Chicago mayor bulldozed airport runway in 2003; site later became nature park

Chicago’s Meigs Field airport was controversially closed overnight in 2003. Six X-shaped gouges rendered the runway unusable, stranding sixteen aircraft. The city cited security concerns following the September 11 attacks for the closure. Twelve years later, the former airfield became a natural landscape. This site now features prairie, wetlands, and wildlife habitat for migratory birds.