5 things you wish Chicago had/had more of? (Lincoln, Bellevue: hotels, houses)

[Chicagoist123]

What are some things that you wish Chicago had more of that its lacking or lacking completely?

1. Public Spaces - Chicago really lacks plazas or public spaces where people can just sit and people watch or sit back and relax. The little plazas that exist are mostly all in downtown and are not the most inviting. I am talking about plazas like the one in Lincoln Square with the fountain. Also with us having an abundance of water, I wish we had more fountains. Or more things like the monument circle in Logn Square.

2. Light rail - specifically on diagonal streets. In my ideal world streets like Elston and Milwaukee would have light rail and much better built bike lanes.

3. High rises outside of the core and lakeshore - I wish places like along the Chicago River further up north and south had high rises. I would love it for example if we had river canyons on the river between Belmont and Diversey on the river. Or maybe mini skylines in other parts of the city.

4. Hills - nothing crazy but just something!

5. Beach hotels - I know by law nothing can be built east of LSD, but imagine if we had miles of beaches with hotels on them. You could do brunch on the beach and have some beautiful resorts on there too. Kind of like the Miami of the Midwest.

[mjtinmemphis]

I wish we had more rail lines especially between the Loop and South Shore and one that would follow maybe Austin or Western going north and south.

A few mountains on the edge of the city would be nice for the more recreation and more trees.

More upscale neighborhoods with racial diversity.

The Cubs relocated to Tulsa Ok would be nice as well.

[Chicagoist123]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

I wish we had more rail lines especially between the Loop and South Shore and one that would follow maybe Austin or Western going north and south.

A few mountains on the edge of the city would be nice for the more recreation and more trees.

More upscale neighborhoods with racial diversity.

The Cubs relocated to Tulsa Ok would be nice as well.

I agree with everything excpet the Cubs being moved

[ChiNaan]

1) More racial integration
2) More sunshine
3) Mountains within a few hours' drive.
4) More el lines going to more places, and not all necessarily going to the Loop
5) More focus on art/music, less obsession with sports.
7) More bicycle-friendly
8) More transparent and efficient government with more informed citizen input
9) More high-quality public schools
10) More international flavor

I couldn't stop at just 5, though many of these are things I wish our whole country had more of, not just Chicago.

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

2) More sunshine
.

I've about had it with all the rain and lack of sunshine. I've been snapping at everyone.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Chicagoist123

What are some things that you wish Chicago had more of that its lacking or lacking completely?

1. Public Spaces - Chicago really lacks plazas or public spaces where people can just sit and people watch or sit back and relax. The little plazas that exist are mostly all in downtown and are not the most inviting. I am talking about plazas like the one in Lincoln Square with the fountain. Also with us having an abundance of water, I wish we had more fountains. Or more things like the monument circle in Logn Square.

Totally agree, but the one on Rush/Bellevue/State is pretty inviting. My favorite in the city and much better than the one in Lincoln Square IMO. The people watching is totally prime there too in the summer.

[marothisu]

Hmmm, so let's see.

1. More public plazas (from Chicagoist123) - Public spaces can be amazing, and anyone who's ever been anywhere in Europe/parts of the Middle East will echo this. My favorite in the entire city is Rush/Bellevue/State in the summer, but there needs to be more of these. I am surprised areas like Lakeview and Lincoln Park don't have it really. There are parts in Wicker Park but it's more in the form of a park, not a plaza.

2. Expanded el lines especially in the West that run north/south.

3. More non-pretentious truly chill, lounge type of bars that aren't an assload for one drink. Just something that feels more like home and fosters some sort of creativeness or great conversation with great "chill" electronic music going on in the background. I know a few places like this but it's definitely in the minority.

4. More art, less sports (taking a page out of ChiNaan here as I totally agree) - as much as I love sports, and as much art as there is around, the difference can be pretty great. I think it's getting better but not every place needs to identify with sports in some way.

5. More late night food places. I know many exist, but IMO it's not enough in some areas. The city is a late night city but it's definitely not as late night as other world cities. I wish it had the atmosphere even more.

BONUS:
6. Later curfew on outdoor patios - midnight seems too early for me especially in a good nightlife area in the summer. Keep them open until 1-2am in my opinion.

[RarelyOffended]

Public Plazas more green scenery or hills ETC. I pretty much agree with most people posted here

[OyCrumbler]

Underground City like what's seen in Montreal (and what's there now but with better signage, better spaces in general, more inviting and human presence, and simply larger). It's great for dealing with inclement weather and interesting in and of itself.

Scaling down Lake Shore Drive to make it easily crossable from everywhere to keep the waterfront even closer to the neighborhoods and possibly even giving away some of the width of the road at some points to development.

With that, there must be better mass transit. There have been a lot of good plans such as the proposed Gold Line and the addition of better ways to get around from one part of the city to another with less primacy on the loop. The Circle Line, mid-city transitway, through-running for Metra lines, stronger integration between CTA and Metra. The Circle Line and Mid-City Transitway could be especially useful in creating great secondary commercial districts.

More investment in the second waterfront (the Chicago River and its branches) which can offer a great lot of amenities and public spaces to Chicago outside the Loop. The lakefront on the southside can also see some attention, but that should come hand in hand with just more attention in general to those neighborhoods.

Less crime, less poverty, more opportunities, better schools, more transparent governmental agencies, etc. All the usual that is generally well appreciated. It's not a plan (and planning is necessary), just an aspiration.

Additions to the five: somewhat less emphasis on sports and more emphasis on every other part of life; Lake Michigan barge parties, performances, and experimental living. That'd be fun. Oh, more greenhouses and stuff like that even if on rooftops of highrises and the like. A good greenhouse during the winter, especially if the sun is out during extremely cold days, is a godsend. Doubly so if it's somehow on or near the waterfront. Beach greenhouse, anyone? Also, attracting businesses and a skilled workforce from both the US and abroad (Europe's having massive youth unemployment now and can be a great source of new outlooks and skills; many developing countries have massive skilled workforces who work hard for much less than they can get here or simply don't have the support and infrastructure to really put their abilities to work). Derelict parts of the city can also be used to create more public space as Chicago actually has a fairly small percentage of the city set aside as greenspace compared to other US cities. Also, some more accommodating lighting and aesthetics for some of the alleyways and lower level streets (of the multitiered streets) of Chicago along with some creative ideas in using those assets without getting in the way of their current functions.

[ChiNaan]

Oh, I almost forgot....city-wide curbside recycling. How is it that we don't have that yet? Many of the other things I listed are pie-in-the-sky, and some are flat-out impossible, but this one should be very doable. We're at least a decade behind the times with this.