Sometimes the solution to healthy land, healthy cities, and healthy communities isn’t about adding something new, but about taking something away.
Paved surfaces are the biggest source of water pollution, urban flooding, and urban heat island effects. By removing pavement, we’re taking action and clearing the way to sponge rainwater, grow trees, support urban biodiversity, and create lively community space.
Our Vision
Greener, more resilient cities and communities through the removal of excess, unnecessary pavement.
Our Approach
Depave Chicago provides resources, inspiration, and how-to-guidance on depaving a variety of typical asphalt sites, collaborating hand-in hand with communities for place-based transformation. Following years of exploring the challenges and causes of urban flooding, heat island, air pollution, and inequitable public space and parks, we landed on one simple conclusion: Depaving is a direct solution to meet the needs of adapting to extreme climate change, supporting biodiversity, protecting public health, creating better public space, and driving community empowerment.
We’re grateful to many friends and partners all around Chicago for their support and enthusiasm for depaving, and we’re excited to join with the larger depave movement nationally and around the world to design for life in the 21st century.
DEPAVE CHICAGO PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS
The start-up of Depave Chicago is funded by a Resilient x Nature Grant from the Walder Foundation. Depave Chicago is founded and managed by University of Illinois Water Lab, headed by Associate Professor Mary Pat McGuire, and affiliated with the Department of Landscape Architecture, UIUC. Our location in the downtown Chicago Studio is generously provided by the College of Fine & Applied Arts, UIUC.
SPECIAL THANKS!…..
Depave Chicago is guided by the amazing Katya Reyna and Ted Labbe of Depave (Portland) whose mentoring and teaching not only lay the groundwork for our program but fuel our ethos and passion for this work. Katya and Ted, thank you!
We’re grateful for support and advice from the following organizations and agencies:
Chicago Region Trees Initiative, Environmental Law & Policy Center, Greater Chicago Watershed Alliance, Members of the Chicago Calumet Stormwater Collective, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Neighbors for Environmental Justice, Openlands, Trust for Public Land, US Forest Service, Nordson Green Earth Initiative, Red Oak Rain Garden (University of Illinois), Farnsworth Group, Urban Rivers
Gratitude to our Collaborators over the years for their support and
contributions leading to Depave Chicago
To become a supporter or partner of Depave Chicago,please contact Mary Pat McGuire at mpm1@illinois.edu.
Thank you in advance!
SUPPORT OUR PILOT PROJECT!
We’re currently seeking funding (both individual donors and corporate sponsors) to support the implementation of our pilot depave project at The Montessori School of Englewood. Your donations will help pay for design, project management, site prep, equipment, purchasing soil and plants, contractor services (asphalt hauling & recycling), volunteer support, and education programming! Thank you in advance!
Land Acknowledgement
Depave Chicago, located in Chicago, Illinois, sits on the unceded lands of the Council of Three Fires, the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi Nations, as well as the tribes of the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac, Fox, Kickapoo, and Illinois Nations. Controlled occupation of these lands through land cessions and forced removal of Indigenous people occurred through the Treaty of Greenville (1795), the Treaty of St. Louis (1816), and the Indian Removal Act (1830). The histories of Indigenous peoples and all communities throughout the Chicago region must be acknowledged in the work of Depave Chicago. We must honor and celebrate traditions and care for the land and the waters of the region. And we must contribute to the work of restoring relationships among land, water, people, and all living species and entities of the region for remaining Indigenous communities and for all people who live here.