One if by Land, Two if by Sea, Three if by Segway?

Explore the city's rich architectural, design and cultural heritage on Saturday, May 16 at the 11th annual Great Chicago Places & Spaces Festival. This year GCPS tours feature the bold plans and big dreams underway in the six Chicago neighborhoods that participated in the Burnham Plan Centennial's Community Showcase. The neighborhoods are: Albany Park, Auburn-Gresham, Pilsen, the Quad Communities, South Chicago and West Ridge. These Showcase Tours are six of more than 100 tours being offered--some on foot, others by boat, bus, trolley and Segway. [MORE]

Also happening this Saturday, from 1-4 p.m., the Kankakee Sands region is hosting "Spring on the Savanna." Tours and children's activities will be happening throughout the afternoon to allow people to interact with the region and learn about the importance of preserving this incredible open space. The Nature Conservancy has combined efforts with the Illinois and Indiana Departments of Natural Resources, the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission and private land owners in the region to work together to ensure the long-term survival of the area and the 58 species that reside there. [MORE]

Wednesday, May 13 from 2-5 pm Leadership Greater Chicago will host a symposium at the Chicago Hilton that explores the changes we can anticipate in the Chicago area in the next decades and how Chicago will adapt. Free and open to the public, the program features keynote speaker, Dr. Manuel Pastor, co-author of Regions That Work: How Cities and Suburbs Can Grow Together. [MORE]

The Art Institute of Chicago's Ryerson and Burnham archives have gone digital. Without Bounds or Limits, the online exhibition of the Plan of Chicago, was launched last week and gives people a unique chance to interact with four different aspects of the Plan. The archives include original drafts, letters, meeting minutes and images from and related to the historic publication. Step into the past and explore the journey that Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett embarked on in order to create a thriving global metropolis. [MORE]

Lambda Alpha International's Ely Chapter welcomes the release of their book The Plan of Chicago @ 100. Drawing from the expertise and insights of its own members, the publication examines the legacy of the plan, and asks "how we can take the lessons from 1909 and work to answer the questions we have about urban planning today?" The book includes historic and contemporary images of the city including photography from Chicago area high school students involved in the Chicago Botanic Garden's Fairchild Challenge, Make No Little Plans photo journalism. [MORE]

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks celebrates the Centennial with a new map/brochure that provides a self-guided architectural tour of the work of D.H. Burnham and successor firms, along with many of the iconic places associated with Burnham and Bennett's Plan of Chicago such as the lakefront parks, Wacker Drive, the Michigan Avenue Bridge. Copies of the brochure are available at the Commission offices 33 N. LaSalle, the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, and the old water tower pumping station on North Michigan Avenue. It will also be available on-line soon!

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