Missed Opportunities

The ability to continue building out our floating walkway trail with habitat along with more habitat product development.

Project Narrative

Over the past five years, Urban Rivers has been working to build the Wild Mile, a park dedicated to transforming a mile-long section of concrete and steel-laden Chicago River into an urban wilderness destination for all to enjoy. The Wild Mile will be lined with innovative design elements, backed by Urban River’s own experiments and ecological research. These elements, such as floating gardens, floating forests, and specifically designed underwater elements that act as aquatic habitat, improving water quality, increasing species diversity, and boosting the overall health of the river. Our novel approach to this project – prioritizing the health and wellbeing of the river and its inhabitants – has resulted in a clear demonstration of the value of truly wild spaces, to the environment and the communities in which they are located. Since its inception, the vision for the Wild Mile has been to create a simple, elegant, solution to several of the issues persistent in the Chicago River, and in urbanized waterways in general. The Wild Mile will take an abandoned eyesore, and turn it into a robust ecological resource for the benefit of all, in an area where open space is at a premium. Each city has a particular relationship with its waterway; no two rivers are alike.Therefore, while the challenges on a large scale may be the same, the solutions on a local level must be both creative and flexible in order to provide the maximum benefit, in an efficient way. We expect the Wild Mile to become a truly unique park that will breathe life back into the remnants of Chicago’s industrial past, and serve as a blueprint for revitalization in other neighborhoods in Chicago, and urban areas throughout the world.