The Wild Mile
The first-ever mile-long floating eco-park in the world
The goal of the Wild Mile Chicago Framework Plan is to create a new environment for habitat, recreation, and education. The community’s input and feedback is vital to creating new access to the river, educational and recreational opportunities, in addition to the implementation of ecology and habitat. The North Branch Framework, which was produced in partnership with the community and was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission in 2017, envisioned a 17-acre in-stream river park to be one of the defining public open spaces for the modernization of the North Branch Industrial Corridor. This idea, outlined over the course of many community meetings, builds on the vision of a renewed urban ecology for the city of Chicago and helps to generate cleaner, healthier water and more vibrant wildlife ecosystems.