The Olympic Games consistently boost travel in the cities in which they are hosted. That is why Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games is placing a huge focus on enviromentalism in order to attract supporters.
Chicago Mayor Richard M/ Daley has submitted a “mini-bid” to the Olympic Committee, outlining plans for a carbon [...]

The Olympic Games consistently boost travel in the cities in which they are hosted. That is why Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games is placing a huge focus on enviromentalism in order to attract supporters.

Chicago Mayor Richard M/ Daley has submitted a “mini-bid” to the Olympic Committee, outlining plans for a carbon neutral, eco-friendly forum for the games. The “Olympic Village” would be situated on Chicago’s lakefront park system, placing the venue at the heart of the city where attractions and recreation is walkable or at the very least attainable via public transportation. Over 90% of the athletes would be housed within 15 minutes of the venues, 5 of which (out of 19) would be new, permanent structures.

Mayor Daley makes reference to Chicago’s air quality, noting that is exceeds all but one of the U.S. national standards, while the city’s water supply also exceeds all U.S. quality standards.

The mini-bid also lists many of Chicago’s current green initiatives - the development of Millennium Park, built on a deck over railroad tracks; brownfield remediation; the LEED Platinum rated Center for Green Technology; a Green Business Strategy and Green Construction Permit Program; a green roof effort, with more than 300 gardens and green roofs constructed to date in the city covering 37.2 hectares on public and private buildings; a major tree planting program, with 500,000 new trees to date; and the reclamation and conversion of the downtown airport into Northerly Island Park, now a planned Olympic venue site and nature preserve.

A decision is schedule dto be made by the Olympic Committee on Octover 2, 2009 in Copenhagen. The windy city is competing with six other cities for the 2016 Summer Games - Baku, Azerbaijan; Doha, Qatar; Madrid, Spain; Prague, Czech Republic; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Tokyo, Japan.