While not originally the plan, World Business Chicago President and CEO Phil Clement said two proposals emerged as the winner of World Business Chicago's inaugural “Horizon Lines” design contest.
"The jury saw something new," he said. "They saw two great ideas that belonged together."
The winners Green City Rising: Chicago’s Living Network of Neighborhood Arboreta and WONDERWAYS! Reimagining Chicago’s Boulevards as a Network of Climate Commons.
The Morton Arboretum's Green City Rising gives trees a voice, said Jill Koski, president and CEO of the Mortem Arboretum.
"It's an ambitious, equity-centered vision to turn Chicago into a citywide arboretum, a vibrant, interconnected network of tree-centric neighborhoods," Koski said. "It scales the arboretum's longstanding work in urban and community forestry to a whole new level across the entire city, especially in historically disinvested areas," she said."
Meanwhile, Wonderways! transforms Chicago's 28-mile boulevard system.
"We reimagine Chicago's historic boulevard system as a connected climate commons, a network of landscapes designed to work harder for the climate and for the people who live around them," said Donny Zellefrow, associate at MKSK.
He said this could expand Chicago’s tree canopy, manage stormwater, reduce extreme heat, restore natural habitats, as well as create more public spaces.
"Imagine prairies and bioswales that capture stormwater, mighty oak trees that shade our streets, native landscapes filled with birds and pollinators, but also places to play and to gather, to wander, discover and explore something unexpected," he said.
The joint winners will each receive a $5,000 honorarium and meet with public, private and community partners to explore how the concepts could work together and identify potential next steps.
