Animals and Their Neighborhoods
There are countless more animals than humans in the world so why are we the only ones that have structured living. Humans live in neighborhoods which are part of counties which are then in part of cities and so on however animals they simply live and go as they please unless interrupted by outside forces such as humans. When thinking about what to create a map about I went for walks just to notice the hell out of things. Since I live in Lincoln Park I decided it would be easiest to create a map that defines Lincoln Park but something that hasn’t been done before is difficult. However an overlooked part of neighborhoods is what animals live there. Back in Milwaukee my neighborhood was known for rabbits and foxes so why can’t Lincoln Park be known for its animals. At first glance while walking you notice the obvious, the big animals.
Dogs are the obvious, dogs are large and often walking with a person, their owner. However, dogs are the scarce animal in Lincoln Park, if you look closer in the photo above on the curb just in front there is a bird just sitting. The actual first thing you notice about Lincoln Park is the birds. Birds are everywhere and often in groups of four or more. Almost every time I stepped outside I could spot them huddled together on the sidewalks or flying through the sky in formation. They catch your eye more than any other animal because when in the air their stark brown bodies clash against the otherwise light blue sky as they soar overhead. Birds command the sky they are one of the few animals that can fly so their neighborhood is simply the sky. The sky to birds is like sidewalks or a street to us. Paths crossing back and forth to get from one place to the next. However birds are simply everywhere there’s no way to narrow them down to an area.
The second animal that rules over Lincoln park is the squirrel. They are the mischievous animal that runs and hides at every moment. They enjoy hiding in trees clinging to the side thinking that they won’t be spotted if they remain completely still as you walk by. They sit on the sidelines observing every movement that we do. Squirrels congregate around parks and places that have lots of large trees close together so that they can jump from one to the other. During my observations I rarely saw more than one squirrel at a time which leads me to believe that they are territorial and any other squirrel that comes into their area is either a potential mate or enemy. Squirrels own over many of the parks and residential areas due to the amount of trees and accessibility to food whereas you don’t see they in places that have little to no green space like shopping centers or parking lots.
The next few animals are fairly rare and are only seen in a few places so I will group them together. Lincoln Park is not really know for their chickens however at the elementary school near Belden-Racine Hall they have a chicken pen which I can say with ninety-nine percent certainty house the only chickens in the Lincoln Park area. These chickens are caged and therefore are not in a natural setting however them being in Lincoln Park is interesting. The chickens also shared their cage with birds who I assume were just after the free food that was in the pen. Another animal often overlooked is the bee. Bees are an important role in every ecosystem because they pollinate and allow plants to grow and reproduce. Again near the elementary school there is a cage for bees however this time they are not the sole group in Lincoln Park. Bees are normally seen in mass around spring and summer however this close to winter they are fairly scarce and the only ones I saw where at this cage.
I think that everyone can come to a conclusion that rats are not good. They are not helpful they are not things that most people want to see however they are a part of Chicago and more importantly a part of Lincoln Park. Unfortunately even after numerous attempts I was unable to capture a photo of one however you can often hear them late at night especially in places like alleys or backsides of restaurants. I first noticed them while doing my one block walk for class. The block I choose was split into two parts divided by an alleyway. One side was residential mostly apartments and houses and the other side was businesses with restaurants and bars a large attraction to our unsightly friends. While walking the alley you can hear them scurrying around the corners and in the shadows. On the opposite end an animal that people enjoy seeing and that you see quite often are rabbits. You generally see them anywhere there’s a somewhat larger space of grass and maybe some bushes or small trees that provide cover. You generally see them in parks and fenced in yards. Rabbits are fairly passive
Obviously when you talk about animals you have to talk about dogs. Dogs are considered one of the best animals by most people. However, if you’re just walking the streets of Lincoln Park you most likely will never see a dog without a human nearby. The good thing is that many of the dogs that have an owner are generally friendly and overall just great animals. You often see dogs around parks and I see dogs a lot around campus especially in the mornings and late nights. On the other hand another animal that is considered among the best is the cat. During my two weeks or so of walking for this project I only saw two cats however they are generally considered indoor cats if domesticated. The two cats that I saw are often around campus. One is a large, sleek, black cat that I generally see west of campus especially around the corner of Belden and Magnolia. The other cat is a Garfield look alike large orange with stripes cat and he is often seen on campus. I generally see him outside the student center near the arts and letters building.
Animals are a key part of the walking experience. Animals are a key thing that drags our attention while we walk. Their sudden movements often bring our eyes directly to them. This improves the overall walkability of an area because as we discussed that during our walks things that bring attention to themselves improve the quality of our walks. I think that Lincoln Park is full of attention grabbing things. This helps Lincoln Park residents as well because the more walkable a city the less likely you are to be overweight. In Jeff Speck’s TED talk he told us that “If you lived in a more walkable neighborhood, you were 35 percent likely to be overweight. If you lived in a less walkable neighborhood, you were 60 percent likely to be overweight.” This fact that the more walkable the city the better it is for the people that live there and combined with the fact that animals help improve the walkability by giving walkers something to draw their attention means that cities that plan for not just humans but also animals will improve the quality of life for those that live there. Rahm Emanuel hits on this idea of bringing the “City In A Garden” to every Chicago neighborhood that we can “make the river work for our neighborhoods today in the same way that it worked for our industries a century ago.” Later in the same article he says that “it will evaluate the status of our existing parks to help bring cultural vibrancy and economic growth to every Chicago neighborhood.” Chicago’s diverse cultures and landscapes offer a perfect place to amass a collection of parks that serve a purpose. Parks that bring animals into the city improve the city. Parks at the same time improves the life of the people around them. Allowing a public space for people to gather and to be outside is healthy for the community.
During my walking I followed noises the best I could to help me on my mapping. Because each animal has a unique call or sound that it makes being able to identify where an animal is just by the noise it makes, makes my job easier as I don’t need to see the animal to know that it is there. Such as with the rats I only saw them for brief seconds only after I had already heard them but that sound is what alerted me to their presence. Most of my other senses didn’t change my mapping. The only distinction is that you found more rats in smellier areas but I think that more of a correlation between the rats likeing alleys where trash is and trash having a large odor. Each type of animal has their own place to call home and that is what my map is conveying. The animals all create their own neighborhoods for each other much like how we has neighborhoods that divide us.
