Welcome to Chi-Town

Most places I visit, I stay a while; Chicago, however, was an exception. I would’ve liked to stay longer: the July sun was high and the neighborhood gardens were flourishing, and it seemed like the perfect time to run around a town I’d heard tons about. Plus, I wanted to hang out with some of my friends from the Rat Patrol. But we had places to go and people to see, and unfortunately they were all to our east.

Still, on my dash through the Windy City, I managed to get a glimpse of some of the things that make it unique. For example: did you know that Chicago’s City Hall has a green roof? I’d heard about it on e2, and been very impressed that a government office would be among the first to adopt such a forward-thinking technology.

Going to downtown Chicago made me realize something more: this is a city packed with incredible architecture. Here, the form of a building can be a cultural statement. City Hall’s roof, then, has a more-than-ecological impact: it’s Chicago’s way of showing support to the cause of sustainability, setting an example for other cities.

I couldn’t see the green roof in person, because there are no visitors allowed (a good idea to protect its ecosystem). So I concentrated more on what normal-folks are doing. I met Dorothee and Mark, from OrganicNation, to talk about our respective projects and future plans. I asked my host Evelina to show off her homegrown sprouts. I visited a couple of urban gardens, and drove out to see the Angelic Organics farm.

Since it was my first time in Chicago, I took a little time out for tourism too. Namely, a cheesy behemoth of a deep-dish pizza that took days to eat and wrecked my stomach and was completely delicious in every way.

All this happened in a couple of short, sunny days, and it’ll be the material for this week’s entries (well, maybe not the pizza). Come back soon to hear about how Chicago does Green.