Transplanting Trees 101

This past week the Chicago Reader paid homage to some across-the-street leafy neighbors who were forced to uproot…

For nearly 20 years, a landscaped lot next to the Near North Side’s AMA Building served as something of a park for the area. But recently a developer announced plans to build a 35-story residential/hotel tower on the site. Twenty-six red maple trees that had provided shade for the lot seemed headed straight for the chipper. But instead of turning the trees into pulp, the developer donated the trees to the city and helped pay for the trees’ expensive cross-town move.

A treemover from Texas moseyed on up to the city and spent a week transplanting the 26 trees – four a day, one seven-foot deep hole at a time. Now the trees are adjusting to life on the east side of Humboldt Park.

Environmentally-conscious developers really do exist…

‘Blueprint for positive change’?

In February 2000, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved the Chicago Housing Authority’s (CHA) Plan for Transformation. Touted as a comprehensive “blueprint for positive change,” the three-pronged plan is supposed to renew the CHA’s physical properties, promote self-sufficiency for public housing residents and reform the CHA administration.

An article in today’s Chicago Tribune, however, suggests the plan has yet to materialize at the Harold Ickes Homes on the Near South Side. Sara Olkon, a Tribune staff reporter, writes that despite the city’s grand new plan, “the Ickes” is a “throwback to the kind of public housing that made Chicago notorious.” Moreover, the city has yet to decide whether or not to rehab the building or demolish it. Stuck in limbo, critics say conditions at the building have deteriorated into lawlessness.

Field of dreams

    Maybe it’s true that if you build it, they’ll let you stay…

    A Chicago Journal article this week reports that the Illinois Medical District wants a Little League baseball field in the Near West Side to clear its land so that they can build a new biotech building. Near West Little League officials always knew they could only use the park temporarily, but the league has used the park for 13 years and, officials say, it’s become a “safe haven” for the neighborhood.

    A September 25 letter from the Illinois Medical District to the league and the Chicago Park District demanded that the league clear the park by this week. But Mayor Daley and local alderman have expressed their support for the park.

What does your ‘hood’s SBQ say about you?

It’s hardly a new insight that the number of Starbucks coffee shops a neighborhood boasts correlates with the socio-economic status of the ‘hoods inhabitants. But a pair of Sun-Times writers revive the debate over the desirability of Starbucks in a couple of opinion pieces this past week.

Mark Konkol introduces the notion of the “Starbucks quotient” (the number of Starbucks in a given zip code) and explores how closely that number is tied to a neighborhood’s “hotness.”

In response, the Sun-Time’s politics and law reporter, Abdon M. Pallasch, defends his “Venti-Caramel-Macchiato-free” neighborhood.

Interested online communities

Here are a few online communities that focus on urban communities and planning:

Cyburbia - an online portal/social networking site established in 1994 for urban planners and others interested in cities

Planningwiki – an urban/town planning encyclopedia, glossary, reference and resource guide that anyone can be edited by anyone

Believe Chicago - a Chicago grassroots group that coordinates environmentally-minded urbanites via the Web

Treehugger – an online community for those interested in socially and environmentally progressive topics

Key relevant Web sites

These Web sites provide additional information on the topics The Sidewalk will cover:

The Foresight Design Initiative – a Chicago nonprofit creating a sustainable urban environment by engaging elected leaders, local nonprofits, urban planners and designers, the business community and the public

Beyond Today, a Chicago grassroots environmental group

American Planning Association – a nonprofit public interest and research organization committed to urban, suburban, regional and rural planning

Project for Public Places – a nonprofit urban planning and design organization

The Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. Green Buildings Council

Welcome to The Sidewalk

Here are a few of the topics this blog will cover:1) The Children’s Museum Controversy

Mayor Daley, among many others, is in favor of moving the museum to Grant Park, but opponents, such as Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), cite 1836 language that declares the lakefront public park should remain “forever open clear and free.”

These links provide some background info -
“Plan for Children’s Museum in lakefront park stirring controversy” – A September Associated Press story published in the Chicago Tribune
“Forever Open, Clear and Free” – A recent Chicago Reader article on the issue
A letter to the public from Peter England, president and CEO of the Chicago Children’s Museum, urging community members to write Ald. Reilly expressing their support for the project

2) Green Design

In November, Chicago will host GreenBuild, the annual conference of the U.S. Green Buildings Council. Already Chicago leads the country in green roofs and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings. What else does it have in the works?

Here are a few related links:
The Web site for the Chicago chapter of the U.S. Green Buildings Council
The Web site for the November GreenBuild conference
The Web site for the Center for Neighborhood Technology, a Chicago non-profit committed to green design

3) Climate Change

The state of Illinois is working on a plan to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Chicago’s plan – created through the city’s Department of the Environment – is expected to be released soon. How will the plan affect the city’s various neighborhoods?

Here are some links related to the city’s climate action plan:
The Chicago Climate Strategy wiki – established by the Chicago Department of the Environment for members of the climate action committee
The Chicago Department of the Environment Web site