding and play while maximizing wind and solar gain.
The Chicago Cultural Center downtown is hosting an exhibition showcasing Green City Rising, Wonderways! and other proposals submitted to World Business Chicago through Oct. 11. Admission is free.
