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The Greening of Chicago
There used to be a time when newcomers to Chicago, surrounded by busy streets
and towering buildings, would have noticed a serious deficiency in the color
spectrum. The cityscape provided plenty of gray, but little green could be
seen. These days, however, the city welcomes residents, workers and visitors
with a
more natural palette, provided by a greater abundance of trees, grassy areas
and flowers, and even planted rooftops. Plus, all that greenery is helping
to conserve energy.
When elected in 1989, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley surveyed the metropolitan
area and realized he missed the trees he remembered from his childhood days
in the city. He began a program to beautify the city with greenery, which also
initiated
ecology-oriented energy conservation. By 2003, the Mayor’s office had
planted more than 400,000 trees. The environmental benefits produced by this
endeavor
were the equivalent of removing the pollution of 14,000 cars.
Two Midwestern businesswomen, inspired by Mayor Daley’s vision, will document
his efforts to beautify the city he loves in an upcoming video, “The Greening
of Chicago: Life Began in a Garden.” The video is being produced by Nancy
Nehlson of Nehlson Communications, a marketing and public relations firm in Moline,
IL, and Chicago interior decorator Doris Ayres. Interviews and clips will document
Mayor Daley’s restoration of Chicago to an inviting city with natural
beauties and an environmental conscience. The video is currently in production
and slated
for completion in 2005.
“
I believe the greening of Chicago will serve as the inspiration for similar greening
programs in communities across America,” said Ms. Nehlsen. “This
initiative reflects well on our society’s increasing awareness of environmental
issues. The fact that it also helps to conserve energy makes the entire project
a win-win scenario.”
Ms. Nehlsen’s co-producer, Doris Ayres, is an interior decorator and one
of the stars of ‘The ReDesigners,’ a home décor program on
WCTV, Wilmette Community Television. She has lived in the Chicago area for 30
years, and said, “I am very much influenced by my environment, so I have
found the greening of Chicago to be a wonderfully uplifting experience.” She
believes the story of the city’s beautification has nationwide impact. “Mayor
Daley obviously loves beauty and nature,” she said, “and it is inspirational
to see how one person’s vision can create such amazing changes.”
Mayor Daley’s vision required the skill of Barry Burton, Assistant to the
Mayor, who was hired to help with the greening process. Having managed a similar
program for the Detroit Zoo for six years, his knowledge of such projects has
been essential to Chicago’s success. The city’s urban beautification
effort, which included extensive landscaping efforts, soon produced additional
benefits of improved commerce, a decreased load on the environment, and better
air quality.
The planting of green rooftops in Chicago did much to improve air quality
and also save on energy. Mayor Daley led by example with this initiative by
planting
a green roof on City Hall. Each elevated oasis helps to alleviate Chicago’s
recurring problems of rainwater runoff flooding and urban ‘heat island’ effect.
These planted roofs kept the outside air cooler while lessening the need for
indoor air-conditioning, creating energy savings while improving indoor comfort
levels.
Some may assume that this program took a large portion of the city’s budget
to achieve. But according to Mr. Burton, “Chicago’s entire 63 miles
of medians and 30 miles of boulevards that are landscaped cost less than one
percent of the city’s budget.” This expenditure has proven to be
a wise investment. Of all the older, manufacturing-based Midwestern cities,
Chicago is the only one with a population gain.
Ms. Nehlsen mentioned that the greening of Chicago is an excellent example
of a nature-oriented movement in the construction industry. “America’s
concerns for nature and energy conservation are reflected in the growing popularity
of green building,” she said. “Buildings designed by the standards
of the U.S. Green Building Council are models of efficiency in the use of resources
and energy.”
Green buildings are made from materials that include recycled, renewable,
and reused resources. Such innovative building methods reduce the impact of
natural
resource consumption, improve the bottom line for business, and enhance the
comfort levels of living spaces and working conditions.
“
At Nehlsen Communications, I also work with the Mechanical Contractors Association
of America,” Ms. Nehlsen said, “and so I see how green building
is growing in popularity in other areas, such as the heating, ventilation,
and air-conditioning
industries. I grew up in a rural community and currently live in one, so awareness
of our responsibility to nature has been an integral part of my life.”
Ms. Nehlsen added that the Chicago nature initiative also put an often-overlooked
natural resource to productive use. “Sometimes people are so accustomed
to thinking of the homeless as a problem, we forget that they are people,” she
said. “Mayor Daley’s green effort created the need for a labor
pool for these people. They took part in the general care of the trees and
flowers
being planted.”
According to Ms. Ayres, the Christian Coalition proved invaluable in helping
the homeless to join the workforce. “For many, it was a new beginning,” she
said. “The were once again able to take pride in playing an important
role in their community.”
The greening of Chicago has created a cleaner, healthier, more energy-efficient
environment for Chicago, and serves as a template for other cities to follow.
The upcoming video, “The Greening of Chicago: Life Began in a Garden,” will
document the greening process and illustrate how one person’s vision
can lead to a brighter future for an entire community.
For more information visit www.ncpr.com or call 309.736.1071.
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