Blue Island / Tinley Park / Joliet

These three related proposals —for a first ring Chicago suburb (Blue Island), a kiss-and-ride suburban rail stop (Tinley Park), and the historic center of a small city (Joliet)— are all part of one 2012 thesis project by Andy Rutz that focuses upon communities organized around a southwest commuter rail line. The Blue Island project proposes to correct some major ‘urban renewal’ infrastructure mistakes of the 1960s by restoring a street and block network and creating a new train station as a public building that is approached through and exits into a new sequence of civic spaces and buildings. Addressing a different kind of challenge, the Tinley Park proposal would create a new walkable mixed-use town organized in proximity to an existing commuter train stop. Finally, the Joliet project proposes new infill buildings and public spaces organized around an existing commuter train station that is also a downtown historic landmark.