GZA congratulates Village of Downers Grove on winning the 2025 Daniel Burnham Award

GZA congratulates the Village of Downers Grove, Il, on winning the prestigious 2025 Daniel Burnham Award from the Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association for its recently adopted Comprehensive Plan entitled "Guiding DG: Planning the Future of Downers Grove."

Reflecting the community’s vision for the future, the Village was honored for its comprehensive and forward-thinking emphasis on best practices that represent a unified approach to community planning. Within the Guiding DG Comprehensive Plan is the Environmental Sustainability Plan (ESP), which was led by GZA with significant support from Village staff.

The ESP sets a vision for Energy; Ecology; Materials and Resources; Mobility, Parkways, and Parking; and Governance.

The plan identifies goals, objectives, and actions for both the Village and residents to promote and achieve positive changes that work toward a more sustainable community. Through respect for its natural resources, Downers Grove will continue to be a more sustainable and livable community that enjoys permanent open spaces, biologically rich native landscapes, a vibrant urban native tree canopy, sustainable stormwater management systems, and connections to nature through an expanding network of walking paths and trails.

Building on the work Downers Grove started in 2023 under the Greenest Regions Compact and numerous initiatives, the Village is well poised to be more resilient in the face of intensifying climatological events.