Award
2019 Honor Award
Site
Chicago, IL
Category
Planning and Analysis
Landscape Architects
Omni Ecosystems
Project Details
The Wild Mile is the latest intervention in the Chicago River, transforming a one-mile stretch on the east side of Goose Island into a wildlife haven and recreationally-focused community gathering place.
Designed as a 17-acre floating eco-park—the world’s first—the Wild Mile will transform this human-made branch of the Chicago River into a corridor that serves wildlife, people, and the environment. With a series of floating gardens, ecosystems, walkways, kayak launches, and other amenities, the project is designed to restore the river as a public trust.
A larger goal of the project is to provide a new standard for urban waterfront and riverfront design that identifies innovative ways of reintroducing nature to industrial waterways while connecting the community with their local environment.
The framework plan advances a community-led vision of renewed urban ecology that helps strengthen neighborhood connectivity, generate cleaner water, and support more vibrant ecosystems.