Last week, Chicago officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on “the greenest street in America,” a two-mile stretch of Cermak Road and Blue Island Avenue in the city’s Pilsen neighborhood. In addition to new pedestrian and bicycle features, the innovative new street surface will filter stormwater, helping to prevent the city’s combined sewers from overflowing. Most impressive of all, the cement used to pave the street cleans the surface of the roadway and removes pollution from the air.

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Post tags: Benito Juarez Community Academy, Benito Juarez High School, bioswales, Blue Island, CDOT, Cermak Road, chicago, Chicago Department of Transportation, green infrastructure, permeable pavement, photocatalytic cement, rain gardens

An expansive new public park is opening in the heart of Chicago this weekend, putting the final touches on a renewed neighborhood in the West Loop adjacent to Greek Town. Designed by Site Design Group, Adams-Sangamon Park provides neighboring condo dwellers and office workers with a place to cool off, thanks to its central misting gate installation. The little ones have a place to play too, as a children’s park and dog park bookend the green space. Two berms take up the other corners of the park, which are home to a lush collection of native grasses. The paving system even absorbs pollution and rain runoff.

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Post tags: Chicgao Park, dog park, greek town park, misting, native grass, neighborhood renewal, park 542, photocatalytic cement, recycled tire, site design group, West loop park