Reclaiming Nature's Metropolis

This award-winning competition entry envisions a sustainable Chicago in the year 2076. The design is driven by several interwoven concepts that reinforce one another and together reposition the city as an integral part of its ecosystem:

• Eliminate cars from the city center. Streets are transformed into parkland, habitat, public space, and gardens.

• Re-introduce nature throughout the city. This strategy is visually impactful, but also ecologically meaningful. A series of landscape corridors and patches provide habitat, reduce the urban heat island effect, improve air quality, increase groundwater infiltration, and provide space for recreation.

• Power the city with 100% renewable energy. This is accomplished through three main strategies: (1) dramatically reduce energy demand through an aggressive program of building retrofits, (2) match supply with end-use needs (e.g., provide heating through geothermal and biofuels), and (3) meet all needs with 100% renewable energy, including solar, wind, and biogas.

• Foster a culture of mindfulness and reuse by promoting transparency, unprecedented access to information, and a revitalized public realm.

The entry won the “Images That Provoke” award in the 2011 Living Cities Design Competition, and was featured on the cover of Trim Tab Magazine (Summer 2011). The entry was also exhibited in Seattle’s Storefront space.

The team consisted of Kevin Scott, Alexander Jack, Matthew Wagner, Trevor Dykstra, and Carl Sterner.