Thinking Big: The Plan Of Chicago: 100 Years of City-Building

Why is Chicago known as the city that gave birth to modern urban planning? What were the forces that came together in 1909 to produce Burnham and Bennett’s Plan of Chicago? Where are the imprints of this visionary plan on our regional landscape and how does it continue to inspire us 100 years later?

Northwestern University historian Carl Smith, author of the prize-winning The Plan of Chicago: Daniel Burnham and the Remaking of the American City, will lay the groundwork for a discussion with innovative Chicago architect/designer Jeanne Gang, former director of World Business Chicago Paul O’Connor; and Gerald Adelmann, champion of regional open spaces. Their conversation will be moderated by architecture and urban affairs writer Lee Bey, the executive director of the Chicago Central Area Committee. 

The program is made possible by the generous support of The Allstate Corporation.