Showy Goldenrod Photo: Joe Nowak

From my vantage, one of the most intriguing and necessary turnarounds in urban ecology is starting to gain momentum, and the fact that it's happening so close to home leaves me with an insatiable desire to get involved.

Put plainly (but better articulated by Chicago Wilderness Magazine in their special issue), the Calumet Region of Northwest Indiana and Northeast Illinois is on the verge of burgeoning into a landscape of repentance from the centuries-old effects of industrialization and urban sprawl. The just-concluded Calumet Summit 2010 gave the area a forum for cross-regional communication and collaboration earlier this week. Over 250 individuals representing over 100 organizations converged on the campus of Purdue University Calumet in Hammond, Indiana, to learn, connect, and partner.

What makes the challenge of the Calumet region so interesting is the stark way is demonstrates the interconnectivity of the environment, society, and the economy. An incremental improvement such as the connection of two separate parcels of protected land through the donation of an easement for a trail not only benefits the natural environment through the creation of a corridor, but facilitates a new community connection that can lead to new economic opportunities (e.g. increased property values or the creation of an attractive business location) and new social benefits (e.g. a safer way to commute or the creation of an informal trail running club). And the Calumet region stands above and apart as a wonderful case study because of the bountiful supply of opportunities and the growing demand at grassroots levels for these improvements. Moreover, once the tipping point eventually comes, an unavoidable positive visibility that will be reaped from the region's proximity to the nation's third largest city and relevance to national concerns regarding the public health, the environment, and the economy.

Are you involved in the Calumet revival? Were you at the Calumet Summit 2010? In your opinion, how close are we to meaningful lasting change in the region?