A Whole Chicago
Trust me, you don’t know the half of it.
My plan was to live in Chicago, until I got my undergraduate degree and then go somewhere else. I don’t know if I planned to go home, or move to another city, but I didn’t plan to stay. For the first time ever, while I was walking through this Wicker Park I thought this would be a cool place to settle down. When my little brother came to visit me he asked, “When are we going to Chicago?” and once I calmed down from that offensive question, I realized that by “Chicago” he meant downtown. Most people know that Chicago goes far beyond the downtown area, but most visitors don’t travel beyond that point.
In the article “Mapping Home” by Aleksandar Hemon, he said, “In this city, I had no human network within which to place myself.” I am unable to compare to his complex reasoning for moving to Chicago, but I can empathize with his emotions. I came to Chicago knowing absolutely no one in the city. I felt as though people who already had connections within the city were at an advantage. However, I have made many connections at this point, and feel like networking with people is a part of connecting yourself to the city. Afterall, it is the Chicagoans that make Chicago such an amazing city. Despite my gain in relationships to people and the city I am still constantly trying to explore new areas. I wander around aimlessly, and find some of my favorite places that way. Thus far, Wicker Park and Wrigley Ville are my favorite places. Home is a feeling, and these places provide me with a sense of belonging. The same belongingly that Hemon eventually experienced is what I am working towards.
I decided that I wanted my map to be a representation of my experiences in Chicago so far. These are places that I have explored, and they encompass a whole Chicago rather than just the touristy places. Majority of the places on the map are centralized around Lincoln Park, but that’s just because it’s the neighborhood that I live in, and have been able to navigate the easiest so far. The places I included that are in Lincoln Park were Pequod’s Pizzeria, Aloha Poke Co, and the Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park. Pequod’s was the first place I had a deep-dish pizza in Chicago (it was delicious). Aloha Poke is delicious and probably the main cause of my money deficit, and the nature boardwalk is a place where I can find peace and quiet within a not so peaceful and unquiet city.
I hope that this map provides the audience with a sense of myself, and also allows people to see how many versions of Chicago there are. I want this map to encourage exploration, and represent that visitors who only visit downtown Chicago literally don’t even know the half of it.
The mood of my map is curiosity. I have never been the type of person to follow rules, and the more somebody tells me not to do something, the more encouraged I am to do it. Wandering Chicago has played the most important role in allowing me to find “my places” in the city, and create a home from an abstract idea. I have been able to find pieces of myself by getting lost in Chicago. I think getting lost is the best way to learn your way around, and finding eclectic places along the way is always a perk.
In “Downtown is for People” by Jane Jacobs, she stated that, “the street works harder than any other part of downtown. It is the nervous system; it communicates the flavor, the feel, the sights. It is the major point of transaction and communication.” This statement brings me back to the reasoning for why I love specific areas in Chicago. Earlier in the course we talked about the impact the walk ability of a street can have on the vibe of an area. For instance, I really like Wrigley Ville and Wicker Park, and I also noticed they both have a lot of shops and restaurants for pedestrians. They also, both have wide sidewalks, which allow people who are walking to feel as though they’re prioritized over vehicles. All the planning that goes into creating walk able streets proves that the streets are such an important aspect of neighborhoods.
I decided to be very broad with my map, so the time frame is from the moment I started wandering around Chicago until yesterday. This map is forever changing, and it that sense the map is never done. My interest and views of the city have only just begun, and as time goes on and I continue wandering and discovering the map will be filled with places that resonate with me. Again, the territory of my map was also broad. I chose to map all of Chicago, and challenged myself to go places outside of my comfort zone. I wanted to have a whole Chicago. My map has a compass provided on it for orientation purposes. The locations will be pretty self-explanatory when lined up with a map of Chicago.
I color coded my map by the type of place being represented. For example, if blue is the color that represents restaurants on the map, then you can infer that I enjoy those restaurants and either go there frequently or want to (I’m on a college budget). Everything on my map is there to represent me. I put together a collection of places that mean something to me. If I am in Old Town, you better believe I’ll be thinking of the 3 Arts Clube Café.
My map is informing the reader about me. It tells a story of my interests. From my map the audience can see the type of environments I like to hang around in, different types of food I like, my interest in film and reading, and much more. However, this map goes beyond me, and my interests. It shows that I am here, among 2.7 million other Chicagoans. Every person is different, and has their own map to be discovered. Everyone is alike, and everyone is different at the same time. Chicago is filled with interactions on a daily basis, and I’m one of those 2.7 million people, and I matter. This map should put in perspective just how many different interpretations of Chicago could be created based on the person. We’re all cartographers engraving ourselves into the city.
People are often cautioned not to venture south in Chicago. I personally receive phone calls from my grandma asking me to be careful and not to go “too south.” Well, sorry grandma. I have included south Chicago in my map to prove a point to the audience, but mostly to myself. I want to be able to prove everyone wrong. I won’t deny that south parts of Chicago do have safety issues, but we can’t turn our noses up and pretend like it’s not a part of the city. I have found beauty in the south, and everywhere that I have ventured, and I hope my map depicts that. However, I am lucky to live in the “safest” neighborhood in Chicago, and I am aware of that privilege. Every day I walk out of my dorm and feel safe. In “The End of Walking” by Antonia Malchik, she states that, “…the poor are left with vast wastelands of road and concrete; the advice to ‘walk three times a week for your health’ easier given than followed when there’s nowhere safe to place your foot.” This quote gives me a heightened sense of responsibility for me to walk in these areas. If more people walked around or loitered in southern Chicago then it would be a much safer place. We all have a duty to the city.
My map reflects the influence living in Lincoln Park has on me, because a lot of the locations on my map are nearby. I do venture out of Lincoln Park quite frequently, but for the most part it’s easier to stay around where I live in regards to time and convenience. The gaps or empty space in my map is generally area that I haven’t gotten to explore yet. As I said earlier this map will forever be changing, and evolving with me. As I wander into new Chicago neighborhoods, I plan to find spots that are unique and interesting to me. I hope to continue inspiring travel and the idea that Chicago goes far beyond downtown. Chicago would not be complete without its diverse range of neighborhoods, and cultures. I will probably never get to see every street, and corner of Chicago, but from what I have seen my map is a good representation of my version of Chicago.
Videos:
Works Cited
Hemon, Aleksandar. “Mapping Home.” The New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2011. Accessed 20 Oct. 2017.
Jacobs, Jane. “Downtown is for People.” Fortune, 18 Sept. 2011. Accessed 19 Oct. 2017.
Malchik, Antonia. “The End of Walking.” Aeon, 20 Aug. 2015. Accessed 19 Oct. 2017.
