Millennium Park realizes the functions of leisure, sports and fitness through square, footpath, open lawn and other conventional planning means, without elaborating. But what we need to learn and draw lessons from is the resource sharing of Millennium Park planning and the creative concept of planning according to local conditions. There is a thin line between Millennium Park and Butler Stadium in Grant Park. Butler Yard has a children's playground, many sports fields and miles of garden paths. Millennium Park is skillfully connected with it by BP bridge, which not only adds an artistic landscape bridge to the park, but also realizes the resource sharing with Grant Park, making up for the regret that more sports functions cannot be realized due to limited space. The construction of McCormick Forum Square embodies the design concept of adapting to local conditions. It is very cold in winter in Chicago and the freezing period is very long, so skating is very popular here. The designer skillfully designed McCormick Forum Square, which is adjacent to Michigan Avenue, into a multi-functional square of Xia Dong two-season skating rink, which is very popular. Every time I go to the ice age, I will see the scene of men, women and children chasing each other. This design not only provides a place for citizens to carry out their favorite sports, but also adds a landscape to the city in winter.
The cultural function emphasized in the planning of Millennium Park is even more valuable. Unique buildings and sketches show Chicago's architectural culture. Dozens of concerts held in the amphitheater every year promote Chicago's jazz and blues music culture, and at the same time enhance the taste of citizens. The Millennium Park Monument explains the American public welfare culture. In the construction of the park, due to the escalating planning scheme, the financial budget is tight, and some well-known enterprises and individuals in Chicago have donated money to ensure the smooth completion of the park. Carving the names of these enterprises and individuals on the park monument not only expresses gratitude to them, but also promotes the urban spirit of being keen on public welfare undertakings. Chicago 1000 smiling faces with different skin colors flashed on the LED screen of Crown Fountain also conveyed the enthusiasm and harmony of the city. At the south entrance of the park, a Nichols Bridge was designed to connect the park with the Chicago Museum of Art, which once again strengthened the cultural function of the park through enjoyment.
Millennium Park has achieved the functions of greening, beautification, ecology and even popular science with its large-scale greening and diverse plants. In addition to the big lawn and ornamental trees, there is also a botanical garden Lurie Garden in the park, covering an area of 5 acres. There are 205 species of plants in the park, including 2 species of trees and shrubs, 30 species of perennial flowers, 33 species of bulbous flowers and 2 species of other herbs. The planting of these diverse plant species not only satisfies the greening, beautification and ecological functions of the park, but also endows the botanical garden with popular science functions.
Millennium Park is a large underground parking lot, which provides parking function for the city. If we understand the history of Millennium Park, we have to be impressed by the planning creativity of Millennium Park. The original planning scheme of Millennium Park was to build a "green parking lot". However, with the continuous implementation of the project, Mayor Daley collided with a group of great designers and built a green parking lot into the Millennium Park, which attracted worldwide attention. In short, the original planning purpose of Millennium Park is urban parking lot, and the completed park is a large roof park above the parking lot. The park not only realizes the general functions of urban public space, but also provides 9000 parking spaces for the city, which greatly meets the parking demand of the city center. Such planning creativity not only makes people admire the courage of Mayor Daley and many designers, but also shocks their wisdom. The essential attribute of urban public space should be publicity, which belongs to the whole city and all citizens, and every citizen has the right to enjoy it. The planning of Millennium Park embodies people-oriented care everywhere. From the perspective of functional zoning, park planning meets the needs of different groups, and old people, young people and children can find areas suitable for their activities. From the park facilities, barrier-free facilities can be seen everywhere, so that people with disabilities can also enjoy the fruits of urban public space construction. From the perspective of staffing, there are both professionals in charge of daily maintenance and full-time personnel who specialize in serving tourists. Judging from the operation of the park, except for the commercial operation of parking lots and commercial outlets, almost all other projects are free. It is this kind of planning and operation that attracts everyone to enter and enjoy the park. The publicity of the Millennium Park as an urban public space can be well interpreted.