From the Park Districts Encyclopedia, When Chicago officially incorporated as a city in 1837, it adopted the motto
“Urbs in Horto,” a Latin phrase meaning “City in a Garden.” Despite this verdant slogan, the city had few public parks.
In 1850, residents and developers alike knew the inclusion of green spaces would boost the value of their neighborhood division and were further prompted for quality parks from growing concerns of contamination in Chicagos water supply by a Northside lakefont cemetary leaching due to its low-sandy burial site environment. Then in 1869 - Chicagoans advocated for South, West, and Lincoln Park Commissions that held responsibility for their respective parks and boulevard system. In the 1880's Lincoln Park would expand (aka exhume bodies), Lake Shore Drive was created as a pathway connection to southside parks, and The South Park Commision would hire New Yorks Central Park designer Fredrick Law Olmsted to create the (now) Jackson Park, Washington Park, and Midway Plaisance and designed the parks as a release from urban tension and serve as democratic spaces. Olmsted would then work with Daniel H. Bunham to transform the space into "White City" for Worlds Columbian Exposition in 1893.
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It wasnt until the Playground Movement - A wide coalition of child-saving reformers including social settlement house workers, progressive educators, and child psychologists urged municipal governments to construct playgrounds where the city's youth could play under supervised and controlled conditions. Playground reformers believed that supervised play could improve the mental, moral, and physical well-being of children, and in the early twentieth century they expanded their calls into a broader recreation movement aimed at providing spaces for adult activities as well. This movement would urge the three commissions to aquire more land for parks. After Chicagos annexation (seperation into more neighborhoods), areas that were not served by the three commissions were allowed to form additional boards. However, in the 1930s due to the Great Depression bankrupting park districts the 22 independent agencies would consolidate into one large cohort known as the Chicago Park District - that now operates 547 parks totaling more than 7,300 acres of land today.
Explore the history behind Chicagos adopted motto "Urbs in Horto" from 1837 - further dive into how it has inspired and influenced artists, projects, and initiatives to express the thriving "City In A Garden" green-scape across Chicago!
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Take a peek at events that have been curated around Chicagos "Urbs in Horto" theme and encompass the thriving green-scape for Chicago communities to experience below. Some events may have passed please view dates of their ocurrance below each respective title.
Columbus Park Activation
by DePaul College of Education - Stockyard Institute in collaboration with Michael Piazza
Oct. 12th 2003
"Latin for “city in a garden," Urbs in Horto is the motto of Chicago. The choice to title the project with this moniker represents the city's vow to provide recreational opportunities to its citizens—and its failure to equitably fulfill this promise." - https://education.depaul.edu/about/centers-and-initiatives/stockyard-institute/portfolio/Pages/urbs-in-horto.aspx
*All experiences, products, etc. listed above are from local parties from Chicago to emphasize the growth from Chicagos very own. *I do not own any copyright ownership of highlights listed, this is purely a research page.