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FROM THE EDITOR
"Sprawl" sounds like the monster in a campy horror flick. And it is scary in the real world when you see sprawl take over a community, paving over grassy areas, farm land and open space. According to the Trust for Public Land, sprawl is growing close to eight times faster than the population in Cook County. In Chicago, more than half of the city's 77 communities areas have less than two acres of open space per 1,000 residents. In the recently released "Illinois Land at Risk" report, the Illinois Association of Park Districts and the Trust for Public Land document the dearth of open space in Illinois communities and the need for more permanent funding. (See page 24.) The case is being made with statistics from the report and others from organizations on the front-lines of smart-growth initiatives and anti-sprawl campaigns such as the Project for Public Spaces, Sprawl Watch and Smart Growth America. Meanwhile, Illinois park districts and forest preserves—even in landlocked communities—are doing what they can to find open space for public recreation and beautificauon. In CorLands' fall newsletter, the Waukegan Park District is shown as an example of a park district in a landlocked Chicago suburb that is looking for open space in all sorts of places. For example, a former 155-acre corporate administrative site in Waukegan eventually will become a major sports and recreation complex for park district residents. The article quotes Greg Petry, executive director of the park district: "I work closely with the Department of Planning and Development, community leaders and the private sector, and try to 'think outside the box' in looking for opportunities to expand our parks and open space." CorLands will present a session on finding your "hidden inventory" of open space at the upcoming IAPD/IPRA Annual Conference, January 23-25 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. Just one more good reason to attend this major networking and educational event. See page 55 for more good reasons.
4 Illinois Parks and Recreation |
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