05/01/2025

Olmsted's Riverside: Embracing Nature in City Planning (and a Nice Walk)

Connect with nature, beauty, history, and fellow planners at this can’t-miss event. Catch the Metra BNSF (departing Union Station at 3:10) and step back into time in Riverside. Riverside’s civic leaders and planner-historians will present on Olmsted’s iconic plan, inspired by integrating nature and beauty in the village plan. Following the presentation, step off on a tour of Downtown to see planning theory-come-to-life and learn about how Riverside maintains its legacy 150 years after Olmsted. Wrap up your visit at the bustling downtown Farmers Market and/or join fellow participants for social networking at a local establishment.

Meet at the Riverside Public Library (1 Burling Road, Riverside, IL 60546). Catch the Metra BNSF, departing Union Station at 3:10.

Headed back downtown? Catch the 5:34 Metra train back to Union Station.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Agenda:

• Doors open at 3:30 p.m.
• 3:45 p.m. - Welcome Remarks and Presentations (Riverside Public Library, 1 Burling Road, Riverside, IL 60546)
• 3:50 p.m. - Presentations and Q&A: 
• 4:45 p.m. - Tour Start
• 5:15 p.m. - Official Adjournment and Transition to Networking (Restaurant, TBD)

Learning Objectives: 

• Describe theories related to nature and beauty in city planning.
• Discuss Riverside’s place in history as a planned suburb design by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.
• Recognize how the Village of Riverside maintains its connection to its Olmsted-planned history, 150 years after incorporation.

DETAILS

Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Time: 3:45-5:15 PM + Networking (doors open at 3:30 pm)

Professional Development Credit: CM | 1.5

Registration: (max capacity 25 attendees):

• $15 Member (incl. Olmsted Society Members)
• $20 Non-Member
• $5 Student

Remember to dress for the weather including a water bottle and comfortable shoes. Please bring a bag if you plan to visit the farmer's market.

SPEAKERS: 

• Douglas Pollock, AICP, Riverside Village President. (He/him/his), Doug is a city planner currently doing planning consulting for MGT Impact Solutions. Doug was previously the Village Administrator for the Village of Burr Ridge, IL and did planning work for Burr Ridge, the Village of Lombard, IL, and the City of Indianapolis. His current work with MGT has included stints in Orland Park, Park Ridge, Fox Lake, Huntley, Woodridge, Westmont, Rolling Meadows, Lincolnwood, and Barrington Hills. Doug is the current Village President of the Village of Riverside, Illinois.
• Benjamin Sells, Past Riverside Village President. Benjamin is a writer, psychotherapist, lawyer, and former Village President of Riverside, Illinois. He is also a sailing captain and owner of Chicago’s oldest sailing school. He has written ten books, including The Soul of the Law, one of the most important work-life balance books in the history of the legal profession, that was recently reissued in a special 20th anniversary edition. His latest book is The Lonely Mind: America and its Discontents. Ben has also written books on Chicago history including A History of the Chicago Portage and The Tunnel Under the Lake.