Lincoln Park Litter Land
Chicago, my new home and more specifically: Lincoln Park is such a wonderful place filled with many amazing people, and in one of the best cities in the world. Being in a big city like Chicago has its flaws. As Kurstin was talking about dime bags and said, “It’s very depressing that I could pick up 50, 100, 150 in a day and the next day pick up a number that was comparable to that,” When we went to the Garfield Park Conservatory I can say that I found at least 30 dime bags and as a class we found plenty more. This day I realized how destroyed some parts of a beautiful city like Chicago are. All the litter including, dime bags, bottles of alcohol, sometimes clothes, and plenty of other rappers. Litter can turn a beautiful city into a horrible place that doesn’t make it look welcoming to people coming and hoping to live there.
That day I thought about this idea of how litter affects Chicago, and that there needs to be a change, because people litter everyday and no matter how much you pick up, it keeps getting added on. Kurstin made this idea of picking up litter into something very inspirational, because he made great artwork out of it. People don’t like the idea of picking up litter, because sure it’s boring, but it truly can impact a city or area in a bigger way than you may think or realize. The story of my map reflects this idea of how certain areas more popular by people walking or driving tend to have more litter. I also realized that areas that are largely filled with younger teens and children tend to have more litter. There seems to be a trend in not as wealthy neighborhoods that seem to have more litter. The purpose of my map is to inform people that yes, litter is everywhere but if we can figure out areas that have more litter and the cause of that, we can help eliminate the litter in those areas. My map shares and investigates the amount of litter in the Chicagoland area. The mood of my map is more serious, because this is a topic that is taken very seriously by me and i’m sure by many others. I’m trying to convey something that is shocking in the hopes that people will see this and realize that there needs to be a significant change. After starting Discover and visiting so many Chicago neighborhoods, I realized that Lincoln Park is a hip and happening area for many people and families, and I thought it would be very fun and interesting to do my project on this neighborhood, because after all I’m going to be living here for four years studying at Depaul and then quite possibly after college when I have my own family.
The orientation of my map is a few blocks in every direction of the quad, so 3–4 blocks North, East, South, and West. To be completely honest my map depicts Chicago and specifically Lincoln Park as a somewhat of a dirty neighborhood, but that’s the truth that people need to see and realize. My map influences me to be more of an active member in my neighborhood. With that being said, I have learned that my neighborhood is practically my home, and just like I don’t want garbage laying around my house, I don’t want garbage lying around the streets because not only does it look very bad, and ruin a beautiful neighborhood but it is also very bad for the environment. Now a days, we aren’t very eco friendly no matter what anyone says, and trying to convert, we need to do a better job and none of this is easy but even little tasks like picking up 20–50 pieces of garbage every day can go a long way. I also realized that now that I’m in college and in Chicago, a car isn’t practical for many reasons, parking being a major issue, and that in big cities, everything that anyone needs is in walking distance. If every time you go for a walk whether it’s to work or class and you see garbage and you pick it up it will make a difference. As far as thinking of solutions to this problem, I think it would be highly beneficial to have garbage cans everywhere, even though there are already plenty it won’t hurt to add more. Along with that, I think there should be more community organizations working to clean up the streets. My goal is to do as I just stated. Whenever I walk to class or go anywhere, if I see trash I pick it up and throw it away properly in a garbage can. Being in Lincoln Park influences how I walk and my ideas, because despite the beauty behind it there are tons of flaws that need to be fixed.
Comparing it to where I lived before, I came from a smaller town that was nothing like Lincoln Park. To get places it was usually by car due to the travel distance. With that being said, I never thought about all the litter that could potentially be in my neighborhood, because I never really walked anywhere. I believe I can make an educated guess that there is not as much litter as Lincoln Park for a few reasons, one of them being it’s less populated and the age range is much higher, thus having less young people which in turn may cause more litter on the streets. Interesting fact, I noticed people who take public transportation like the trains or a bus litter more often. I was walking down Fullerton and the Fullerton bus pulled up parallel to me and I saw a guy drop a whole target plastic bag full of wrappers on the ground and I also noticed how there were a lot of rappers right near the sewer where the bus pulled up.
Also, on the train tracks while I was waiting for the L, it was filled with hundreds of rappers and other garbage and food. I have started to pick up on these trends of where more trash can be located and that is exactly what I hope to include in my map. In one of Malchick’s articles he says, “Our most basic access to health comes from walking. Walking for just 30 minutes five days a week has been shown to have a significant impact on everything from obesity to depression and colon cancer.” This is another reason that shows that walking is such a crucial thing to health. Believe it or not, it is so beneficial to you. When I first started Discover, I wasn’t very fond of walking because I didn’t understand it or the point of it, because not only is it slower but you have to adjust to the weather, where as if its raining or snowing, you don’t really have to worry about it because you are driving. In this article Malchik talks a lot about the health aspect of walking and I think that is very important. There is so many benefits to walking and that is one of them along with noticing so many more things on a smaller level that you would never get the chance to notice when you drive. In this article, Kelly Bauer talks about this idea of how Heartland Cafe might be put up for sale and how little places like this make the community, and that they make a place for people to gather. Whether that be a restaurant like Heartland or even a community park or a popular community store.
Each community has different places that make that community special and if we think of this idea of litter, it doesn’t make a community feel like home or very welcoming when there is litter everywhere. Clark whose owned a home in Rogers Park for 28 years says, “Rogers Park wouldn’t be what it is today without enterprises like the Heartland Cafe, to see it possibly go away is indeed a significant change in the neighborhood.” These little landmarks make the neighborhood very special. While I was on my walk I could hear the noise of trash getting caught in the wind and hearing it ruffle around “shhhkrr” was one of the worst noises. It honestly disgusted me. There is no sense of community if your community is dirty. Like I said earlier, your house wouldn’t have a warm feeling or be very welcoming if you had trash or garbage everywhere. It wouldn’t make people want to be in our around your house, and the same goes for Lincoln Park. In the end, I want to make a difference, and without walking or learning to appreciate walking I would never be here realizing so much about the neighborhood that I live in. Walking is a journey to discovering new things. Every time I walk I learn something new about the community that surrounds me, and that is one of the most marvelous things.
Bauer, Kelly. “Heartland Cafe Up For Sale, But Owner Predicts Iconic Restaurant Won’t Close.” Block Club Chicago, Block Club Chicago, 6 Sept. 2018, blockclubchicago.org/2018/09/06/heartland-cafe-up-for-sale-signalling-a-possible-end-to-a-rogers-park-community-icon/.
Malchik, Antonia. “Step by Step, Americans Are Sacrificing the Right to Walk — Antonia Malchik | Aeon Essays.” Aeon, Aeon, 23 Oct. 2018, aeon.co/essays/step-by-step-americans-are-sacrificing-the-right-to-walk.
“Man Turns Trash into Art with near 9,000 Dime Bags Found in Humboldt Park.” WGN-TV, 31 Aug. 2017, wgntv.com/2017/08/31/man-turns-trash-into-art-with-near-9000-dime-bags-found-in-humboldt-park/.
