The Importance of Walkability
On a Wednesday afternoon, I set out to walk through my childhood neighborhood of Albany Park and to the neighborhood next to it, Ravenswood Manor. I wanted to walk the blocks I’ve traveled down my whole life, but this time, while being mindful of two things I’ve never thought of before: the walkability of these neighborhoods, and how this walkability (or lack thereof) contributes to the social capital. Malchik writes in A Walking Life that “infrastructure is essential to building that social capital. While some forms of urban development can encourage social capital, others don’t, and the main difference lies in whether they facilitate physical interactions among people: pedestrian-oriented designs such as accessible public spaces, sidewalks, and houses with front porches, among other features that bring people in contact with one another, contribute highly to a communities social capital” (Malchik 46). I made a mental note to look for all of the features Malchik gives credit to for building a cities and communities social capital.
I started my walk at my house. I headed down my block to turn left onto Montrose, a very busy road full of shops, mostly family owned. I noticed West River Diner, my favorite place to eat, Adrians Food Market, where I’d run to grab a carton of milk when we were out, and the soccer store I used to buy my cleats at. All of these stores promoted walkability, and therefore, social capital- people were out and about doing their errands, eating, or just taking a break on one of the many stoops outside the stores.
Despite these positives, I started noticing some parts of these blocks that could use some work; there were multiple abandoned lots and barred off spaces in between stores, some barren and others littered with garbage.
Patrick Sisson and Alissa Walker write while listing 101 things you can do to improve your city “…don’t despair; depave. Working under the banner “free your soil,” the Portland, Oregon-based group Depave has been kicking asphalt for decades, turning unused parking and abandoned lots into community gardens and parks…an opportunity to literally reclaim your streets.” (Sisson & Walker). Without a doubt, turning these abandoned and barred spaces into a public area and adding benches, flowers, and park equipment could bring more beauty and social capital into Albany Park.
I continued walking in Albany Park, but before long I entered the Ravenswood Manor area. Ravenswood Manor had no unused lots or barred fences. In contrast, some of the houses had large, manicured lawns instead.
I walked down Manor Avenue. There were lots of people out, some walking their dog, others pushing strollers. I soon got to Ravenswood Manor Park, which is right in the middle of the neighborhood. There are benches all up and down the block, a park for kids, lots of climbing trees, picnic tables, and an arbor. It was honestly the perfect example of social capital in a neighborhood. There was something for everyone, and was accessible to all in the neighborhood. There was also a row of Divvy bikes one block over, giving people more opportunities to get around the city.
I found two little parks as I continued walking around Ravenswood Manor. The first one was called Sunken Gardens Park. It is on Sunnyside and Virginia Street. The second one is Buffalo Park, on Sunnyside and Manor Ave. There is no park equipment or picnic benches. It is simply a little and well kept space full of greenery and a few long benches. Neither of these parks are as extravagant as Ravenswood Manor Park, but they are very clean and pretty. Both of the parks are at the end of a block, so people can simply walk a few houses down to enjoy the space. Small parks like these nestled in a neighborhood promote social capital greatly. They give all the people living in the neighborhood a place to meet, sit down, and enjoy the day.
I went to my elementary school next (Waters School). It is in Ravenswood Manor and is known for its garden. We had an ecology class in elementary school where we would learn about the garden and help it out by weeding, composting, and planting. The garden is not only for people at Waters School but it is for the whole neighborhood. People come with their little kids to play there, there are bonfires in the fall, and people stroll through the paths during walks. The garden really does bring people together, improving the social capital of many lives.
Another thing I noticed about Ravenswood Manor is how many swingsets and even benches there are in peoples front yards (much more than in Albany Park). One house had a entire America Ninja Warrior esqe obstacle course set up in their front lawn.
I ended up at Horner Park, my favorite park in Chicago. It is at the very end of Ravenswood Manor and at the start of the Irving Park neighborhood. Horner Park has it all; benches, picnic tables, a hill to climb up, a baseball field, a mile long loop, a trail by the river, a basketball court, and tennis courts. As I walked along the loop, I passed families, people walking their dogs, and a soccer game. I passed people running, sitting, and laying down in the grass, enjoying the sun. People were doing all sorts of different activities, but everyone was bonded by sharing the same space. There is a feeling of community that comes from that. Rebecca Solnit writes about a walk she took in a park in San Francisco, saying “…I sauntered over to nearby Golden Gate Park, which… has given me many compensatory pleasures: musicians practicing in the reverberant pedestrian underpasses, old Chinese women doing martial arts in formation, strolling Russian émigrés murmuring to each other in the velvet slurp of their mother tongue, dog walkers being yanked into the primeval world of canine joys, and access by foot to the shores of the Pacific.” (Solnit 183). She also saw a beauty and found a connection in the public park of Golden Gate bridge. A park can truly bring walkability and social capital anywhere.
I was sitting on a bench to observe the comings and goings of all the people passing through the park, when I saw an interaction between a couple of strangers. The owners of three dogs talked and laughed about their dogs, who became friends and played with each other for a minute. I recorded a snippet of the conversation. It was very sweet.
Albany Park and Ravenswood Manor have a good number of similarities- both have shops, public transportation options, and grocery stores, all very important aspects of walkability. However, Ravenswood Manor has no abandoned, fenced-off lots, and more benches, gardens, and parks. In these areas, it has opportunities for more social capital than the neighborhood of Albany Park.
After walking through Albany Park and Ravenswood Manor, I learned so much about not only my childhood neighborhoods, but also how much walkability contributes to social capital. When a space is designed for people, it gives humans opportunities to make connections and find beauty in the world. Parks, benches, paths, front porches, squares; all of this is vital to make a city full of social capital, and ultimately, happy and peaceful people. Certain neighborhoods in Chicago have more access to walkability and therefore more social capital than others. Creating walkability in all neighborhoods is crucial to making Chicago the best it can be. Public spaces do wonders for the world.
