Making Cities Greener

How Chicago is making strides toward Becoming a greener city

By Matthew Kazemi

Background

Chicago, much like other cities, experiences something known as the urban heat island effect. With the average temperature of the world increasing due to increased greenhouse gas emissions, areas covered in certain materials will often absorb and retain heat, making them even warmer. Cities often have little greenery and plants which tend to cool off areas and provide shade as well as clean the air. The materials that have replaced natural canopies are made up of pavement and concrete, which retains heat, increases energy costs and creates an unsafe environment in the warmer months. Greenery is especially important for urban areas because cities are often close to industrial areas which emit large amounts of greenhouse gases.

Chicago isn’t the only city that has fallen victim to the urban heat island effect, but it does have a reason for being on the frontline of eco-minded city-wide change. In 1995, Chicago experienced a heatwave, which peaked at 119℉ and was consistently over 80℉ at night (Chicago Climate Impact Report, 2007). The heatwave led to the deaths of several hundred people, especially poor, elderly people who did not have access to air conditioning or other means of cooling themselves off. This demonstrates a clear element of climate justice to the problem of urban heat islands, as the groups that were most affected by the heatwave did not have access to the resources necessary to stay safe. Climate justice movements have been started to help those who are most vulnerable to natural disasters. A study done the year following explained that Chicago suffered so much because of the lack of preparation which includes power failures and improper ventilation systems (Chicago Climate Impact Report, 2007). In 1999, another heat wave took the lives of just over 100 people. Along with the many that passed due to the extreme heat, there was an increase in hospital admissions, which commonly included dehydration. To combat both of these tragedies, the city decided that they needed to implement something that would reduce the heat of the city in the summers.

Figure 1: Cross Section of a green roof shows what they are made of and how

In 1995, the mayor of Chicago authorized research into how green roofs could be used to reforest urban spaces. This led to systems in the years following that focused on promoting green roofs and other practices through policies and incentives (Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago 2020). To aid people in the transition towards green infrastructure, the local government incentivized the transition with grants for small projects as well as with the use of a Tax Increment Financed Improvement Fund which uses taxes on predicted gains to promote new infrastructure in areas that wouldn’t usually be able to afford such changes. In addition, the city began to change building codes to prepare for future extreme weather (Indiana University, n.d.) and researched the areas that were most affected by the extreme heat in order to target those areas with the strongest heat reduction strategies. In 1997, the City Space Plan was created, leading to many parks being transformed from asphalt-based to oases of greenery (CCAP, 2008). Three years later, the city completed energy retrofitting or improving the functionality, of more than 15 million feet worth of city buildings.

In 1998, they began to construct one of the largest green roof projects in the world. The park, Millennium Park, was finalized in 2004 and is now one of the largest tourist attractions in Chicago. The park covers a two-floor parking lot and spans a total of almost 25 acres (Green Roof, 2022). The city has also focused on green-roof projects on a smaller scale.

In 2008, the city announced the Chicago Climate Action Plan which was composed of five main strategies. One of these strategies is energy-efficient building. The concept of energy-efficient buildings is innovative and can be expanded to other cities. Some of what is under this category relates to retrofitting buildings to make them more efficient, as well as implementing green roofs and planting trees as a way to cool off the city (CCAP, 2008). Chicago created programs to make trading in outdated appliances easy, for new appliances that were cheaper in the long run and produced less carbon. They’ve also implemented extensive financing for people who are interested in retrofitting their buildings for higher efficiency, which includes help from non-profit organizations. An aspect of Chicago’s plan to increase safety and efficiency was to improve upon current water regulations and to make pumping and heating water more efficient. The plan also highlights the ways that vegetation on rooftops can help reduce energy requirements via insulation as well as by providing shade during hot weather. These rooftop gardens can also house solar panels that can help with individualized energy needs and can create another form of income for those who own space in a given building.

Increased vegetation doesn’t stop there: the city also plans to plant more trees around the city to provide shade and reduce net emissions, while also making a more welcoming and attractive city. The use of greenery for shade as well as what rooftop gardens have to offer can lead to a safer, healthier community in a cost-effective way. The projects proposed would be paid back in full within a period of two years. Individuals would be able to reduce their reliance on city energy and could harvest energy from their rooftops. The plan suggests that the city could work with people to find effective ways to harvest energy and create new jobs. This is mainly focused on solar energy but also relates to energy saving and insulation. It also mentions ways that the city will improve upon current public transportation and reduce the reliance on cars by making it more cost-effective to use public transportation and bikes. They also plan to explore the usage of alternative fuels and transition towards hybrid city vehicles such as garbage trucks, taxis, and buses (CCAP, 2008).

Figure 2: Millenium Park from above

Reasons for Hope

Chicago is continuing to work towards green initiatives to help support the people of the city financially and medically. One reason they have been so successful is by using community intel to develop a climate action plan for 2022. The plan is very focused on making sure that the communities most at risk have access to quality medical care when they need it, demonstrating their memory of the event that spurred these changes. While Chicago makes changes to support the health of these communities, the city also continues to strive towards equity which they define as “both an outcome and a process that results in fair and just access to opportunities and resources that provide everyone with the ability to thrive” (CCAP, 2022, p. 9).

Insights and Applications

The initiatives created by Chicago have given the community a voice and helped to support them in many ways. The use of rooftop gardens has been especially important in making the city much more comfortable and preparing for more extreme heat caused by climate change. There are ways that other cities can follow in the footsteps of Chicago in implementing new ways to decrease the heat in cities as well as make them safer, healthier environments. These changes can be made anywhere with the support of those who live in the area. With technology becoming more efficient and cost-effective, there is no reason for more cities to move towards using available rooftop space to reduce the costs of energy and harvest energy through the use of solar power.

Date: Fall 2022

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Tags: Policy and Law