Wild Mile

a community-led vision for the world’s first 17-acre floating eco-park along the Chicago River

The Wild Mile is the latest of a series of interventions in the Chicago River that is intended to transform an industrialized, human-made stretch of the North Branch Canal and Turning Basin on the east side of Goose Island into a corridor that serves people, wildlife, and the 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.

While the river on the west side of Goose Island can remain navigable by industrial traffic, the Wild Mile will transform into a more recreationally focused reach of the river. Designed as a 17-acre floating eco-park—the world’s first— the Wild Mile features a series of floating gardens, ecosystems, public 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 project is not only for the Chicago River, but also for any community looking to remediate urban waterways. Principles and components used to develop the plan are highly relatable and transferable to other industrial and urban waterway scenarios.

Location
Chicago, IL

Type
Public Space

Size
17 acres

Project Team
City of Chicago
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
Urban Rivers
O-H Community Partners
Near North Unity Program
Tetra Tech
d’Escoto
Omni Workshop