Chicago – one of America’s largest and most culturally-rich cities – has historically been focused on the formulation of advanced technologies and burgeoning new options for its citizens. This dates back to the 19th century when the region was a merchant’s city and then transformed into a manufacturing and industrial center by the 20th century.
Today, Chicago has developed other ways of expanding its rich economic legacy through the creation, maintenance and advancement of its sustainable economy. The choices that Chicago officials are making today will likely bolster the industries of tomorrow resulting in a more sustainable Chicago.
Some of the ways this is being carried out is via more research into data on sustainability; the implementation of applications for clean energy for the progression of sustainable solutions; recruiting firms with sustainability solutions to bolster green energy in Chicago and more.
This, in turn will lead to a bolstering of the economy in a number of ways. This includes a substantial increase in the amount of offices focuses on sustainability including the Chicago Sustainable Industries and the Green Office Challenge. There will also be additional programming at the Chicago Center for Technology and the creation of open active streets and public spaces via the Make Way for People initiative and add 180+ acres within the Chicago Park District.
All these endeavors must be working because at the end of last year a COMMERCIALCafe study ranked 50 US cities for the efforts in sustainability to create a “resilient habitat for existing populations without compromising the ability of future generations to experience the same.” Chicago came in Number 6.