Suburbs crave a burst of ingenuity
There have been some bad ideas in the Northwest suburbs - the Sears Centre, numerous intersections with red-light photo cameras, lack of mass transit, etc. However, as a resident of the area, the worst atrocities have yet to be revealed.
Imagine this area in 10 or 20 years. Can the development of shopping malls, cookie-cutter housing subdivisions and golf courses be stopped? If traffic is a problem now, and it is, can you imagine the future of this place?
The area needs a plan. We need open space. We need new ideas to entice businesses. I ask the local politicians to conjure up a steering committee devoted to the establishment of a new direction in development. Call it an alternative to "Californization."
Forget the rules and brainstorm some solutions to the long-term death of charismatic space and place. The sports teams, casinos, tech centers and amusement parks have already been done. Try something new. There's room in McHenry and Lake counties for a lot of new ideas. Try a mountain biking resort with miles of nature and trails. Offer a great deal to a film company to build a studio. Carve a new county out of the existing ones and model it after Copenhagen's Christiania or design a "Little Mexico City" where Latin culture and design can flourish. Even a new four-year university has potential.
The point is thus - the unappealing lackluster sprawl will continue to spread unless administrators heed the call immediately. Traditional suburbs are simply not the answer to giving people a sense of geography. As I wander across this country I notice the same development trends everywhere from Missoula, MT to Atlanta, GA and the results are appalling.
The Northwest suburbs need the unique and the creative and the dynamic. There is time to change the status quo and shape a future that makes people feel a sense of location and a connectedness to the landscape, yet it is only possible with foresight and a commitment to the long-term interests of the Northwest Chicagoland community.
Willis Lambertson
Barrington