On left is an overall sense of the southeast side of Chicago and northern Indiana from an environmental basis. Paralleling work for an airport, an independent team of six leading environmental planners and thinkers was assembled and “let loose” to develop their own sense of what a regional plan should look like, independent of any political, fiscal, or transportation planning concerns. Their plan was then incorporated as part of the overall physical planning for a large intermodal transportation center.

A return to the natural “dune and swale” landscape was proposed, in contrast to the existing landfills and helter-skelter land uses.

​Waste was found existing all over the 10,000 acres on the southeast side of Chicago. It was the residue of decades of mismanagement of the land, with both structured and unstructured waste of all types spread throughout. Without some centralized effort, it was feared this would never get gleaned up.

Existing green landscape was fragmented and was in peril without any protection.

As part of the environmental planning, the goal was to organize, connect, and protect the landscape in and around a large multi-modal transportation facility. While anchored by an airport, the larger landscape was designed to address a broader set of concerns.

As part of the regional planning effort, projections of future development were made. The goal was to utilize existing infrastructure, repopulate centers that had lost people, and to discourage sprawl into open farmland. Comparisons of two different approaches were made, as shown: red for increased urban development and density, and blue for a scheme with more sprawl, and not preferred.