Green Building, Chicago-Style

Starting with the first green roof he built on City Hall, Mayor Richard M. Daley has implemented plans and policies to make Chicago the greenest big city in America.

Police and fire stations, libraries, and other public buildings have been built to LEED standards. City Hall has developed an impressive 150-page “Environmental Action Agenda” to guide physical improvements and policies in water standards, energy conservation, air quality, and climate change.

No major American city has a more ambitious or more comprehensive program for environmental improvement than Chicago.

This public initiative has spilled over into the private sector. Through tax-increment financing incentives, a speeded-up building permit system for green buildings, and other progressive policies, city government has encouraged Chicago’s private development sector to become one of the most active in the nation in green building.

With this special issue, we welcome those attending the Greenbuild International Conference and Exposition at McCormick Place West, the city’s newest (and the nation’s biggest) LEED-rated building.