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The spaces we take for granted: And the essential resource for our health and wellbeing
The spaces we take for granted:
And the essential resource for our health and wellbeing
Let’s talk about water – it is one of the primary resources through which climate change noticeably impacts us. Increased temperatures and variable weather patterns are affecting water availability and distribution across the globe.
Water is vital for our ecosystems, infrastructure, and human use. But humans need water for more than just consumption; it provides environmental and recreational benefits that influence our wellbeing. I recently reflected on how water affects the built environment and began to understand why water should be an integral variable in the conversations architects and engineers have on the topic of sustainable and resilient design.
I have always gravitated towards being close to water. I grew up on a lake, attended a college whose campus embraced the Tennessee River, and now live in a city that boasts about having both lake and river resources accessible to the public. Studies have found that being “near, in, on or under water for any amount of time is good for our mental health,” 1 which could be the reason why I am joyful when I am at the water’s edge. But when it comes to climate change, the water’s edge is vulnerable, and the land we inhabit at that edge is continually threatened by the rise and fall of sea, lake and river levels.
Chicago, Illinois, flanks Lake Michigan - one of North America’s five Great Lakes and the largest freshwater system in the world. The Great Lakes Basin is home to nearly 14,000 miles of shoreline, and Chicago claims home to about 28 miles along Lake Michigan. I moved to Chicago in 2015. As a resident without a car living north of the river, I often spend the warm summer months within an eight-mile path between the Adler Planetarium and Montrose Avenue Beach. Being new to the city, I was surprised to learn that Chicago had beaches. In fact, there are approximately 26 sandy, public beaches sprinkled between the lakeshore path, harbors, and parks along the water’s edge. “Let’s go to the lake” or “Let’s go to the beach” are common weekend plans with my friends once Chicago temperatures climb above 60 degrees.
Most importantly during the summers of 2020 and 2021, when bars and restaurants were closed, the lake and surrounding parks were critical resources to alleviate the emotional stresses
- Dan Egan, author of “The Death and Life of the Great Lakes”2
and fatigue experienced from quarantining due to the threat of Covid-19. From this, I learned that the availability and accessibility of outdoor spaces, especially those adjacent to water, should not be taken for granted.
Water levels on Lake Michigan have been experiencing record highs and lows. It was not until a severe Chicago winter storm in early 2020 that I witnessed the destructive power that water can have on our shoreline. The lakeshore path that I often use
Above: Damage to the Chicago shoreline south of Belmont Harbor before the 2004 and 2008 shoreline projects, courtesy of Chicago Department of Transportation.
Above: Chicago lakeshore south of Belmont Harbor,before the 2004 and 2008 shoreline projects, courtesy of Chicago Department of Transportation. Above: Flooding in the parks along Chicago’s lakeshore path, courtesy of Chicago Department of Transportation.
for running or biking had been violently dissected into boulders of concrete and asphalt, and buildings close to the water’s edge experienced harmful flooding. “Was this a new crisis incident for Chicago?,” I asked myself.
In recent conversations with Mark Wagstaff, a leading expert in Great Lakes coastal resilience and senior waterfront engineer at SmithGroup, I learned that water levels in the Great Lakes have cyclically risen and fallen for many decades but reached unprecedented high levels in 2020, exacerbated by climate change and increased variability in rainstorms. Additionally, the City of Chicago and Chicago Park District have long invested in on-going projects to help protect against future shoreline damage. I had never questioned the massive concrete steps bordering the lake along the parks and beaches east of Lakeview, an area my friends and I frequently visit. But I now realize these spaces are more than outdoor gathering areas. They are strategic, engineered environments that aim to preserve and protect Chicago’s shoreline while still allowing public access to the water.
For architects and engineers to address climate change issues, it requires more than the systems and materials we choose when designing new buildings and infrastructure. We must also focus on the preservation and protection of existing resources and environments, such as the Great Lakes’ shoreline, especially as coastal conditions become less predictable and more prone to extremes. If we do not act in protecting areas along the water’s edge from this growing vulnerability, then erosion and/or flooding will consume the spaces we take for granted. The history and evolution of how water has, and continues to, impact the City of Chicago is fascinating. I encourage other young architects to think about the spaces they may inhabit near bodies of water, to reflect on the significance of those spaces to their wellbeing and the environment, and to anticipate how our design work can help preserve them. FOOTNOTES: 1. Sparks, Hannah. “Living Close to the Water Is Good for
Your Mental Health: Study.” New York Post, New York Post, 1 Oct. 2019, https://nypost.com/2019/10/01/living-close-tothe-water-is-good-for-your-mental-health-study/ 2. Egan, Dan. “A Battle between a Great City and a Great
Lake.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 July 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/07/07/ climate/chicago-river-lake-michigan.html
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: • After the flood: How Chicago is coping with the effects of climate change | MPR News • Lessons in Sea-Level Change Impacts from the Great
Lakes | Marina Dock Age • Great Lake Cities: Blue-Green Infrastructure | SmithGroup • Climate Change and Water (IPCC Technical Paper VI) |
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Holly Harris, AIA, AHSE, LEED AP BD+C
Harris is a healthcare architect and planner at SmithGroup in Chicago, Illinois. She is the young architects representative for Illinois and chair of the AIA Illinois EP Network.
