Take me to the river

Chicago’s lakefront is famous—it probably inspired Yoko Ono’s best tune, and you can take a walk, ride or jog along it any time you like. But the Chicago River is often forgotten—certainly not used or celebrated as much as the lake. What could the city do to change that? How is Chicago’s changing population going to change the way we use and think about the river? We asked Chicago-based urban planners.

Chicago has a long history of making water access available to the population, but the challenge today, says research director Bill Klein of planning.org is that marine construction is expensive and major changes to the riverside will take a long time and a lot of money. Ideally, he says, the space near the river would be given back to “walking, biking, hanging out, restaurants” because there is something about water that attracts people in a primordial way.

Martin Jaffe, head of the urban planning department at UIC, says there are a lot of things right with the way Chicago is using the river. “The River Edge Development Design Guideline was successful. People can now build cafes next to the river,” for example. But he’d like to see “more parks and vantage points for public access” on the river.

Says Klein, “My dream, if I were all-powerful, would be to make it a continuous experience for children, people who are retired, people who want to get a bite.” He envisions the downtown river where continuity of experience for all segments of the population is possible.

Klein predicts that the city’s changing demographics, more residents downtown and the trend toward empty nesters settling in condos in the city may play a part in applying political and commercial pressure to create more amenities along the river.

“It’s not just about tourists, but it’s about the people—the growing population that are going to call the Loop and environs home. They’re going to have immediate access,” Klein says. Jaffe would like to see the water quality improved—which would naturally bring more people to the river, but other than that, he’s not sure there’s much the city can do.

But other cities have dramatically transformed waterfronts. New York has a plan to develop its Hudson River waterfront—eventually two thirds of the length of Manhattan will include parks on the frontage of the river. The plan involves piers, brownfields and reclaimed derelict land with biking, walking and more amenities.

San Antonio’s expensive development of its River Walk through a combination of flood control and recreation amenities has been a winner, Klein says. “Boy, is it ever used.”

Transforming the river may come down to political will and staying the course. “You may need two generations to get the thing done,” says Klein. Holding the attention of politicians, a voting population and following through on the vision of planners can be difficult and expensive.