Mayor Richard M. Daley and Donald J. DePorter

Donald J. DePorter (1942-1996) left Seattle, Washington and began working for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts in 1967. He worked there for almost thirty years, heading the Hyatt Regency O'Hare and the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco. He was promoted to Regional Vice-President and held this position for nearly twenty years. Mr. DePorter was also the Executive Vice-President of Hyatt Chicago Ventures.

Donald DePorter was recognized several times by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and his name has been synonymous with volunteer efforts to improve the city, its expressways, and neighborhoods. He founded and headed Chicago Gateway Green in 1986 on the belief that beauty and sustainability go hand-in-hand. The Chicago non-profit organization has enlisted volunteers to plant vegetation, clean up throughout Chicago communities, and erase graffiti wherever possible. Gateway Green continues to lead the way in greening and beautifying the great city of Chicago together with our partners.

The late Mr. DePorter also served as past chairman of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau Inc. and the Chicago Hotel Association. In both positions, he worked with McCormick Place, Navy Pier, and other sites in the city to improve facilities for conventions and tourists coming to the Chicago area. Donald DePorter served as chairman of the Governor's Advisory Council on Tourism, the City in the Garden Fund, the World Cup Soccer Host Committee, and the Michigan Avenue Streetscape Committee. Programs he designed for Hyatt included The World's Largest Office Party and Tea Dancing.

Donald DePorter passed away on August 4th, 1996 at his son's home in Lincoln Park. A memorial gathering was held on August 9th and Mayor Daley dedicated the gateway at Ohio and Ontario Streets as the "Donald J. DePorter Gateway" to honor his efforts to improve Chicago and make the city more beautiful. The site was originally known as the "North Orleans Triangle" and is located at the end of the Kennedy Expressway as it exits onto Ohio Street.

Cities around the world are making decisions on what to do with aging infrastructure from the Industrial Era. That's a question that New York had to answer regarding it's old High Line elevated rail line. The result was the first elevated park of its kind. The High Line has been the pioneer for similar projects around the world, like Scotland's Leith Walk Regeneration and Chicago's own Bloomingdale Trail.

Chicago has been call one of the greenest cities in the United States and residents have been able to enjoy it's numerous green landscapes, such as Millennium Park. The Bloomingdale Trail is an ambitious undertaking to continue this tradition with a very different kind of park. New York's High Line is regarded primarily as a high-end tourist destination while the Bloomingdale Trail is intended to be a normal part of resident's daily lives.

Communities and groups from throughout the city have been involved in the planning, partially adding to the cost and length of the project. Some of the groups are Logan Square Neighborhood Association, Friends of the Bloomingdale, the Chicago Park District, the Trust for Public Land, the Chicago Department of Transportation and the City of Chicago Department of Housing and Economic Development. Community resident's also have had voice in development at local public meetings. They've expressed concerns about the amount of traffic on the trail and public safety. The trail is being designed to have more lighting and a much higher traffic capacity than similar locations in other metropolitan areas. Organizers of the project believe that is essential for community members to feel invested in the park for it to be a long-term success.


It is estimated that the entire project will cost $91 million. So far, $46 million has been raised, of which $36 comes from the federal money and the US Department of Transportation, $2 million from the Chicago Parks Department and $7 million from private funders, with more of the latter to come.


When the Bloomingdale Trail is completed, it will add acres of new park space to Chicago and connect  adjoining neighborhoods. The park will be a source of pride for the hundred of people and organizations involved in its creation, as well as the city itself. The Bloomingdale Trail is expected to soft launch in 2014.

Chicago's city lights and skyline are iconic, but how are they affecting our everyday lives and the ecosystems around us?



According to UIC's office of sustainability, there are several disadvantages to the many city lights we see every night. Below are a few that caught our eye:

• Research shows our natural body clock and circadian rhythms (and potentially our health) are affected by lights at night .
• Night lighting increases air pollution.
• Lighting that reflects upward not only lightens the night sky but is wasted energy. The International Dark Sky Association estimates we waste 22,000 gigawatt hours a year, which at 10 cents per kilowatt hour amounts to $2.2 billion annually.
• Populated areas have lost the ability to see and experience the wonder of our starry sky.


Chicago's "Lights Out" programs serve as sustainable options for those looking to conserve energy and light. Within the "Lights Out" program, many tall buildings voluntarily turn off their office lights during migration, thereby minimizing collision danger as well as lessening the confusion factor to which birds and bats are prone. This is to say nothing of the energy savings and potential pollution that's avoided.

For more information on this topic, click here.

Happy Monday! This week Gateway Green is putting the spotlight on Jason Klarfeld from UrbanEater.
UrbanEater's mission is to build a unified marketplace where consumers can discover, interact and buy food directly from local producers. UrbanEater offers producers and consumers the ability to interact in a setting accessible via web, mobile, talent or public forum.



Name: Jason Klarfeld

Title: Co-Founder of UrbanEater

What neighborhood do you live in?: Lincoln Park

What is UrbanEater's green angle?: Our focus at UrbanEater is to strengthen community by connecting people with local food and the folks behind it. Living in a big city, the majority of people interact with these types of local food merchants at outdoor marketplaces only during the spring and summer months. We want to help these merchants promote their craft to a larger audience of consumers not knowing where to find their product, continue to build relationships, and as a result, grow their business. By creating a "virtual farmers market", we are able to bring a new quality of experience and intimacy to the online storefronts.

This week our urban gardening tip comes from Ryan Beck, head gardener of the Jane Addams Hull House farm located on UIC's loop campus. This is the fourth season for the garden and he says that he has biodiversity to thank!

Biodiversity emulates natural gardens and helps maintain the balance of life within the garden. Native prairie plants and a buzzing bee hive create a unique ecosystem that allows the plants to grow and thrive. Companion planting also helps create biodiversity. In this way, Ryan is able to grow larger crops since the plants can feed off of each others nutrients.

Garlic plants at the Hull-House farm

His tip to us was to trim the new growth on your plants. This helps produce more fruit by tricking the plant into thinking it’s dying so in turn, it wants to produce as much fruit as it can.

Make sure to check back on Monday for our interview with UrbanEater!

Happy Monday! This week Gateway Green is putting the spotlight on Meg Goldberg founder of bethie b.

With more than 30 years of interior decorating experience, bethie b. was inspired by Meg Goldberg's mom, Beth, who has passed along her love of repurposing items, finding quality pieces, creatively decorating spaces, discovering beauty in recycled artifacts, throwing out the decorator rule book, and loving the search for the unexpected – both for your home and in life.

Bethie b. allows clients to easily sell their home furnishings as well as buy quality interiors from locals in their area. They believe that everyone deserves affordable, quality, eclectic furniture and stylish home decor to help make their house feel like a home.



Name: Meg Goldberg

Title: Founder of bethie b.

What neighborhood do you live in?: Lakeview.

Favorite thing Chicago?: All things summer -- Belmont Harbor Dog Beach, summer street fests, byob sidewalk dining, farmers markets, urban gardens & beaches, and the people!

What is bethie b.'s green angle?: bethie b. is an online interiors boutique that allows clients and small businesses to buy and sell premiere recycled furnishings. Furniture is currently the #1 least recycled household item and accounts for 10 million tons of waste a year. Our mission is to promote sustainable, stylish living by providing a local marketplace for recycled interiors.