Chicago-Area Water District Approves $15.9 Million to Continue Space to Grow Schoolyard Program
Chicago is a city in Cook County, Illinois. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) announced on October 16 that its Board of Commissioners has approved a $15.9 million plan to continue Space to Grow, the nationally recognized program that converts Chicago Public Schools (CPS) playlots into green schoolyards built for play, learning and flood control.
Under the plan, the MWRD will enter an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Department of Water Management (CDWM), Healthy Schools Campaign and Openlands. The next phase will build natural play areas, gardens and bioswales at additional CPS schools, selected annually based on the degree of neighborhood flooding, school capacity, impervious surface area and equity, among other criteria. The MWRD, CPS and CDWM are the capital partners paying for design and installation, while Healthy Schools Campaign and Openlands fundraise for non-construction costs such as training, community workshops, evaluation and project management.
Space to Grow schoolyards use permeable surfaces and underground storage chambers that capture stormwater during heavy rain, reducing the load on the combined sewer system, cutting neighborhood flooding and basement backups, and improving area water quality. According to the program's 10-year report, the 36 completed Space to Grow playgrounds across Chicago can capture up to 7 million gallons of water every time it rains, and the program has transformed about 1,469,400 square feet of land into multifunctional green space.
"Through Space to Grow, we can support students and their neighbors with safe outdoor spaces to play, while also mitigating the effects of heavy downpours," said MWRD Commissioner Yumeka Brown. "We thank our partners at CPS, the Chicago Department of Water Management, Healthy Schools Campaign and Openlands for continuing this program that promotes resilience and invests in our future leaders."
The MWRD said it is also pursuing federal funding to launch a pilot version of the program at schoolyards in the suburban communities of Cicero, Burnham, Franklin Park and Summit.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Chicago公立学校Haines Elementary School校舍与操场（资料图）。Photo: Haines Elementary School, a Chicago Public Schools campus in Chinatown, Chicago (file photo). Image: Warren LeMay, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
