Chicago’s Green Plan – Will it be enough?

by James Wild, Gridwerk Architecture
In response to the NY Times Article, ‘A City Prepares for a Warm Long-Term Forecast’
that was published on June 6th, 2012

Regardless of warmer or cooler climate change predictions, the use of permeable paving systems and high solar albedo surfaces that reflect more solar energy are the key to reducing solar gain on heat islands in relation to water run-off in the spring and the summer.

The Chicago City Sewers are historically over-taxed. The overflow consistently runs into the lake, resulting in grey or black water runoff polluting our primary source of drinking water… Didn’t they reverse the Chicago River because of this about 100 years ago?

While the City has employed the ongoing deep tunnel project to reduce water run-off and manage the sewer overflow, they have only slowly began to balance this strategy with a change in the city’s surface and sewer infrastructure, which is key to properly solving these issues.

Due to this history, whether temperatures increase or decrease in the future is not the argument. What needs to be discussed is what strategies should Chicago employ, and in turn, which the City should prioritize, seek approval on and implement.

Currently, the State of Illinois EPA is offering a grant program to portions of the city specifically designed for the reduction of pollution and water run-off into our waterways.

Sadly, our very own Logan Square has one of the largest annual sewer run-offs in the city. To address this issue, the Metropolitan Planning Council worked with the neighborhood to form the Milwaukee Avenue Green Development Corridor, of which I am a member.

Unfortunately, this is only a pilot program. The money currently being offered is criminally small. It is up to the success of programs like this to continue funding or discontinue funding. With governmental agencies buckling down, including the City of Chicago, the challenge is how to sustain the momentum of implementing these changes.

It is our professional and civic responsibility to push these agendas forward. Please join us in the effort! If we are having this problem prior to climate change, imagine what could happen if temperatures increase as scientifically predicted in this article!