One hundred years ago, Daniel Burnham, Edward Bennett and the Commercial Club of Chicago established a bold new plan for the Chicago metropolitan region.

Daniel Burnham is best known for his admonition to “make no little plans.” He studied the great cities of the world and developed an approach to urban planning that was distinctive in being comprehensive, systematic and regional. Language from the 1909 Plan provides principles that continue to guide planning and development in the Chicago region today.

The Plan focused on six major physical elements:

1. improving the lakefront 2. developing a highway system 3. improving the freight and passenger railway systems

4. acquisition of an outer park system 5. arranging systematic streets; and 6. creation of a civic center of cultural institutions and government.

Following the Plan's focuses, the Centennial identified its own six principles to guide the region in 2009 and beyond:

1. water 2. transportation tied to good land use 3. public transit and freight

4. ecosystem and energy 5. connect people to opportunity; and 6. one region, one future.

Results of the Plan

Burnham and his associates conceived the Plan of Chicago as a blueprint for action, and promoted it widely and effectively to business, civic and government leaders, and even to eighth graders through the Wacker Manual. In 1909, the civic leaders behind the Burnham Plan launched an extensive marketing campaign that lasted for decades. Results included North Michigan Avenue, Wacker Drive and Chicago’s spectacular lakefront parks, and regional forest preserves.

In this tradition, 2009 has been a moment in time to reinvigorate public interest for Burnham’s vision of the region, and reinvest in legacy projects that will enhance our quality of life in the next century. [Green Legacy Projects]