Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- A century after it reshaped what was then the world’s fastest-growing city, Daniel Hudson Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago still resonates with urban planners.

Burnham, who designed New York’s Flatiron Building and Washington’s Union Station, co-wrote the groundbreaking plan with fellow architect Edward Bennett. Though he also masterminded Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair, Burnham’s 1909 document may be his greatest legacy, having served as a template for major cities from Cleveland to Manila.

Chicago is now wrapping up a centennial celebration of the plan with panel discussions, tours and a documentary on this groundbreaking blueprint for controlled growth.

“Bold Plans for the Next 100 Years,” a panel featuring urban designers Bruce Mau and Doug Farr, will be held Nov. 14 at noon at the Harold Washington Library Center. A discussion on the “Future of Chicago” will follow at 2:30 p.m.

Burnham’s original drawings and maps are on display at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Newberry Library, and audio-visual presentations on the Burnham plan can be found at http://www.chicagomatters.org.

Lakefront Park

While Chicago’s ambitious design for the 2016 Olympics was scrapped when Rio de Janeiro was awarded the games on Oct. 2, the Burnham plan remains a vital document for future expansion.

So how can a century-old document serve as a guiding force for today’s urban planners and developers?

One of the hallmarks of Burnham’s vision was green space. He designed an “emerald necklace” of public parks and preserves that include most of Chicago’s Lake Michigan shoreline to its western boundary.

By creating “green corridors,” the plan worked with existing waterways, forests and open spaces. Civic groups want to expand patches of the 24-mile-long lakefront to make one, continuous stretch of public-park space from its northern boundary with suburban Evanston to the Indiana border.

Cities are more people friendly when there’s relief from canyons of skyscrapers. The Burnham plan becomes increasingly relevant as massive numbers of people move into cities across the globe and urban space becomes more crowded. For instance, the Chicago metro area is expected to grow from 8.5 million to more than 10 million over the next 30 years.

Paris, Washington

When Burnham conceived his plan, Chicago was booming with a burgeoning industrial base, fast-spreading electricity and ample employment opportunities for immigrants. To prevent the Windy City from turning into another urban nightmare, business leaders in the city’s Commercial Club commissioned Burnham to think broadly about the future -- or, in their words, “to make no little plans.”

Inspired by Haussmann’s Parisian boulevards and L’Enfant’s Washington grid, Burnham and Bennett made Chicago one of the most elegantly planned cities in North America.

Today’s urban planners continue to embellish the Burnham concept by expanding trails, preserves and other open areas. Green space is about more than parks, though. One outgrowth of the Burnham plan is the idea that cities can grow horizontally as well as vertically, a concept symbolized by New York’s revitalized High Line, former elevated railroad tracks that have been transformed into a park.

The Burnham plan continues to build upon existing infrastructure to make urban areas more livable and esthetically pleasing. That’s a bold agenda that every city should embrace.

(John F. Wasik, author of “The Audacity of Help: Obama’s Economic Plan and the Remaking of America,” is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: John F. Wasik in Chicago at jwasik@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 3, 2009 00:01 EST