Chicago- Journey to a sustainable city

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue XI, November 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

Chicago- Journey to a sustainable city

Omolade Ola¹, Gbekeloluwa B. Oguntimein^2*
1Department of Electrical Engineering, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
²Department of Civil Engineering, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
*Corresponding author

Abstract: Urbanization and increase in population have triggered the rise of pollution in the city of Chicago. A lot of her residents grew up on polluted lands and impoverished neighborhoods. And many believe it is solely the government job to help mitigate these problems. How can the city government channel her funds in curbing hunger, unemployment rate, and combat air pollution? This paper examines the social and environmental impact of assessment in Chicago and effective ways to mitigate it. Investments in the city will help provide the government with more funds to resolving some of the issues reviewed in this paper. However, what strategies can the city of Chicago use in raising investors within and outside its city’s walls?

Keywords: Impact Assessment; Green- Infrastructure; Renewable Energy; Recycling; Chicago

I. INTRODUCTION

Urban cities have had a steady increase in air pollution over the last decades due to industrialization, deforestation, and pollutant emission. The effects of populated cities on environmental and social levels have resulted in the need to researching lasting solutions to improve the affected cities. Often, disastrous effects are what forces decision- makers to provide viable strategies to mitigate these challenges.
Chicago is the largest metropolitan city in the Midwest and the third most populated city in the United States with a population size of about 2.8 million residents (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Chicago City, Illinois; United States, n.d.). In 2019, the city exceeded 3.4 calendar days of air pollution more than 5 times by the US EPA. And exceeded an average unhealthy ozone day of 19.2 per year (Chicago Air Quality Index (AQI) and Illinois Air Pollution | AirVisual, 2021). For a city that is richly populated to have that level of toxicity in the air is unhealthy for the country. If no sustainable solution is achieved, it will eventually lead to a generation with hereditary respiratory diseases that may then be passed to millions of others across the country via migration.
Chicago has a history of toxic air pollution that dates all the way back to the city’s industrialization in the late 19th century (Chicago Air Quality Index (AQI) and Illinois Air Pollution | AirVisual, 2021). This was because of the refineries, and industries that moved to that region. Coal is one of the biggest natural resources in the state of Illinois and has helped the state improve its economy greatly over the last two centuries. Coal was the primary source of energy during the industrialization of Chicago, and due to its high demand, little to no thought was put into its impact on future

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