Green News Blog

Chicago's Green Alley Initiative Sets Yet Another Sustainable Standard

November 16, 2007 - Chicago is on the fast track to become the greenest city in America. Of course, Portland would not stand for that, so you can bet your bottom dollar that what happens in Chicago will be happening in Portland, and vice versa. Truly this is the most ideal mode of competition - one in which increasingly higher standards for the environment are being set.

Portland may have had the most green roofs at one point in time. However, Chicago now holds the title by a slim margin with approximately 2 million square feet of green roofs, primarily thanks to Mayor Richard Daly, who was the first Mayor in the U.S. to put a green roof on a City Hall. But I must say that while I was visiting in Portland last month, all the talk on the public access television channels was about starting more green roof projects and giving citizens special incentives for putting green roofs on their own homes.

Chicago has started green-incentive programs of its own, including offering expedited permitting for green builders, helping home owners modernize their homes to reduce energy consumption, city tree plantings, and installing emission control devices on garbage trucks and street sweepers. The one thing that some residents say is lacking is a comprehensive recycling program. However, Mayor Daly has already begun serious talks on getting new recycling guidelines in place.

One of the hottest topics right now in Chicago is a recently launched green city project called the Green Alley initiative. Considering that Chicago has more miles of alleys and small streets (approximately 2,000 miles worth), than any other U.S. city, some Chicagoans, including Mayor Daly and the initiatives Project Director, Janet Attarian, came up with an innovative idea to help curb pollution runoff in waterways.

Rather than putting money into maintenance and sewer improvements of existing alleys, the Green Alley Initiative sets out to give Chicago's alleys a sustainable makeover that consists of tearing out the existing pavement, laying down a bedrock of stones and repaving with permeable concrete or porous asphalt. As opposed to normal concrete, which repels polluted water runoff back into rivers and streams, permeable concrete allows the water to filter through the underlying bedrock and back into the underground water table. Furthermore, the pavement is designed to reflect heat from the sun, thus helping the city to stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Scientists agree the Green Alley Initiative is an environmentally friendly and effective solution. Critics are wondering if the money going towards the project could be better used.

However, permeable concrete costs the same if less than regular concrete, which is about $45 a cubic yard. And you have to give Mayor Daly the benefit of the doubt. When he first started his green initiatives, he was labeled as a little kooky and hyper-conscious. Now, Mayor Daly and the city of Chicago have become role models for the green movement. Here's to Mayor Daly and the Green Alley Initiative.

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