What might have been unimaginable years ago has been achieved; an activated riverfront in the heart of a booming urban core. When Chicago turned its back on the river, a natural asset that was seen purely as functional became the city’s backyard. During its inaugural year of operation, Phase II of the Chicago Riverwalk became the city’s living room; an urban counterpoint to Chicago’s front yard, Grant Park. With a wine bar, kayak tours, boat docking services, water taxi stop, and a myriad of public programs, the city’s newest civic space was mobilized with unthinkable energy. Scenes of young office workers sipping drinks and kayaks scooting along the water became a normal occurrence. This reinvention of urban life is at the heart of a new economic chapter for Chicago. Prime real estate with sweeping views and connectivity now tout an invaluable civic amenity. Building on the excitement of the Chicago Riverwalk, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Metropolitan Planning Council announced “Great Rivers Chicago,” an unprecedented effort to create and coordinate a long-term vision and plan for economic and community development along Chicago’s riverfronts. Beneath the history of the site and the technical challenges it presents, lays a current of public sentiment for a more strongly interwoven relationship between the City and the river. The intent of the Riverwalk is to not only create a continuous east-west circulation system, but also a series of north-south relationships. The urban language deployed creates interplay between City and river that has invigorated urban life.