A 100-year plan, the Great Lakes Century outlines how the hundreds of cities and more than 50 million people who live around the world’s largest freshwater resource can spur economic and environmental renewal. It is the first comprehensive plan to address regional solutions for renewable energy, sustainable agriculture practices, transit, and urban regeneration.
Jury: “This is a strong environmental vision for an important global natural asset. There is power in the grand scale and how it looks at regional sustainability—less in terms of direct environmental protection and more in terms of a transformational shift to a green regional economy catalyzed by high-speed rail connectivity.”
Client: “The Great Lakes region represents 20 percent of the world’s surface fresh water. We don’t think enough as a region. We tend to be very parochial. SOM was able to integrate social, economic, and environmental issues in a way that we have not been able to do in the past.” —Dave Ullrich, executive director, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative
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