The city is home to a number of effective community-based organizations. One is Chicago Wilderness. This alliance is made up of 163 public and private organizations working together to study and restore, protect and manage the precious and vital natural ecosystems of the Chicago region for the benefit of the public.

The Center For Neighborhood Technology brings together a coalition of formerly scattered elements that make inner-city living work sustainably for residents on social and economic levels. Such organizations as these are changing urban life and making it more appealing to live in the city, close to services and amenities families need.

Edens Lost & Found tells Chicago's story by threading together the stories of a diverse group of its active and committed citizens including volunteers, professionals, students and community leaders -- among them, the city's mayor, Richard M. Daley. During his tenure, Chicago made a powerful commitment to open space with the creation of the 24-acre Millennium Park built atop a parking garage in the heart of downtown. The city has also become a laboratory for green architecture with the award-winning City Hall Roof Garden and Green Roof Initiative.

Whole neighborhoods are getting involved in the effort to create more livable communities. Eden Place is a prime example of grassroots determination to reclaim for themselves pieces of Eden that had been lost to generations of apathy.

And out in the suburbs? An Elgin High School environmental instructor convinced the school board to set aside adjacent land as an outdoor classroom and nature preserve. Here, her students are learning to become leaders in the movement to create sustainable ecosystems.

THE FOUR CITIES OF EDENS LOST & FOUND:
Chicago
Los Angeles
Philadelphia
Seattle