Today we talked to Catherine Gillis, a PHD student from Loyola University.
Catherine conducted a study with Dr.Kelly Moore about what people in low income communities like to eat.
She introduced to us the idea of "food deserts" and "food swamps".
Food deserts is when here isn't grocery store while food swamps have a variety of fast food restaurants.
i was very interested in this topic because i think it's interesting knowing that in the low income areas of the city there are not even enough grocery stores provided so that people can go shop there. It made me realize how people that live in low income neighborhoods are always being put down and showed that they are not as important as others.
I believe this is true because when you look at statistics and maps, you will find that people from higher income neighborhoods have all of the things that they need. you will find that they have access to things that many low income people don't have access to.
I really think this is a problem that should be fixed, while some people is living fancy and they have access to everything, some people are only given the option to buy certain things and if they want to eat something different then they have to travel sometimes great distances to get what they need.
Basically what Catherine told us today is that people of low income are making choices about food because they don't have a lot of options.
27 individuals were interviewed. 24 of this individuals were African American and 3 were Hispanic. 4 of them were men and 23 of them were woman.
The results that were found from this study were:
-provisioning (elaborate food networks). basically, people have ways to obtain food from places out of their reach by car pooling or by going shopping with a member of the family that can take them to buy groceries.
I found this very interesting, i never thought that people would actually have to go through so much in order to get groceries for their families.
This is a huge problem that the city should address. Instead of spending millions of dollars building a hotel across Wrigley field, the city should spend tat money building more grocery stores on low income neighborhoods so that people can have access to a wide variety of things without having to travel miles just to get fresh produce.
I learned that people only went shopping once or twice a month and when they did go, they froze a lot of the things that they bought so that it could last them much longer.
The study that Catherine did also showed that a lot of people didn't eat out, even at fast food restaurants because it was too expensive. They would rather cook a meal at home.
I also learned that the majority of fast food eaters are male adolescents.
Something that i found shocking was that out of the 27 people that were interviewed, only one of them went shopping at the local jewel Osco.
Something that i got me very thoughtful was reading that people in this communities do not think food is a main health concern.
Another thing that the study showed is that people make decisions about food, based on what other members of their family like to eat.
In conclusions, Public health and urban planning interventions should be informed by residents provisioning practices and values.
Because there is a great variation in diet,additional health factors should be examined to explain disparate health outcomes.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
journal 08/10/2010
Today was a very interesting day.
We visited the beautiful Millennium Park and Time Gilfoyle lead the tour. Tim was very knowledgeable about Chicago and its history, as well as the history of Millennium Park.
Millennium Par runs from Monroe to Randolph Avenue and from Michigan Avenue to Columbus.
The park was built in the 1900’s and it wasn’t built knowing it would be so popular today.
Originally it was just Grand Park. The park was configured with the introduction of the car and had an ugly parking lot sitting on the side.
Something that blew my mind completely and gave me an idea of just how powerful a person with wealth can be is when Tim said that the reason why the park was “remodeled” and turned into Millennium Park was because his dentist’s office was located right across the street from the park, every time he went to the dentist Daley said he “had and ugly view” and just like that he decided to fix the park.
It’s a great thing that he actually cared about turning the park into the beautiful park that it is today, but at the same time it bothers me.
Yesterday in class we were discussing poverty and bad neighborhoods; it shocked me and took me by surprise hearing that Daley along with some of the wealthiest people in Chicago took the initiative to build a multimillion dollar park. I’ve read articles that talk about homeless people in the city; I’ve also read about projects designed to help people on the streets, but can never be completed because either the budget is too short or this or that. I see how our majors, both Daley Senior and Junior have nothing but excuses!
The major had NO problem at all raising money to build this multimillion dollar budget park, so my question is, How come he always says that there is not enough budget when it comes down to doing something that will actually benefit people in the city of Chicago.
I do understand that Millennium Park is a private park and that Daley did not entirely pay for all of its construction, but Daley was responsible for raising the money in order for this park to be built! So why can’t his son Major Daley Jr. do the same when it comes down to taking care of people on the streets that are sick and can’t obtain the medications they need? Or helping them get jobs?
I’m sure that if he was able to raise Millions of dollars to built this park, his son Daley junior could do the same to help homeless people who freeze to death in the winter.
Today I realize that our city has more than enough money and is very capable of improving our “worse” neighborhoods. The city is capable of so many things that will attract tourism…so why can’t they be able to raise money to actually improve the neighborhoods like South Shore on the south side???
In my opinion, I think that wasting millions of dollars on one part of the city only just so that ONE person can have a better view is a very selfish and wrong thing to do. Our major cares about enhancing the image of Chicago by spending so much money on areas downtown, where tourists visit. why doesn’t he spend millions of dollars trying to enhance the neighborhoods that him and others complain are so bad?
I feel that he wants to put a face about Chicago to tourists that its not, I believe every city does..because they focus so much on only certain areas of the city to attract tourism and bringing in money but they don’t focus on fixing the areas where workers that serve the tourists live! Workers who maintain the city and keep it moving, yet the Major and the city do not care.
Maybe if the people stood up and fought for their rights to live just like everyone else, if people fought for the right to improve their neighborhoods, our city would not be infested with gangs on every other block. Maybe some areas of the city would not have such a high crime rate, if the Major and the people who supposedly care did something about improving the whole city instead of just two blocks where tourists visit.
The whole idea about building Millennium Park was to “shoot for the moon” and it was done very well.
Even though I believe building Millennium Park was a very selfish and ambitious project, it still is a very beautiful park. I learned a few cool facts about it today.
The two water towers that are located in the park serve a purpose; I never understood why faces appeared, or whose faces they were on the glass blocks.
Today I learned that the faces that appear on the towers are faces of random Chicagoans. The reason why so many different faces appear is because they want to show how diverse Chicago is. I think that this is a very bright thing, I’ve never thought about that but I do see now why they would put faces of people from many different races up there.
The final cost of the fountain was 17 million dollars.
I also learned a very cool fact about the “bean”, its original name is Cloud Gate. It’s called the cloud gate because the artist wanted it to be “a gate to the sky”.
Finally, the last cool fact I learned was that when Millennium Park first opened, a review writer from New York referred to it as “a park on steroids”
Which I found very interesting :), but I think it was just out of pure jealousy that Chicago is a city 100 times better than New York :)
We visited the beautiful Millennium Park and Time Gilfoyle lead the tour. Tim was very knowledgeable about Chicago and its history, as well as the history of Millennium Park.
Millennium Par runs from Monroe to Randolph Avenue and from Michigan Avenue to Columbus.
The park was built in the 1900’s and it wasn’t built knowing it would be so popular today.
Originally it was just Grand Park. The park was configured with the introduction of the car and had an ugly parking lot sitting on the side.
Something that blew my mind completely and gave me an idea of just how powerful a person with wealth can be is when Tim said that the reason why the park was “remodeled” and turned into Millennium Park was because his dentist’s office was located right across the street from the park, every time he went to the dentist Daley said he “had and ugly view” and just like that he decided to fix the park.
It’s a great thing that he actually cared about turning the park into the beautiful park that it is today, but at the same time it bothers me.
Yesterday in class we were discussing poverty and bad neighborhoods; it shocked me and took me by surprise hearing that Daley along with some of the wealthiest people in Chicago took the initiative to build a multimillion dollar park. I’ve read articles that talk about homeless people in the city; I’ve also read about projects designed to help people on the streets, but can never be completed because either the budget is too short or this or that. I see how our majors, both Daley Senior and Junior have nothing but excuses!
The major had NO problem at all raising money to build this multimillion dollar budget park, so my question is, How come he always says that there is not enough budget when it comes down to doing something that will actually benefit people in the city of Chicago.
I do understand that Millennium Park is a private park and that Daley did not entirely pay for all of its construction, but Daley was responsible for raising the money in order for this park to be built! So why can’t his son Major Daley Jr. do the same when it comes down to taking care of people on the streets that are sick and can’t obtain the medications they need? Or helping them get jobs?
I’m sure that if he was able to raise Millions of dollars to built this park, his son Daley junior could do the same to help homeless people who freeze to death in the winter.
Today I realize that our city has more than enough money and is very capable of improving our “worse” neighborhoods. The city is capable of so many things that will attract tourism…so why can’t they be able to raise money to actually improve the neighborhoods like South Shore on the south side???
In my opinion, I think that wasting millions of dollars on one part of the city only just so that ONE person can have a better view is a very selfish and wrong thing to do. Our major cares about enhancing the image of Chicago by spending so much money on areas downtown, where tourists visit. why doesn’t he spend millions of dollars trying to enhance the neighborhoods that him and others complain are so bad?
I feel that he wants to put a face about Chicago to tourists that its not, I believe every city does..because they focus so much on only certain areas of the city to attract tourism and bringing in money but they don’t focus on fixing the areas where workers that serve the tourists live! Workers who maintain the city and keep it moving, yet the Major and the city do not care.
Maybe if the people stood up and fought for their rights to live just like everyone else, if people fought for the right to improve their neighborhoods, our city would not be infested with gangs on every other block. Maybe some areas of the city would not have such a high crime rate, if the Major and the people who supposedly care did something about improving the whole city instead of just two blocks where tourists visit.
The whole idea about building Millennium Park was to “shoot for the moon” and it was done very well.
Even though I believe building Millennium Park was a very selfish and ambitious project, it still is a very beautiful park. I learned a few cool facts about it today.
The two water towers that are located in the park serve a purpose; I never understood why faces appeared, or whose faces they were on the glass blocks.
Today I learned that the faces that appear on the towers are faces of random Chicagoans. The reason why so many different faces appear is because they want to show how diverse Chicago is. I think that this is a very bright thing, I’ve never thought about that but I do see now why they would put faces of people from many different races up there.
The final cost of the fountain was 17 million dollars.
I also learned a very cool fact about the “bean”, its original name is Cloud Gate. It’s called the cloud gate because the artist wanted it to be “a gate to the sky”.
Finally, the last cool fact I learned was that when Millennium Park first opened, a review writer from New York referred to it as “a park on steroids”
Which I found very interesting :), but I think it was just out of pure jealousy that Chicago is a city 100 times better than New York :)
Monday, August 9, 2010
08/9/2010
The Wrigley field stadium has a very rich history.
Today I had the honor of meeting the author of the article “REVAMPED STADIUM . . . NEW
NEIGHBORHOOD?” Larry Bennett.
It was a very nice experience meeting him; I learned so many things about the Lakeview neighborhood, as well as the “Wrigley Ville” neighborhood.
Wrigley field is located in the Lakeview neighborhood, Lakeview was settled in the 19th century.
I also learned a bit more about Chicago. I was very impressed by Larry. He seemed to know a lot about Chicago and its history; he gave us a lot of interesting facts about Chicago that I did not know.
Something that I thought about is how many interesting new things I keep learning every single time I go to class, just when I think I know everything about the city; I find something new about it.
Chicago has a very rich history, a very dark one, but it also has a very interesting a nice one as well.
During the 19th century, Lakeview was not part of Chicago. The area were Wrigley Ville is located is mainly a middle class neighborhood.
Something very interesting is that the topic of gentrification just keeps coming up on almost every tour. Gentrification is a huge part of our city and it’s been taking place for years and is still affecting communities today.
Lakeview was gentrified in the last twenty years.
Wrigley field opened its doors in 1914 and was formerly called “Wigman Park”
It was also known as the “Cubs Park”, then William Wrigley Jr. bought the Cubs team in the 1920s and the park became known as “Wrigley field”
When the ballpark opened, there was a big controversy because the people from the neighborhood did not want the stadium there. They said that it would bring a lot of noise and unwanted guests, that it would disturb the neighborhoods peace.
Time passed by and eventually the residents got used to the stadium.
The Lakeview area however, is known to have big community activism. So every time there were changes made to the park, usually there was a big deal about it.
When the lights were added to the field, it created a huge problem. The people from the area completely refused to accept the fact that now there would be games taking place at night.
The residents were very irritated by the addition of lights to the stadium because they thought that the neighborhood would always be noisy and crazy people would be around all the time.
Personally, I think that the addition of these lights was a very bright idea.
The games at night did bring much more noise, but at the same time it did bring a lot of money to the neighborhood as well.
When you think about it, the cubs are a very successful baseball team.
Not only are they a team, The Chicago Cubs are a business, Many taverns, sports bars and “party homes” as well as pretty much every business around the Wrigley field, depend on the cubs to stay in business.
When ever there are games, these bars are packed with people who go to watch the games.
The stadium essentially has given the Lakeview area a unique characteristic.
And even though it has its downs, it has also contributed to the area a lot because it has kept peoples business running and many people depend on the field to make a living.
Today we talked about a new project that was approved by the city council.
The project consists of building an 8 story hotel right in front of Wrigley field. This means that the small businesses that are located right across the street from the field would have to be relocated or shut down.
The plan is to build several stores in the hotel, a home depot or a pharmacy or a grocery store.
In my opinion this idea is a waste of time. I think that a home depot would not serve any purpose being located right in front of the baseball field. People are not going to go buy their lumber and their garden supplies before they go watch the game.
There are plenty of pharmacies all around the city, too many I would say so that would not be a good idea either.
A food store would definitely be a bad idea because people probably don’t want to go grocery shopping when they have to go through crowds of baseballs fans just to be able to get in the store.
Overall today made me think about so many things. We have so many bad neighborhoods in our city that do not even have a home depot anywhere nearby, neighborhood where they have to go across the city to find a pharmacy or a grocery store.
In a way it bothered me to hear that the city had a new proposal for a hotel to be built somewhere where its not needed, when there’s areas all around the city where this money could be invested in to better Chicago’s neighborhoods.
I really enjoyed today because I got to learn more about one of the nearby areas from where I live and I got to meet Larry. I also learned how one major business can have an impact on an entire neighborhood and the smaller businesses surrounding it.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Journal 8/5/10
Ruben Miller, a PHD student at Loyola University who is currently working on a project dealing with homeless people and the “Ten year plan” came to talk to us today and I really had a great time.
Ruben was a great person, very energetic and it sounded like he was passionate about what he is doing.
I learned a few things about him, for example: he worked on cook county jail for five years, and he went to the University of Chicago.
He gave us a lot of valuable information that I found shocking.
He said that 80 to 90 % of the people in prison when he worked there were black.
He also told us that 50% of the prisoners are 50% below the poverty line. This information was very harsh to hear because many times people think that people who come out of prison go right back in because they go back to their same old habits as soon as they come out of prison. What most people don’t know is that the reason this people go back to prison is not so much because they are bad people, but because nobody is willing to help them make a change and help them survive so that they don’t need to resort to stealing just to be able to get by or to do something that will get them in trouble with the law.
We also discussed the topic of homelessness, which is a very controversial topic in the city of Chicago right now.
Ruben asked us, what do we think when we hear the word “welfare”, when we hear the word “homeless”?
Many of our answers were very harsh ones. After everyone said what they thought, Ruben said one thing that completely changed my mind about homeless people and made me understand them a bit more.
He said that about 60% of the homeless people he has interviewed has not completed high school.
About 50% of this people have some type of disability that impairs them from getting a job.
I think that many people judge without giving a chance, without knowing what everyone’s story is. Maybe if we took a little time to try to understand this people, we might find it easier to help them.
I really had a bad view on so many homeless people, but after today I don’t think I still have this same ideas I had about them. I used to think that whenever there was a homeless young person out begging for money, it was a waste of time even bothering to stop and listen to them, just because of the fact that you see them so young and you might think “why are they begging for money when they’re young and can easily get a job”?
Something that my teacher Liss made me understand was that sometimes we take so many things for granted, Things that we have but a homeless person wishes they had.
She told me that it might also be hard for a young person to find a job because for example, they don’t have an address like we do and that is something so little that seems so insignificant to us because we have it, but to some people things like that are so important.
The one thing that definitely bothered me so much and broke my heart is, knowing that 20% of our veterans are out there on the streets, homeless.
This I personally think is a very despicable act of our government. The fact that there are veterans of war on the streets begging for money and food is a disgusting, cowardly act of our government and I feel very strongly about that.
I have family that is and has been in the military and I certainly would not like to see them on the streets because the government decides to dump them like a bag of garbage on the street, after they have served their country and risked their lives. I have very strong feelings towards this issue, not only because I have family who serves in the military but also because I have the greatest respect for the soldiers who I believe are so brave for putting their life on the line each and every single day so that we can live in peace.
I just don’t think is right at all for the government AND the people to allow this to happen.
After wars end, the soldiers who come back do not receive the proper psychological help that they need in order for them to be able to adapt and function with society again. They see things most of us would not even dream of in our darkest nightmares and it’s a very sad thing to see the people who have fought for their country out begging for money just because of the fact that the government did not give them the help that they needed in order for them to be a member of society again who can thrive.
I think that the Ten year plans will work to some extent.
The idea of this plan is to end chronic homelessness and to try to get people to more permanent setting.
In a way I feel that the government is only doing this because it’s cheaper to have these people in homes instead of the streets, were they can get their hospital bills so high and never pay for them. Even though the government is not really doing this out of their own will, I still think it is helping the people. So whether they government does it with a good intention or not, it’s still getting benefiting the homeless.
Today has helped me change my vies on homeless people because not all homeless people is on the streets because they want to be or because they like it, most often than not the reason they are on the street is because they are not helped. If they do get some type of help, it’s a very crappy one. They might get 100 dollars a month from the government, but the government is well aware that rent is not one hundred dollars a month and people have to eat.
So I think that part of the reason why our society is so sad sometimes is because the government does not provide enough help to the people they should actually be providing the help to.
Ruben was a great person, very energetic and it sounded like he was passionate about what he is doing.
I learned a few things about him, for example: he worked on cook county jail for five years, and he went to the University of Chicago.
He gave us a lot of valuable information that I found shocking.
He said that 80 to 90 % of the people in prison when he worked there were black.
He also told us that 50% of the prisoners are 50% below the poverty line. This information was very harsh to hear because many times people think that people who come out of prison go right back in because they go back to their same old habits as soon as they come out of prison. What most people don’t know is that the reason this people go back to prison is not so much because they are bad people, but because nobody is willing to help them make a change and help them survive so that they don’t need to resort to stealing just to be able to get by or to do something that will get them in trouble with the law.
We also discussed the topic of homelessness, which is a very controversial topic in the city of Chicago right now.
Ruben asked us, what do we think when we hear the word “welfare”, when we hear the word “homeless”?
Many of our answers were very harsh ones. After everyone said what they thought, Ruben said one thing that completely changed my mind about homeless people and made me understand them a bit more.
He said that about 60% of the homeless people he has interviewed has not completed high school.
About 50% of this people have some type of disability that impairs them from getting a job.
I think that many people judge without giving a chance, without knowing what everyone’s story is. Maybe if we took a little time to try to understand this people, we might find it easier to help them.
I really had a bad view on so many homeless people, but after today I don’t think I still have this same ideas I had about them. I used to think that whenever there was a homeless young person out begging for money, it was a waste of time even bothering to stop and listen to them, just because of the fact that you see them so young and you might think “why are they begging for money when they’re young and can easily get a job”?
Something that my teacher Liss made me understand was that sometimes we take so many things for granted, Things that we have but a homeless person wishes they had.
She told me that it might also be hard for a young person to find a job because for example, they don’t have an address like we do and that is something so little that seems so insignificant to us because we have it, but to some people things like that are so important.
The one thing that definitely bothered me so much and broke my heart is, knowing that 20% of our veterans are out there on the streets, homeless.
This I personally think is a very despicable act of our government. The fact that there are veterans of war on the streets begging for money and food is a disgusting, cowardly act of our government and I feel very strongly about that.
I have family that is and has been in the military and I certainly would not like to see them on the streets because the government decides to dump them like a bag of garbage on the street, after they have served their country and risked their lives. I have very strong feelings towards this issue, not only because I have family who serves in the military but also because I have the greatest respect for the soldiers who I believe are so brave for putting their life on the line each and every single day so that we can live in peace.
I just don’t think is right at all for the government AND the people to allow this to happen.
After wars end, the soldiers who come back do not receive the proper psychological help that they need in order for them to be able to adapt and function with society again. They see things most of us would not even dream of in our darkest nightmares and it’s a very sad thing to see the people who have fought for their country out begging for money just because of the fact that the government did not give them the help that they needed in order for them to be a member of society again who can thrive.
I think that the Ten year plans will work to some extent.
The idea of this plan is to end chronic homelessness and to try to get people to more permanent setting.
In a way I feel that the government is only doing this because it’s cheaper to have these people in homes instead of the streets, were they can get their hospital bills so high and never pay for them. Even though the government is not really doing this out of their own will, I still think it is helping the people. So whether they government does it with a good intention or not, it’s still getting benefiting the homeless.
Today has helped me change my vies on homeless people because not all homeless people is on the streets because they want to be or because they like it, most often than not the reason they are on the street is because they are not helped. If they do get some type of help, it’s a very crappy one. They might get 100 dollars a month from the government, but the government is well aware that rent is not one hundred dollars a month and people have to eat.
So I think that part of the reason why our society is so sad sometimes is because the government does not provide enough help to the people they should actually be providing the help to.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Journal 8/4/10
Throughout the summer scholars program I've had a great time. I've gone to unforgettable places and I've learned things that will stay with me forever... Today particularly was a great day. I met Congressman Mike Quigley, He is a former cook county commissioner and was elected congressman on April 7th, 2009.
Mike Quigley represents the 5th district of Illinois. I read on his page that he passed the amendment as part of the Consolidated land, energy and aquatic resources act...it will require oil and gas companies to pay royalties on all oil that is leaked from a well, including spilled oil.
I found the congressman a very down to earth cool guy...i honestly didn't think he would be like this. I've had a past experience on a trip that i took with my school to Springfield were some of the people from the house of representatives acted very rude and showed that even though they supposedly are very educated..have no education at all and don't know how to treat people.
but i found the congressman to be a very humble person and i think its rare to see that.
i learned a lot of things about him..he often participates in local clean-up and restoration efforts, which i think is very cool because he shows that he cares about the environment and he shows that he cares about Chicago and the people. To me this was a very interesting thing because often, people let their position get to their head and they forget about the people and the places that made them who they are...so he really made a good impression to me.
Mike Quigley is also known to be the "greenest" governor, something i personally found very nice...usually with politicians you will find that hey are very self centered and they are only interested in things that will either bring them money or benefit them in some way.
By helping clean up our streets once in a while and showing he cares about the environment, whether it's for personal interest, to be liked by the citizens and be popular or whether he really cares about the environment..i still think it's really cool he does it because how often can you say you see a congressman volunteering to help clean the streets?
We got to ask the congressman a couple questions...he told us about his experience visiting our troops in Iraq...i was very interested in what he had to say because i have great respect for the man and women who put their life on the line every day for us, making sure that we are safe.
Sadly, he said it was very harsh to actually go and see them because the government wants to put a face to the people to hide what really is going on..he said many of the soldiers were going a little crazy from the war and many of the had lost their legs or their arms..and the government didn't really allow them to talk because i guess they don't want the citizens back home to know or "see" the bad side of the war.
The congressman was also asked to give his opinion about the president and if he thought he would be reelected...He seemed to like the current president and he talked very good about him arguing that he probably would be reelected because he hasn't "majorly screwed up..in my opinion he has...he promised to bring the troops back in a year...it's been long after one year and instead of bringing the troops back home, he's planning to send more troops to Iraq...he also has not improved our economy much..in fact i think things have gotten even worse since he came into office. (but that's just my opinion)
Once we went back to the campus, we talked about major Richard M. Daley and his father.
we discussed about how they have been part of Chicago since the 60's and how they have improved the city and how they have also made mistakes that have affected it.
Many people don't like the mayor because they say he has made bad decisions for Chicago and that he is not doing his job right...i think that he is a good mayor but i also think in some ways he isn't...but nobody is perfect.
I think Chicago is the beautiful city that it is today because of the mayor both Senior and Junior...even if they haven't always made the right decisions, they still have made the city a much more nicer place to live and if you look at Chicago's history, you can definitely see the great changes that have occurred.
At the end of class we had pizza and we got a chance to meet some of the other students from Loyola and staff.
It was very thoughtful from our teachers to have actually planned this and it was very nice.
we got to know people a little bit better and know what they are doing...it was really cool to find out that some students are doing a project about homeless people and it was interesting to find out what they thought about it.
they also got to ask the summer scholars (us) some questions and they learned a bit more about us and why we decided to take the urban field studies class.
Something that i took from today was having the pleasure to meet great people and to learn more about them.
Mike Quigley represents the 5th district of Illinois. I read on his page that he passed the amendment as part of the Consolidated land, energy and aquatic resources act...it will require oil and gas companies to pay royalties on all oil that is leaked from a well, including spilled oil.
I found the congressman a very down to earth cool guy...i honestly didn't think he would be like this. I've had a past experience on a trip that i took with my school to Springfield were some of the people from the house of representatives acted very rude and showed that even though they supposedly are very educated..have no education at all and don't know how to treat people.
but i found the congressman to be a very humble person and i think its rare to see that.
i learned a lot of things about him..he often participates in local clean-up and restoration efforts, which i think is very cool because he shows that he cares about the environment and he shows that he cares about Chicago and the people. To me this was a very interesting thing because often, people let their position get to their head and they forget about the people and the places that made them who they are...so he really made a good impression to me.
Mike Quigley is also known to be the "greenest" governor, something i personally found very nice...usually with politicians you will find that hey are very self centered and they are only interested in things that will either bring them money or benefit them in some way.
By helping clean up our streets once in a while and showing he cares about the environment, whether it's for personal interest, to be liked by the citizens and be popular or whether he really cares about the environment..i still think it's really cool he does it because how often can you say you see a congressman volunteering to help clean the streets?
We got to ask the congressman a couple questions...he told us about his experience visiting our troops in Iraq...i was very interested in what he had to say because i have great respect for the man and women who put their life on the line every day for us, making sure that we are safe.
Sadly, he said it was very harsh to actually go and see them because the government wants to put a face to the people to hide what really is going on..he said many of the soldiers were going a little crazy from the war and many of the had lost their legs or their arms..and the government didn't really allow them to talk because i guess they don't want the citizens back home to know or "see" the bad side of the war.
The congressman was also asked to give his opinion about the president and if he thought he would be reelected...He seemed to like the current president and he talked very good about him arguing that he probably would be reelected because he hasn't "majorly screwed up..in my opinion he has...he promised to bring the troops back in a year...it's been long after one year and instead of bringing the troops back home, he's planning to send more troops to Iraq...he also has not improved our economy much..in fact i think things have gotten even worse since he came into office. (but that's just my opinion)
Once we went back to the campus, we talked about major Richard M. Daley and his father.
we discussed about how they have been part of Chicago since the 60's and how they have improved the city and how they have also made mistakes that have affected it.
Many people don't like the mayor because they say he has made bad decisions for Chicago and that he is not doing his job right...i think that he is a good mayor but i also think in some ways he isn't...but nobody is perfect.
I think Chicago is the beautiful city that it is today because of the mayor both Senior and Junior...even if they haven't always made the right decisions, they still have made the city a much more nicer place to live and if you look at Chicago's history, you can definitely see the great changes that have occurred.
At the end of class we had pizza and we got a chance to meet some of the other students from Loyola and staff.
It was very thoughtful from our teachers to have actually planned this and it was very nice.
we got to know people a little bit better and know what they are doing...it was really cool to find out that some students are doing a project about homeless people and it was interesting to find out what they thought about it.
they also got to ask the summer scholars (us) some questions and they learned a bit more about us and why we decided to take the urban field studies class.
Something that i took from today was having the pleasure to meet great people and to learn more about them.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Journal 8/3/10
Visiting the Departments of the Environment's Chicago Center For Green Technology was definitely a very cool experience. It was also really cool to learn more about the many different things we can all do to help the environment.
Going to a place like this was a great learning experience, i think that this people who work and volunteer here are great and there should be more people like them in the world who care about our environment.
It's really great that people actually take time out of their day to educate others about green technology.
I could relate this trip to yesterdays topic about steel mills...in a way i could see a comparison...yesterday we talked about how when the steel mills where in the city, they created a lot of pollution and made a lot of places toxic...today we went to visit a place that is trying to make Chicago an environmental friendly city...I think that the Mayor is aware of how much damage the city has caused to the environments in its past and part of the reason why he now is trying to help improve green technology in Chicago is because he wants to make sure that the city improves and in a way can make up for some of its past.
Overall, i was very impressed by the things you can actually do to save energy and save water...i saw soo many different types of flooring people can use in their homes...i saw so many things that you can use in your home and are very environmental friendly...even a toilet that doesn't use as much water as a regular toilet would.
I was so amazed by that little house built by the university students from Urbana Champaign...from the outside, the little house does not look very appealing..in fact i thought it would look very ugly...i was so surprised when we walked inside and i saw how nice it actually was.
Something that i took from today's trip is that people should learn how to be more responsible because in the end the only one who will be affected if we don't take care of our planet is us.
(picture of the little "cabin" built by U of I students)
Another thing i found very impressive was the solar panels located on top of the building...i found them very cool..if everyone had this solar panels in their homes the world would save so much energy.
The last thing was the big containers used to store rain water...i think that this is a very neat idea because like we were told...rainwater flows into the sewers every time it rains and as a result..most of the time the sewers end up backing up and water that has not yet been treated ends up flowing into the lake or the river....by using this big containers to store rain water, you can give this water a good use and for example, water your plants with it.
Going to a place like this was a great learning experience, i think that this people who work and volunteer here are great and there should be more people like them in the world who care about our environment.
It's really great that people actually take time out of their day to educate others about green technology.
I could relate this trip to yesterdays topic about steel mills...in a way i could see a comparison...yesterday we talked about how when the steel mills where in the city, they created a lot of pollution and made a lot of places toxic...today we went to visit a place that is trying to make Chicago an environmental friendly city...I think that the Mayor is aware of how much damage the city has caused to the environments in its past and part of the reason why he now is trying to help improve green technology in Chicago is because he wants to make sure that the city improves and in a way can make up for some of its past.
Overall, i was very impressed by the things you can actually do to save energy and save water...i saw soo many different types of flooring people can use in their homes...i saw so many things that you can use in your home and are very environmental friendly...even a toilet that doesn't use as much water as a regular toilet would.
I was so amazed by that little house built by the university students from Urbana Champaign...from the outside, the little house does not look very appealing..in fact i thought it would look very ugly...i was so surprised when we walked inside and i saw how nice it actually was.
Something that i took from today's trip is that people should learn how to be more responsible because in the end the only one who will be affected if we don't take care of our planet is us.
(picture of the little "cabin" built by U of I students)Another thing i found very impressive was the solar panels located on top of the building...i found them very cool..if everyone had this solar panels in their homes the world would save so much energy.
The last thing was the big containers used to store rain water...i think that this is a very neat idea because like we were told...rainwater flows into the sewers every time it rains and as a result..most of the time the sewers end up backing up and water that has not yet been treated ends up flowing into the lake or the river....by using this big containers to store rain water, you can give this water a good use and for example, water your plants with it.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Journal 8/02/10
Today was a very interesting day...we took a trip around the city to go see the old steel mills..well the remains because most, i would say all are pretty much gone.
During the time the steel mills opened, Irish, Scots, English, and Germans employees came to perform great works.
At the time the population in Chicago was about 90 percent Polish.
Visiting this places was very shocking...usually people that visit..even people who live here in Chicago get the "nice view" of the city and not so much the things that have gone wrong or are part of its dark past.
I learned that most of the south side of Chicago's lakefront was occupied with steel mills....it was very shocking to see because i had never been to the lakefront on the south side of the city, i always thought it was very much like the lakefront on the north side...with nice sandy beaches all along.
Something i found so interesting was that the Sears tower (now called The Willis Tower)
and the McCormick place were both built from steel from this factories.
The shocking part wasn't much that there was a lot of factories there..what i found particularly shocking and i guess sad was finding out more about George Pullman and his company.
I read about him yesterday...i also found him a very ignorant man even though many considered him "brilliant"..i have a completely different opinion about him.
I think the way he treated his workers was not right and i think it was very ignorant of him to come up with the conclusion that because of the past of African Americans they would fit the position of car porters best because "they were known to be good servants". (to me that does not sound like the thinking of a bright man).
After his workers started organizing, Pullman thought that by building a "small town" were workers could feel "protected", they would not reveal against him.
Pullman banned alcoholism in this town and he also took over families by building only one church in order to keep people from organizing somewhere else.
This church is still standing today and it's called the "Green stone church"
After building this church Pullman stated that it wasn't built much because of the spiritual aspect or the moral aspect but more because of the "look".
Pullman did not build this town because he really wanted to help the workers...in fact many of the workers did not even live in this town!
he just built it so that the image of his company would not be damaged.
In my opinion..George Pullman was a very greedy man who only cared about himself and nothing else. He did not even provide the workers with health care because he thought that it would not make him any profit...like if this wasn't enough his workers had to work under bad working conditions, dangerous places, and low wages.
After all of this...he still didn't want the workers to fight for any rights...after a while Steel workes began to organize, but this came with consequences...as a result people called them communists and opposed them.
Today The small "town" that George Pullman supposedly built for his workers is still standing.
This places are a very important part of Chicago's history and i also think that it's a bit sad that now nobody wants to use this p[laces for anything so its pretty much, in a way abandoned because the area has no attraction whatsoever. Before, workers would live in the houses, now there is no use for this places and nobody wants to rebuild or move to this side of the city.
Today i learned a lot of new things...Chicago is a great city with a lot of history, and it would not be what it is today if it wasn't for so many workers that paved the way.
Our city continues to grow and even though we try to make it the best that we can by building nice homes and businesses...i learned that there is still a lot of discrimination against workers and that in many places the work conditions might not be the safest...Today also helped me understand that many factory and company owners do not care much about their workers as long as they are living good and making money (which i find very wrong because without this workers they would not be able to live their wealthy lifestyles..so its pretty much at the expense of the mistreated workers that they are able to make a fortune).
During the time the steel mills opened, Irish, Scots, English, and Germans employees came to perform great works.
At the time the population in Chicago was about 90 percent Polish.
Visiting this places was very shocking...usually people that visit..even people who live here in Chicago get the "nice view" of the city and not so much the things that have gone wrong or are part of its dark past.
I learned that most of the south side of Chicago's lakefront was occupied with steel mills....it was very shocking to see because i had never been to the lakefront on the south side of the city, i always thought it was very much like the lakefront on the north side...with nice sandy beaches all along.
Something i found so interesting was that the Sears tower (now called The Willis Tower)
and the McCormick place were both built from steel from this factories.
The shocking part wasn't much that there was a lot of factories there..what i found particularly shocking and i guess sad was finding out more about George Pullman and his company.
I read about him yesterday...i also found him a very ignorant man even though many considered him "brilliant"..i have a completely different opinion about him.
I think the way he treated his workers was not right and i think it was very ignorant of him to come up with the conclusion that because of the past of African Americans they would fit the position of car porters best because "they were known to be good servants". (to me that does not sound like the thinking of a bright man).
After his workers started organizing, Pullman thought that by building a "small town" were workers could feel "protected", they would not reveal against him.
Pullman banned alcoholism in this town and he also took over families by building only one church in order to keep people from organizing somewhere else.
This church is still standing today and it's called the "Green stone church"
After building this church Pullman stated that it wasn't built much because of the spiritual aspect or the moral aspect but more because of the "look".
Pullman did not build this town because he really wanted to help the workers...in fact many of the workers did not even live in this town!
he just built it so that the image of his company would not be damaged.
In my opinion..George Pullman was a very greedy man who only cared about himself and nothing else. He did not even provide the workers with health care because he thought that it would not make him any profit...like if this wasn't enough his workers had to work under bad working conditions, dangerous places, and low wages.
After all of this...he still didn't want the workers to fight for any rights...after a while Steel workes began to organize, but this came with consequences...as a result people called them communists and opposed them.
Today The small "town" that George Pullman supposedly built for his workers is still standing.
This places are a very important part of Chicago's history and i also think that it's a bit sad that now nobody wants to use this p[laces for anything so its pretty much, in a way abandoned because the area has no attraction whatsoever. Before, workers would live in the houses, now there is no use for this places and nobody wants to rebuild or move to this side of the city.
Today i learned a lot of new things...Chicago is a great city with a lot of history, and it would not be what it is today if it wasn't for so many workers that paved the way.
Our city continues to grow and even though we try to make it the best that we can by building nice homes and businesses...i learned that there is still a lot of discrimination against workers and that in many places the work conditions might not be the safest...Today also helped me understand that many factory and company owners do not care much about their workers as long as they are living good and making money (which i find very wrong because without this workers they would not be able to live their wealthy lifestyles..so its pretty much at the expense of the mistreated workers that they are able to make a fortune).
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Journal 07/30/2010
Our tour to Uptown, Logan Square, Wicker Park, and Lincoln Park was an excellent tour.
This trip really gave me a better understanding of gentrification in Chicago.
Gentrification is becoming a problem in our city because many people are against it..and many are for it, creating a huge controversy and a war between the people who have been living in this areas for years and people who are moving back to the city, trying to move the residents of this areas out so they can move in.
The problem right now is that upper and middle class people are moving into lower class neighborhoods..this as i understood creates a problem because when this people move into this low income areas, new stores and restaurants are opened..homes are remodeled, essentially giving the neighborhoods a better look and making them "safer". The problem this creates though is that the people who used to live in this areas can no longer afford to live there because everything is just simply so expensive in the area once its gentrified...This forces the people who had been residing in this neighborhoods for years, to move out and look for new jobs, new homes new life...to the wealthy this might not be a problem because like they say..money talks...but not everyone has money to go anywhere they please and just pick a place to live in, many people cant afford to do that when they are struggling every month to pay the rent and they can hardly get by.
People started moving out of what they called Roosevelt cities- cities in the Midwest whop suffered from industrialization...now that they see businesses in the cities booming and people being able to live ok, many people who originally had moved out from the city and went to the suburbs wants to come back to the city.
Today the Pilsen area is being gentrified..this is a predominantly Mexican neighborhood and many people oppose gentrification because they see that the residents are being affected by it.
Something that i found very interesting and that is also a very controversial topic right now is immigration...I learned that during WW1 the United States recruited Mexican workers because there was a need for factory workers...later on bye 1929..when they were not needed anymore they were deporting them.
I also got the idea that when the economy is good and there is no need for jobs and everything is going good...not a lot of people seem to mind immigrant workers...but as soon as the economy is doing bad everyone wants to send them back to their countries.
Another interesting fact that i learned is that where UIC is located today, used to be a Mexican neighborhood...just like Pilsen...and in 1965 Mayor Daily established UIC, destroying completely what used to be there..making the people who lived there spread throughout the city..mainly Pilsen.
Today the Uptown neighborhood and Humboldt park are being fought over by people who want to gentrify these areas and the people who already live there who refuse to let this happen...gentrification i think is not necessarily a bad thing, to an extent..because it does change neighborhoods and make them much nicer..but at the same time it's like creating an area for one social class only because when they create super expensive homes and super expensive everything..its clearly made for one social class which is the wealthy only..leaving the middle class and poor out of the picture.
Going to all of this different neighborhoods was a nice experience...as i passed through them i definitely understood what gentrification is. I saw some of the much newer and nicer buildings and business that are being built, were old beat up buildings used to be and i could definitely compare gentrified areas to those who are not and to those who are still in the process.
we also went to a Hindu restaurant at the end of the tour..it was a..nice experience :)
to be honest..i did not like the food much...but it was a very cool experience to try a new culture..i think that it's a good thing to be open about things and always be willing to try new things..even if sometimes you don't like them much :)...but that way you still learn about the things that other people like and don't like and you learn a lot from the experience.
This trip really gave me a better understanding of gentrification in Chicago.
Gentrification is becoming a problem in our city because many people are against it..and many are for it, creating a huge controversy and a war between the people who have been living in this areas for years and people who are moving back to the city, trying to move the residents of this areas out so they can move in.
The problem right now is that upper and middle class people are moving into lower class neighborhoods..this as i understood creates a problem because when this people move into this low income areas, new stores and restaurants are opened..homes are remodeled, essentially giving the neighborhoods a better look and making them "safer". The problem this creates though is that the people who used to live in this areas can no longer afford to live there because everything is just simply so expensive in the area once its gentrified...This forces the people who had been residing in this neighborhoods for years, to move out and look for new jobs, new homes new life...to the wealthy this might not be a problem because like they say..money talks...but not everyone has money to go anywhere they please and just pick a place to live in, many people cant afford to do that when they are struggling every month to pay the rent and they can hardly get by.
People started moving out of what they called Roosevelt cities- cities in the Midwest whop suffered from industrialization...now that they see businesses in the cities booming and people being able to live ok, many people who originally had moved out from the city and went to the suburbs wants to come back to the city.
Today the Pilsen area is being gentrified..this is a predominantly Mexican neighborhood and many people oppose gentrification because they see that the residents are being affected by it.
Something that i found very interesting and that is also a very controversial topic right now is immigration...I learned that during WW1 the United States recruited Mexican workers because there was a need for factory workers...later on bye 1929..when they were not needed anymore they were deporting them.
I also got the idea that when the economy is good and there is no need for jobs and everything is going good...not a lot of people seem to mind immigrant workers...but as soon as the economy is doing bad everyone wants to send them back to their countries.
Another interesting fact that i learned is that where UIC is located today, used to be a Mexican neighborhood...just like Pilsen...and in 1965 Mayor Daily established UIC, destroying completely what used to be there..making the people who lived there spread throughout the city..mainly Pilsen.
Today the Uptown neighborhood and Humboldt park are being fought over by people who want to gentrify these areas and the people who already live there who refuse to let this happen...gentrification i think is not necessarily a bad thing, to an extent..because it does change neighborhoods and make them much nicer..but at the same time it's like creating an area for one social class only because when they create super expensive homes and super expensive everything..its clearly made for one social class which is the wealthy only..leaving the middle class and poor out of the picture.
Going to all of this different neighborhoods was a nice experience...as i passed through them i definitely understood what gentrification is. I saw some of the much newer and nicer buildings and business that are being built, were old beat up buildings used to be and i could definitely compare gentrified areas to those who are not and to those who are still in the process.
we also went to a Hindu restaurant at the end of the tour..it was a..nice experience :)
to be honest..i did not like the food much...but it was a very cool experience to try a new culture..i think that it's a good thing to be open about things and always be willing to try new things..even if sometimes you don't like them much :)...but that way you still learn about the things that other people like and don't like and you learn a lot from the experience.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Journal 7/29/2010
Visiting what used to be some of Chicago's worst neighborhoods and what they have been turned into in a few years definitely gave me so much to think about.
Today we went to see the "Robert Taylor" housing projects, starting on 35th and State...and going on for about 20 blocks.
taking this tour to what used to be one of the biggest housing project in the COUNTRY was an experience that i will definitely remember for the rest of my life.
It was a great experience because i learned about the history of the Chicago housing projects and i finally understood the prospective of the people who lived in them and the people who did not.
I would like to start by giving my own opinion...On this housing projects, the people who lived in them never got to say what they wanted or how they felt or if anything was wrong...and that is one big part of what caused this huge problem...people were never given the chance to speak up. Often the ones who were making decisions on the changes and everything that had to do with the housing projects, was people who never lived in one and did not know anything.
The reason why so many from the South moved to Chicago was because there was a lot of poverty in the South...this does not only mean blacks moved to Chicago from the south, with the African American many white poor people also moved to the Midwest...the only difference between blacks and whites was that once they all moved into this housing projects...poor white were able to get a better education..they were given the opportunity to receive better jobs and eventually move out from this housing projects and move up in life and society...blacks however were not given the same opportunities to succeed just because of their skin color...in a way they were the only ones who were kept in the housing projects...you can see it as a net and they were the only ones filtered in who could never find a way out.
The projects were designed for people who could not afford a home..they were mainly used by black G.Is who were coming back from world war 2...something that i found extremely wrong was that the white G.I's who were coming back from WW2 were given the help to go to college and find a home to live in...on the other hand blacks were not...i found this very sad and in a way something that our government should be ashamed of. The fact that men and women went to war and risked their lives for not just blacks, both black and whites..to come back to their home country and be treated like second class citizens..in some cases even worse..and to be segregated, after everything they sacrificed for their country... personally i think its a disgusting act of the people and the government that allowed it to happen.
Moving on...Something that was mentioned in the tour and i found very interesting was that some of the buildings on the UIC campus were modeled after public housing buildings.
I also learned that the housing projects or "Super block buildings" were built in a U shape and they were pretty much duplicated over and over again.
As many of us know...the city of Chicago is connected by the grid system, which makes it easy to get around if you know it...One thing that i found so so interesting and i had never heard of is that the Public housing buildings that were built were NOT connected in any way to the grid system.. I found this amazing because in a way it's like they were throwing all of the African Americans in some buildings..making them think they were being helped..when in fact they were being segregated and being kept away from the rest of the city.
The Robert Taylor housing projects is located a few blocks from the "Bridgeport" community...between the Taylor projects and Bridgeport, the Dan Ryan highway was built..when you look at it from the outside like i did..its not oft much importance why it was built there.
These are things that might seem very irrelevant, but when you go deeper into it..you see that there is a reason why this highway was built between Bridgeport and the housing projects..and the reason is that they wanted to separate African Americans from getting into Bridgeport..which was a predominantly white neighborhood. By building an 8 lane highway in between, you can imagine not a lot of people would try to get across with cars moving up to 60 mph.
An interesting fact that i learned today during this tour was that the "gold coast" used to be the "slum".
Today, no Robert Taylor public housing buildings are still standing...they have all been demolished and scheduled for reconstruction under the "plan for transformation" plan.
The plan for transformation is the idea to create new houses on the area were the housing projects once stood...the new homes will be small homes, town homes or apartments..
only one third of the people who were in the housing projects will be allowed to move back to this new homes.
(This is a video with a slide show that shows what the Robert Taylor Public housing buildings used to look like)
As we passed through some of the few remaining public housing buildings that are still standing..i got a feeling of almost sadness as i saw some of the buildings with the torn down "playgrounds". I could imagine the kids that had to grow up there had to go through and how rough their childhood probably was because they were being segregated..i guess just in a more "modern" way.
(this are pictures i took today on our tour of the playground)
when i saw the playground i was so blank...i thought about all of the beautiful parks my city has to offer...and when i compared them to this old beat up playgrounds i could not find an explanation as to why this kids had to play with old rusty...swings without swings..and slides that were cut in half...i could not understand why they had to play in areas were the grass was growing from the concrete and garbage was laying all over the floor...and the only explanation i could come up with was that..sadly...there is still a lot a WHOLE LOT of discrimination towards African Americans...
Today made me realize that in those old projects buildings thousands of life's went to waste...people who could have been doctors...engineers..people who could have made a change...were not given a chance...all because the system managed to work a way to contain them all in an area were they could stay..just because of their skin color...they were not given the chance to be someone in society who could have had a better life.
Below are some pictures of the few remaining standing project buildings, a picture of the "plan for transformation" new homes that have been built on the land were the project buildings once stood, and pictures of vacant grassland space that was left after the buildings were demolished.
Today we went to see the "Robert Taylor" housing projects, starting on 35th and State...and going on for about 20 blocks.
taking this tour to what used to be one of the biggest housing project in the COUNTRY was an experience that i will definitely remember for the rest of my life.
It was a great experience because i learned about the history of the Chicago housing projects and i finally understood the prospective of the people who lived in them and the people who did not.
I would like to start by giving my own opinion...On this housing projects, the people who lived in them never got to say what they wanted or how they felt or if anything was wrong...and that is one big part of what caused this huge problem...people were never given the chance to speak up. Often the ones who were making decisions on the changes and everything that had to do with the housing projects, was people who never lived in one and did not know anything.
The reason why so many from the South moved to Chicago was because there was a lot of poverty in the South...this does not only mean blacks moved to Chicago from the south, with the African American many white poor people also moved to the Midwest...the only difference between blacks and whites was that once they all moved into this housing projects...poor white were able to get a better education..they were given the opportunity to receive better jobs and eventually move out from this housing projects and move up in life and society...blacks however were not given the same opportunities to succeed just because of their skin color...in a way they were the only ones who were kept in the housing projects...you can see it as a net and they were the only ones filtered in who could never find a way out.
The projects were designed for people who could not afford a home..they were mainly used by black G.Is who were coming back from world war 2...something that i found extremely wrong was that the white G.I's who were coming back from WW2 were given the help to go to college and find a home to live in...on the other hand blacks were not...i found this very sad and in a way something that our government should be ashamed of. The fact that men and women went to war and risked their lives for not just blacks, both black and whites..to come back to their home country and be treated like second class citizens..in some cases even worse..and to be segregated, after everything they sacrificed for their country... personally i think its a disgusting act of the people and the government that allowed it to happen.
Moving on...Something that was mentioned in the tour and i found very interesting was that some of the buildings on the UIC campus were modeled after public housing buildings.
I also learned that the housing projects or "Super block buildings" were built in a U shape and they were pretty much duplicated over and over again.
As many of us know...the city of Chicago is connected by the grid system, which makes it easy to get around if you know it...One thing that i found so so interesting and i had never heard of is that the Public housing buildings that were built were NOT connected in any way to the grid system.. I found this amazing because in a way it's like they were throwing all of the African Americans in some buildings..making them think they were being helped..when in fact they were being segregated and being kept away from the rest of the city.
The Robert Taylor housing projects is located a few blocks from the "Bridgeport" community...between the Taylor projects and Bridgeport, the Dan Ryan highway was built..when you look at it from the outside like i did..its not oft much importance why it was built there.
These are things that might seem very irrelevant, but when you go deeper into it..you see that there is a reason why this highway was built between Bridgeport and the housing projects..and the reason is that they wanted to separate African Americans from getting into Bridgeport..which was a predominantly white neighborhood. By building an 8 lane highway in between, you can imagine not a lot of people would try to get across with cars moving up to 60 mph.
An interesting fact that i learned today during this tour was that the "gold coast" used to be the "slum".
Today, no Robert Taylor public housing buildings are still standing...they have all been demolished and scheduled for reconstruction under the "plan for transformation" plan.
The plan for transformation is the idea to create new houses on the area were the housing projects once stood...the new homes will be small homes, town homes or apartments..
only one third of the people who were in the housing projects will be allowed to move back to this new homes.
(This is a video with a slide show that shows what the Robert Taylor Public housing buildings used to look like)
As we passed through some of the few remaining public housing buildings that are still standing..i got a feeling of almost sadness as i saw some of the buildings with the torn down "playgrounds". I could imagine the kids that had to grow up there had to go through and how rough their childhood probably was because they were being segregated..i guess just in a more "modern" way.
(this are pictures i took today on our tour of the playground)
when i saw the playground i was so blank...i thought about all of the beautiful parks my city has to offer...and when i compared them to this old beat up playgrounds i could not find an explanation as to why this kids had to play with old rusty...swings without swings..and slides that were cut in half...i could not understand why they had to play in areas were the grass was growing from the concrete and garbage was laying all over the floor...and the only explanation i could come up with was that..sadly...there is still a lot a WHOLE LOT of discrimination towards African Americans...
Today made me realize that in those old projects buildings thousands of life's went to waste...people who could have been doctors...engineers..people who could have made a change...were not given a chance...all because the system managed to work a way to contain them all in an area were they could stay..just because of their skin color...they were not given the chance to be someone in society who could have had a better life.
Below are some pictures of the few remaining standing project buildings, a picture of the "plan for transformation" new homes that have been built on the land were the project buildings once stood, and pictures of vacant grassland space that was left after the buildings were demolished.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Journal 7/28/2010
Today was very exciting...we took a trip to the Pilsen community.
We took a look at one of Chicago's Latino communities and we learned a lot of new things at the National Museum of Mexican Art.
I found out that Pilsen has not always been a Latino community...at one point the Pilsen neighborhood was mainly inhabited by Czechs-western salvic people from Central Europe.
i also learned a cool new fact...the origin of the name Pilsen comes from the Czechs, who named it that when they lived in the area.
We had a little discussion at the beginning of class before we went on our field trip to Pilsen and we talked about the reason why there's still so much segregation in Chicago.
we all agreed that it was because the wealthy did not care about the poor, because there were not enough opportunities for minorities to progress and move up in society.
I think all of this is true...but i feel that there was something that should have been mentioned and we didnt get a chance to cover...i believe that the reason why there's still so much segregation in our city today is because there is still a lot of Ignorance among many people...that same ignorance that has been getting passed on and on for generations that does not let us move ahead.
In the article we had to read last night, i read something that i found incredible...(and not necessarily in a good way)
"In 1996, 175 hate crimes were reported in the city of Chicago & 107 in the suburbs"...i think this shows that many people still have those same ignorant ideas that many people had back in the 1900's...just because your skin color is a little darker or lighter you should not feel that you are any better or any less than anybody else because in the end we are all equal.
Back to the topic of the visit to the museum...i learned some things that i found really amazing...some of the paintings i saw blew my mind completely and made me have much more respect towards Mexican art and its culture.
i took many pictures...here are a few....
We took a look at one of Chicago's Latino communities and we learned a lot of new things at the National Museum of Mexican Art.
I found out that Pilsen has not always been a Latino community...at one point the Pilsen neighborhood was mainly inhabited by Czechs-western salvic people from Central Europe.
i also learned a cool new fact...the origin of the name Pilsen comes from the Czechs, who named it that when they lived in the area.
We had a little discussion at the beginning of class before we went on our field trip to Pilsen and we talked about the reason why there's still so much segregation in Chicago.
we all agreed that it was because the wealthy did not care about the poor, because there were not enough opportunities for minorities to progress and move up in society.
I think all of this is true...but i feel that there was something that should have been mentioned and we didnt get a chance to cover...i believe that the reason why there's still so much segregation in our city today is because there is still a lot of Ignorance among many people...that same ignorance that has been getting passed on and on for generations that does not let us move ahead.
In the article we had to read last night, i read something that i found incredible...(and not necessarily in a good way)
"In 1996, 175 hate crimes were reported in the city of Chicago & 107 in the suburbs"...i think this shows that many people still have those same ignorant ideas that many people had back in the 1900's...just because your skin color is a little darker or lighter you should not feel that you are any better or any less than anybody else because in the end we are all equal.
Back to the topic of the visit to the museum...i learned some things that i found really amazing...some of the paintings i saw blew my mind completely and made me have much more respect towards Mexican art and its culture.
i took many pictures...here are a few....
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Journal 7/27/2010
Even though i was not born in Chicago, I've lived here most of my life and I'm proud to call it home. I thought i knew everything about it already, but today in class i learned so many cool things about this great city and its history.
(These are some pictures of the old pumping station that i took today during our walking tour of the downtown area)
I learned a really cool fact about Chicago... at some point in time, its sidewalks were made out of wood. I also learned that the fire that burnt Chicago was mainly spread north (I think it's a bit ironic because even though this fire destroyed a great part of the city, it was the start of a great city that would later become full of life).
Two of the only buildings that survived the fire in the downtown area and are still standing today are the water tower and the pumping station (which is still fully functional).
(These are some pictures of the old pumping station that i took today during our walking tour of the downtown area)As you can see its a very cool building. Once you walk inside you can see what an actual old pumping station looks like.
I think it was a very cool experience to have walked inside the old pumping station and see the massive pipes that i believe are actually connected to the lake.
Another interesting fact that i learned was that after the fire..all buildings that were built in the downtow area were requiered to be built out of steel, not wood.
One of the great architects that helped shape the city of Chicago was Daniel Burnham. He made many contributions to the city by sharing his great ingenuity and visions of what Chicago could become. For example: he built the Marshall fields building (which is now macys)
Daniel Burnhams "plan of Chicago" was not what the city actually looks like today.
He had plans to give Chicago more of an European stylle. He even wrote a book called "plan of Chicago" in 1909. (I'm glad things didnt come out as he planned because i think Chicago has a way better look than Europe :)
An unique fact about Chicago is that it has a great diversity...it's a meliting pot, formed by people who came from all over the world. Part of what makes Chicago a great city is it's diversity...china town..little italy...little village... places were you can go and experience differen cultures, foods, places were you can get an understanding of different ethnic groups and their roots.
Today i learned that by 1890- 70% of Chicagos population came from other countries.
Finally...one thing that i found completely fascinating was that at one point, the Chicago Harvor had more incoming ships than London....i think that's very impressive.
Something that i would definitely want to learn more about is the underground city that was built by Al Capone. I would also want to learn more about the neighborhoods of Chicago and the diversity.
Today changed the way i look at cities because i learned that behind every city there is always a great history amd you never know what new things you might learn. It also helped me get a more visual look and understand how big cities work and how some of the most simple things that are built actually have a purpose....for example in Chicago in the downtown area, there are not a lot of places to sit at and the few houses that are around are fenced up because it's a way to keep "unwanted" guests away by not giving them a spot to actually stand for too long. Also by not having many places to sit and relax it helps congestion in big cities because people keep on moving instead of standing around.
Todays tour was amazing...even though at first i wasnt looking forward to it much because i thought i already knew about Chicago and how to get around...i was very surpriced at how many new things i learned and how interesting it all turned out to be...we visited a park called "Washington Square" which is located right in front of the Newberry Library and i found out every weekend debates about issues that affect Chicago take place at that park...we also visited Thde Drake hotel...in which Queen Elizabeth stayed when she came to Chicago..
These are pictures also taken on todays walking tour...one of the Washington Square and the other of the inside of The drake hotel.
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