A Tool to Walking (Map Proposal)
How the Red Line Connects Me to Chicago
In response to Malchik, is walking a luxury, a privilege, a necessity, or a right, and why? What are the threats to walking? How does where you live influence how you live?
Walking should be a right, but it has become a privilege. It’s seemingly essential to be able to walk (though it’s also important to note that not everyone can, physically) because it’s the easiest and most flexible way to travel. There’s no monetary cost to walking, and it can continue when the road stops, unlike a car or a bike. The problem is though that cities have become unsafe for walkers and pedestrians because of the changed view of walking. Because I live (near) downtown in a family-oriented and wealthy piece of a city, I’m able to walk nearly anywhere I need to go and take the “L” everywhere else. People who live in unsafe neighborhoods and areas that are meant for drivers rather than walkers do not have that same privilege. In those places where walking might mean getting attacked by the weather, a person, or a car, it seems much safer to invest in a car and work outside of your neighborhood. It’s simply adapting, if you’re able, to an environment than is no longer meant for walking.
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Because getting around using the “L” is such a drastic change for me, I wanted to base this project off it in some way. Considering it, being in the city combined with being a college student, I travel for my needs. The place I go to shop isn’t the same place I go to eat and isn’t the same place I sleep. I’d like to catalog some of the neat corners I’ve found and show how to get to them through the red line. It’s easy to just ride the “L,” though, so I’ll also be adding some minor pieces of what the ride is actually like too (such as how safe I feel and the general type of people I see in each area of the line). It will also include which stations I get off at and how often I frequent them. This map will be an argument for how the red line can be made to aid and advance living in Chicago (or at least a look at how I live).
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