Sustainable Chicago: The Greening of a City

Our class today dealt with two conflicting ideas of how lower income families manage their food, and its relation to a communities overall health. Our reading, Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Chicago by Marie Gallagher, promoted the idea of Food Desserts and the correlation of these deserts to the years of potential life lost (YPLL.) Our speaker today, Catherine Gillis, shared with us her work titled Social Class and Cultural Meanings of Eating: Evidence from Chicago. Conversely, her study unsubstantiated the relation between Food Desserts and public health. This discontinuity prompted for an interesting discussion on the "yea or nae's" of piece.

The Gallagher piece found a connection between the level of public health in an area and its food desert status. In order to do this, Gallagher developed a formula which she labeled the food balance score; this score demonstrated the ratio of grocery to fast food establishments. Thus, the formula (distance from census tract center to the nearest grocery store (this was divided into even smaller sub-levels by distance to small grocer and chain grocer) divided by the distance to the nearest fast food establishment) represented a person's access to food. By using one as average (meaning it was equidistant to a grocer and a fast food restaurant), the ratio was scaled. Numbers far above one had an overall worse health outcome (closer to a fast food restaurant), than those below one (closer to grocery stores.)

Subsequently, Gallagher compared this Food Balance Score (FBS) to race, income, public health, and YPLL. She determined the Food Deserts occurred predominately in African American communities. When compared to the 2000 census data, these were also the communities with some of the lowest incomes. The subsequent racial groups in order from a lower to higher FBS were diverse, Latino, and white communities; however, all these communities were above the average (FBS 1) line.

In addition, she drew a inverse correlation between a communities food desert status and a communities health. This conclusion remained true when broken down into subsections of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and liver disease. As the food desert disparity went up, the level of health decreased. One flaw in the study developed during Gallagher's discussion of how body mass index (BMI) related to the food access scores (by zipcode.) As a result, Gallagher stipulated that the main cause of a communities public health level was its access to food.

As demonstrated on her map, several of the areas with the highest BMI's had the best possible food scores. This major discrepancy appears to have been overlooked, or at the very least unexplained, in her work and disproves some of her previous points. Thus, causing the reader to become skeptical of her findings.

Countering Gallagher's findings, Gillis determined that the main cause of a communities public health level was not its access to food. In reaching her conclusion, Gillis and her partner interviewed twenty-seven individuals at the local Women, Infant, and Children (WIC is a government subsidized supplemental nutrition program) store. By conducting semi-structured interviews, Gillis placed her primary focus on what low income people value about food, what they eat, and how their food choices are shaped.

She concluded that the general stereotype of lower income communities eating more fast, unhealthy food was inaccurate; in reality, she determined there was a wide variety in people's food decisions. However, several general patterns did emerge. Her findings concluded that lower income families establish an elaborate food network of friends and family (she also determined that food was embedded deep in family relationships) and that, contrary to popular belier, the majority of lower income families spend less of their food budget eating out. In the conclusion of her research, Gillis stated that proximity to healthy food was not the main determinant of community health as lower income residents health choices are too varied to account for a communities overall health.

One of the main disparities I saw between the two pieces was the research method. Gallagher placed her focus on mathematical formulas, statistics, and raw numbers whereas Gillis focused more on the socioeconomic and cultural aspects of food. This difference in methodology is most likely the root cause of their disagreement;however, it is impossible to determine, without further research, which study is more accurate.

Today is my last blog for this wonderful class. Alongside my classmates and amazing professors, I have gained a deeper appreciation for and understanding of the city of Chicago. In addition, I have gained valuable information on how communities are shaped and the role of Urban planners and sociologists in society.

Urban Design, Architecture, and Community Art in Chicago

In her novel, the Death and Life of Great American Cities, author Jane Jacobs discusses the unique factors that help to "make or break" a park. Through her own research about and observations of several community parks, Jacobs was able to generalize several components that add to or detract from the success of a park, including a diverse mixture of users and uses. By combining her analysis with well known parks, Jacobs was able to provide her reader with a clear mental image and concrete examples of park successes and failures. On my tour of Millennium Park with Tim Gilfoyle, a wonderful park historian and author, I was able to compare and contrast the park to Jacobs predicted success indicators.

One of the first stipulations for a successful park Jane Jacobs offers her readers is a variety of users. In her opening pages, Jacobs describes a successful parks daily "ballet of users." She observes some early bird joggers, commuters heading to work, errand goers, mothers and their children, tourists, lunching employees, arts patrons, people watchers, school children, couples and elderly persons, all enjoying the parks rich resources. She further explains how a park is more likely to be successful with a diverse plethora of users because it allows varying schedules to utilize the park, thus using the park to its full extent. Millennium Park fits this description magnificently. It is extremely accessible from all areas and the street views seem to draw in passersby. In addition, the separate "themed" park areas help direct and dilute traffic throughout the park. After my tour, I could imagine where each group that Jacobs described could find a comforting home in the park. The joggers on the well kept walking paths and bridges, the commuters and errand goers cutting through the park on their way, the mothers and small children at the family tent, the tourists at Cloud Gate, dinners at the Park Grill, arts patrons enjoying the sculptures, people watchers on the benches, school children splashing in the water feature, couples at a concert, and elderly persons in the Gardens. I can easily visualize each of these respective groups using their allotted spaces in harmony amongst one another. By combining her reading with my tour, I can understand how this vast user profile helps feed to the success of the park.

The other dominating factor Jacobs stresses in her novel about successful park design is a wide range of uses for the diverse set of users. Additionally, in her novel Jacobs discusses certain demand goods, such as swimming and concert halls, which when placed correctly are almost guaranteed hits for a park. This is a category in which Millennium park does not fall short; each miniature section of the park offers visitors a different park amenity, including several demand goods. The first potion of the park Chase Promenade creates the parks thoroughfare and helps control the "ebb and flow" of the park. Found under this promenade, the Boeing gallery is lined with rotating public art exhibitions, drawing both tourists and locals into the park. On the far right of the park, is the Crown Fountain, a unique squirting water irresistible to both children and some adults. This fountain serves as the parks watering hole, drawing all different races together and ignoring typical racial "boundaries." To its left is the Park Grill Restaurant and McCormick Tribune Plaza and Rink. This multipurpose space helps lure crowds year round and satisfy another visitor desire. Both of these, along with the water feature, are demand goods in the park. Another demand feature found in the park is the Jay Pitzker Pavilion which brings thousands of people into the park during its amazing summer concert series. Above the plaza is the Cloud Gate Sculpture which has become Chicago's iconic Eiffel Tower and draws visitors from all over the world. The Lurie Gardens introduces yet another type of user into the garden and allows an escape from the bustle of the other park areas. It is this wide variety of uses that help attract the extreme variance of users and contributes to the parks success.

Side note: It was interesting to see McDonald's cycle center, a temporary home for bikers commuting to work to store their bikes and shower off, located in Millennium Park. I am glad to see that Chicago is committed to going green and hopefully will continue to be so in the coming years.

Thus, it is most likely this strong combination of users and uses that served as the foundation for Millennium Parks positive reputation. Jane Jacobs summarizes her case of the successful park factors extremely well when she says, " The [successful park] thus possesses and intricate sequence of uses and users." Today was a very enlightening look at Millennium Park and I look forward to learning about Chicago's Food Desert tomorrow!

Windy City Pride and Politics: World's Fair, Stadiums, and the Olympics

Friday's adventure in the computer lab was a frusterating and enlightening look into what divides and unites a neighborhood. We analyzed two neighborhoods: one with one of the highest crime rates in the city, West Englewood, and one with one of the lowest crime rates, Forest Glen. The data, a combination of 2000 Census data and City of Chicago public data, led to the discovery of some common underlying themes. The factors I analyzed were: breakdown of race from the 2000 and 1930 censuses, median household income in 1999, average household size, crime rates, the percent of the community living below the poverty line, and access to public amenities: (police and fire stations, public transportation, schools, community centers, parks, and churches.) Our google maps helped us put everything into a visual perspective and see the unequal allocation of resources.

The first community I analyzed,West Englewood, had one of the highest crime rates in the city: 76th out of 77 neighboroods. The second community I analyzed, Forest Glen, had one of the lowest crime rates in the city: second out of 77 neighborhoods. Interestingly enough, the other students in class commented on how their "bad" neighborhoods were deprived of resources. However, in the case of West Englewood, I believe the opposite rings true. West Englewood and Forest Glen appear to be realitivly similar in size, (while Forest Glen may seem larger at first glance, on closer examination, one can see that much of the area is taken up by a nature preserve,) and yet have an unequal sharing of resources. West Englewood has a plethora of schools in relation to Forest Glen. In addition, West Englewood has double the police stations of Forest Glen (a 2:1 ratio); thus, West Englwood may seem as if it has double the resources. Per area this is true, but if the measuring scale is population, then they are about equal. (West Englewood has 44,994 people, 98% of which are African American; Forest Glen has 17, 875 people, 83% of which are white.) Thus, West Englewood has double the resources for double the people, so it approximately evens out.

Interesting Fact: When studying the figures from the 1930 census, it is interesting to note that both communities started out as predominatly white neighborhoods. (West Englewood was 97% white and Forest Glen was 100% white.) Thus, West Englewood has a dramatic demographic change white Forest Glen has stayed more true to its origins. I believe a possible explanation for this is the neighborhoods locations. Forest Glen, which is farther from Chicago's core, may have experienced less of a "white flight" during the suburbanization period than West Englewood, which is located deeper in the city.

Another factor that gets left behind when comparing two areas are the quality of the resources found in the area. For example, West Englewood appears to have more grocery stores than Forest Glen; however, the quality and selection of these grocery stores may differ vastly. An additional connection that became evident through this research is the relation between a communities income, more specifically the median income and percent of people living below the poverty line, and crime rates. To demonstrate, in West Englewood the median income is 26,424, with 32% of the population living below the poverty line. Here, the crime rate, and those in the neighboring communities are exceedingly high, Whereas the crime rate in Forest Glen the average income is 69,762, with only 3% of the people living below the poverty line.

This also relates to the race segregation discussed above. In West Englewood, the neighborhood with the higher crime rate, 99+% of the community is minority. Similarly, the average family size increases as crime increases. (2.61 people for Forest Glen and 3.61 people for West Englwood.)

Adressing Today's Challenges

According to Dictionary.com Welfare is "a governmental agency that provides funds and aid to people in need, especially those unable to work." The denotation, in and of itself, is fine, this problem lies in society's connotation of the word. As a society, we attach a negative stigma to the word, conjuring up images of young, single, minority mothers struggling to make ends meet. One of the most fascinating tenets to the welfare system is its connection to the prisons. Some interesting statistics about the interrelatedness of welfare and prisons are: [Keep in mind some of these statistics may be guesstimates (Statistics taken from our wonderful speaker Ruben Miller.)]

-50% of prisoners live below 50% of the poverty line.
-25% of prisoners have a disability that prevent them from working.
-56% of prisoners leaving jail only go onto 7 of 77 communities.
-15% of prisoners were on welfare as children.
-38,000 prisoners leave jail every year, 38,000 prisoners return to jail every year.

These statistics show how interbred the prison and welfare systems are, with the welfare and prison rates being almost identical; rather than the prisons serving their initial purpose of rehabilitation, they are being used as a form of social control, in order to manage urban poverty. Unfortunately, this is leaving people unable to provide themselves with adequate living conditions. The welfare system is broken, the social safety net that was intended to help the urban poor, needs to be mended. People such as the prison population are falling through the holes.

Another population that has fallen through Welfare's cracks is the homeless population. Homelessness is a surprisingly recent phenomena, which has become a necessary outgrowth of the welfare system. In addition to the prison population, the homeless population is largely male. This is because the welfare system is more effective for women, who are able to get jobs through the workfare program. Many of Welfare's programs are unavailable for men. The increase in homelessness is also due to our flexible economy and the recent recession. In addition the influx of aging and new veterans has helped to expand the population. At the most recent count, some 20% of the homeless population are veterans.

Furthermore, the demographics of the homeless population is shifting. The average age of a homeless person is now 54, a dramatic age shift. Several factors play into this new older trend: health issues, the economic downturn, unemployment, a lack of proper benefits and adequate housing, mental health, violence, substance abuse, language and cultural differences, and war and criminal records. In addition, there is a substantial lack of programming for people between the ages of 47 and 62. The vast majority of programs are directed at the 60+ set, completely ignoring those who may be beyond their working years but still too young for government assistance.

Chicago has implemented a new plan to combat homelessness called the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness. However, as time passed, it has become just The Plan to End Homelessness, and lost its ten year timeline. The basic premise of the plan is to close some of the costly emergency shelters in the city, and move the homeless population into interim and eventually permanent housing. This plan is extremely interesting and I look forward to seeing the hopefully positive results of this program.

Windy City Politics: "I don't want nobody nobody sent"

"...He did great things [Harry]. Terrible! Yes, but Great." White this quote from Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone does not exactly relate to the Daley administrations, it does have some relevance. While the Daleys may be seen as terrible by some of Chicago's residents, no one can deny their greatness. In fact, the Daleys have been called at points "the most powerful politicians in America," and are said to have gotten John F. Kennedy elected. They knew how to work the system, partially because they helped to create the system, and the most powerful political machine in America. Before taking this course I knew nothing of Chicago politics beyond President Obama, so I will be the first to admit that the details of the Daleys are still a mystery, more or less, to me; but at some level it seems that as much as some Chicagoans criticize the Daleys, general Chicago keeps electing them. And as much as the Daleys have failed to do, they have turned Chicago into a world class tourist city.

Our field trip today involved meeting with Mike Quigley, the congressman for Chicago's fifth district. Congressman Quigley made an interesting connection to our reading when he described how "what the father built the son tore down." This drew a parallel to the comment in the article about the son fixing his father's mistakes and neglected duties, for example: Chicago's extremely downtrodden public schools. While the "old man" can be said to have create Chicago's notorious machine, his son can be credited for helping to tear it down. However, as stated in the article, the young Daley never "bashed" his father, which I see as a very favorable trait. One of Richard M. Daley's projects that, from what I can tell, is extremely controversial is the Millennium Park Project. The controversy lies in the fact that the money may have been better spent elsewhere; however, the park has created millions of dollars of tourist revenue. Thus, only time will tell whether the memory of the Daley's will be one of unicorns and daisies of one marred by scandal and bad decisions. Most likely their reputation will lie somewhere in the middle.

Congressman Quigley was very knowledgeable and easy to get along with. One can easily understand the confidence he instilled in his voters. It was fascinating to hear his stories about the differing personalities in Washington, particularly his story involving Rob Em manual and Barack Obama's the conflicting atmospheres they brought to a room. His stories of working with Washington and the presidents gave an honest portrayal of how things on the hill worked, and the benefits of Air Force One. In addition, Mr. Quigley stories about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan were riveting. I found his comments about the soldiers always being interviewed in the company of a higher official, so nothing can slip out, and how none of the stories were he heard were the basic truth until he talked to veterans. This comment called to question the compromised validity of several army interviews. After reading his first year biography, I can see that Mike Quigley gets things done in congress and is a very impressive man. He offered the class great wisdom for our future endeavors and it was a delight to meet the Congressman.

The City of Big Shoulders Today

Our article for today, The Crisis of Wage Theft by Kim Bobo, dealt with America's unfortunate wage gap and its deplorable implications for the affected workers. According to Bobo, "billions of dollars are being illegally stolen from millions of each and every year." As I discerned from the article, some basic examples of wage theft in America are: violations of minimum wage laws, employers not paying for overtime work and/or forcing workers to work of the clock, mis-classifying workers as independent contractors, thus avoiding minimum wage and overtime laws, and worst-of-all just not paying workers. The vast majority of these dollars are being stolen from immigrants, both illegal and non-legal, who either can't verbalize the issues or don't know where to seek appropriate compensation.

In addition to the article, we read excerpts from her book on people's personal encounters with wage theft. The worst story I read featured a clothing "sweat shop," and the gruesome stories of its work enviroment. For instance, the owners did not provide toilet paper for their employee's because the worker's would steel it for their homes. Even more deplorable, the owner then went on to say that the "employees prefered to bring their own...and that none of the workers wanted health insurance." Furthermore, these workers were denied minimum wage and adequate work conditions.

I like to consider myself a fairly green person. I shop weekly at the farmers market, buy green and sustainable products whenever possible, eat as organicly as possible, and am looking at raising chickens when I return to Minnesota, so Chicago's Department of the Environment's Chicago Center for Green Technology was right up my alley. Indeed, the wild gardens and modular green homes were very interesting. I found the most resourceful green product in the building to be the canola oil powered elevator.

However, according to the brochure for the center and its volunteer the main goal for the center was education; this was one aspect of the center that I felt fell short. My first supporting point for this opinion was the location of the center. The CGT (Center for Green Technology) was located several miles outside of the downtown area and was the one of the only things in the area, making it unlikley that the center would cross an average pedestrians path. While it was only a short walk from the nearest bus stop, the area was not pedestrian friendly. The one sidewalked was not maintained well and was found on the opposite side of the street, which was not easily crossable, than the center. In addition, the resource room was filled mainly with home-building products, more than educational exhibits. As a result, for someone less interested in green technology than me, I do not think the center would provide as much information and enjoyment.

The Emerging City of Big Shoulders

Our adventure today took our giant, white van through three distinct districts, South East Chicago, Pullman, and Back of the Yards, with a slight deviation through Bridgeport. The focus of our excursion was how the various industries and their resultant labor organizations shaped Chicago.

Our first sojourn was to the prior US Steel Corporation South works plant on the south east side of Chicago, to ascertain the importance of the steel industry in Chicago. This location was considered prime real estate for the steel industry because of its proximity to the lake, river, and railway hubs. Technological increases, such as the Bessemer process in 1855, allowed corporations to shift from Irish and German skilled laborers to unskilled Eastern European immigrants; thus, increasing the companies bottom line. Due to these factors, the steel industry boomed in south east Chicago until the late seventies and eighties. At that point, there was a sharp decline in steel workers, until the eventual closure of many plants in the eighties and nineties. Today, much of the area is barren land awaiting development, while there is a possible "mini-city" plan for the area, nothing is yet in the works. This area has fallen into disrepair in part because it was developed solely as a one industry area. Thus, when the industry collapsed, the area had nothing to fall back on for support. This called to mind the idea of disinvestment in a community, which is almost the opposite of gentrification as discussed yesterday. This is a topic we will be covering in more detail later on.

Our next stopover took us into the historic Pullman district, and the site of the famous Pullman strike, where we discussed the history of labor unions in Chicago. One of the most engrossing facets to our Pullman tour was its reflection to the public housing projects we viewed last week. The idea behind both the Pullman development and the CHA's housing projects was that if the physical environment of a worker or an impoverished person was made well, the worker would behave and poverty would diminish; however, in both cases this theory did not prove true. An eyewitness of the Pullman block homes commented on how their was an abundance of bare empty space, yet another similarity to the projects. The problem with both of these housing ventures was that they only attempted to fix "one piece of the puzzle" rather than all the pieces making up the puzzle. It also brought up the idea of history repeating itself and how we must look at our past in order to develop our future. It is possible that some of the mistakes in the public housing projects could have been avoided if the developers had looked back at the "Pullman housing project."

The final stop on our last van tour was the Back of the Yards area in Chicago, where addressed Chicago's meet packing industry. To prepare for this portion of our tour we read The World The Meat-Packers Made. I found the most enthralling section of the reading to deal with how the meat-packers organized themselves into smaller sub-sects. One of the ways the Back of the Yards organized according to class related to housing area status. The neighborhood was divided into four zones based on their proximity to the stockyards, the more upscale neighborhoods being located furthest from the slaughter houses. Quadrant one being the least prestigious, was filled with newer immigrants, and Quadrant four being the most. In addition, the streets within each quadrant were ranked according to social status. As a result, some streets in Quadrant 3 were ranked higher than others in Quadrant four. This demonstrates humans need for a sort of social organization and the unique way humans attempt to organize.

Today's van tour was an exciting look into Chicago's history and politics and I look forward to going to the Center for Green Technology tomorrow!

A City of Neighborhoods – New Multi-racial, Multi-ethnic communities

Prior to our first reading, the concept of gentrification had not crossed my path. Gentrification is "the buying and renovation of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by upper- or middle-income families or individuals, thus improving property values but often displacing low-income families and small businesses" (Merium Webster). I could have easily been the young, white women moving in to a "trendy" area, unaware of the consequent negative implications for the local population. Our field trip, viewing the progression of gentrification in some of Chicago's neighborhoods, has really opened my eyes to the complex issue of gentrification.

By and large, the process of gentification follows a fairly established pattern. Students and artists seeking cheap rent move into a realatively unprosperous area. This group is generally followed by young, white "hipsters" searching for an edgy, up-and-coming neighborhood; While this group may not pocess the ecomonic capital of their peers in more affluent neighborhoods, they have a larger quota of social capital, which encompasses their higher educational degrees, than the local population, whom they displace. In addition, this "hipster" circles are oftentimes economically supported by their well-off families. As this transition occurs, the neighborhood is customarily seen as safer, allowing for an additional white migration into the neighborhood. As a result buisnesses move into the area and advertisers promote the area as trendy and swank This brings wealth into the area, ultimately raising the rent prices and pushing out the local minority population. This transformation is disproportionately affecting Hispanic areas.

The controversy over gentrification relates largely to the issue of how to gentrify responsibly. I have to admit that if given the choice between an apartment with hardwood floors run by a real estate company or an apartment with tile floors run by your baker's brother, Jose, I might pick the apartment with hard wood floors. Our tour ranged from less gentrified to completely gentrified in coresponding order. As our adventure progressed, the houses shifted more from houses I would not want to live in to houses I would love to live in. In addition, as the rental prices rise, there is a mass influx of buisnesses to the area, making it for desireable for living. Thus, part of the issue lies in whether we choose what is best for us as an individual or what is best for the community as an entire entity. This is in part what makes responsible gentrification so difficult. While investment in a community can bring income into a community, it can also wreck havoc on the local population who often cannot compete against large chain stores.

ADDENDUM: An interesting sign of gentrification, that only someone with the vantage point of 5+ years working with children would notice, is the quality of stroller found in a neighborhood. We started our van tour in an area just beginning the process of gentrification, followed by a neighborhood further in transition, and ended with a fully gentrified, upscale neighborhood. As we ventured farther on our tour, the strollers changed from the $30 umbrella strollers all the way to the top-of-the-line, prestigious bugaboo and orbit stroller systems (costing upwards of $2000.)