Chicago Metropolis 2020

In the late 19th century, Chicago was a commercial colossus, a city growing quicker than New York, flooded with industrial money and confidence but ravaged by income disparities, lax health standards and labour upheavals. Civic leaders realized that Chicago needed order and planning, in order to solve its problems and prepare the city for a prosperous future. The result was the 1909 "Plan of Chicago", a model of urban planning by architect Daniel Burnham. Nearly a century later, Chicago is facing similar problems. Lawyer and civic leader, Elmer W. Johnson has written "Chicago Metropolis 2020" as a guide for those in the sphere of influence who are working to make cities economically and socially vigourous while addressing the problems that the modern metropolis face. Burnham's plan primarily discussed architecture and spatial planning, but Johnson addresses all facets of urban life, from public education to suburban sprawl and transportation to social and economic segregation. "Chicago Metropolis 2020" is an ambitious plan for the city, its goal to continue the Chicago tradition of renewal and forsight.