Dating back to 1909, The Plan of Chicago is considered one of the fundamental documents in the history of urban planning, presenting a thoughtful design for a city that incorporated many of the very principles – livability, sustainability and functionality – that we strive for as we rethink our relationship to our metropolitan centers. In honor of its centennial, The Art Institute of Chicago has created an online exhibition titled Without Bounds or Limits that showcases the insights behind this radical vision through a comprehensive collection of archival images and documents that are especially relevant today.
The introduction to the exhibition explains:
The Plan is remarkable for several reasons. For one, in the wake of industrialization and an influx of population (including many immigrants), it refined the meaning of prosperity in a growing city, probing the quality of urban life there. The Plan also discerned Chicago’s broader interconnectivity with cities across the Midwest, considering the city’s impact on the surrounding plains and encouraging a more regional approach. But perhaps the most striking—and uniquely American—aspect of the Plan was its idealistic belief in Chicago as a city without limits. The planners believed their city could become the most beautiful and prosperous in the world, and they inspired its citizens to undertake the challenge.
[via Gaspers Block]
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