Planning the future of the Calumet River

A recent Chicago Sun Times story profiled the pivotal role of the Calumet River in building Chicago and the subsequent ill effects of its industrial use of on the river and surrounding neighborhoods. However, the story highlights the importance of a planning process now underway by the City of Chicago, which will shape a “rebirth” of the iconic river for decades to come.

The city’s Department of Planning and Development has kicked off a process to update the Calumet Area Land Use Plan and Calumet Design Guidelines. Friends' planning team is coordinating with the Southeast Environmental Task Force and other environmental organizations and community partners in the Calumet region to provide input into the design and policy update because we recognize the potential for these regulatory modernizations to catalyze improvements that support the health and accessibility of the river system.

Characterizing the planning process that “will spark improvements,” Friends’ Planning Director Adam Flickinger told the Sun Times “It’s really thinking now what that future looks like.”

Friends secured Chicago’s first river protection ordinance in 1983 and was instrumental in the creation of the original 1999 River Corridor Development Plan, which codified required setbacks and landscape treatments along Chicago’s rivers. The Chicago River Design Guidelines were updated in 2019 and now reflect the city’s desire for habitat and resiliency, but the Calumet River guidelines are from 2005 and in need of a modernized approach, that reflects the changing character of this corridor and surrounding communities’ needs and desires.

On January 30, the Chicago Department of Planning will host a community meeting to discuss future land-use plans for the Southeast Side and the Calumet River. More information and registration is available here.