An Immersive Week in Chicago
Throughout my immersive week in Chicago, I saw a lot. I saw nature and the metropolis, small neighborhoods and the big city, gentrified neighborhoods and neighborhoods fighting gentrification. Every place that we visited had a different vibe but all had one similar thing, one lively street.
As I mentioned, each neighborhood had one lively street, all different but had the same big idea to bring the community together. Throughout Lincoln Park, I saw multiple streets with this feeling of community. They were full of small, welcoming shops and vibrant restaurants. However, some streets throughout Lincoln Park had larger chain businesses. In Humboldt Park, Division Street was their street. It was lined with murals, street vendors, and lots of small businesses. Two steel replicas of the Puerto Rican were arched over the street, denoting the entrance of Humboldt Park. Old Town had an industrial and old feel. There were two sets of metal arches on each side of the sidewalk. Uptown was a grand, theatrical, older neighborhood. There were multiple old-style buildings, careful architecture, and an abundance of theaters. Finally, Pilsen had a large park and school in the town center. Everywhere you looked there was a mural, on schools, walls, and even homes. Restaurants and small businesses lined the street by the park. The more familial, non-gentrified neighborhoods had at least one restaurant that you smell from across the street. I unfortunately didn’t take any pictures of any of these lively streets.
Another theme I noticed throughout the week is the difference between gentrified neighborhoods and neighborhoods resisting gentrification. Neighborhoods like Lincoln Park, Old Town, Wicker Park, and Uptown all had an upscale and calm feeling and were newly built or renovated. They didn’t have any murals with meanings and no spaces were built to bring the community together and bring light to displacement and gentrification. These gentrified neighborhoods didn’t have anyone looking to save themselves from displacement, they weren’t scared or worried. Neighborhoods like Pilsen, Humboldt Park, and Garfield Park were full of community efforts to keep their neighbors and themselves from being displaced. Pilsen and Humboldt Park had murals with purpose and meaning up and the main and side streets. They had small family restaurants and street vendors selling ice cream and fruit. Garfield Park took a different approach, community gardens that are the heart of the neighborhood. Each of these neighborhoods was honest and real about the threats gentrification poses to them and each had people who were willing to fight for their homes.
Every place we visited had its own special feeling. Each neighborhood felt like its own little town. They all had different communities and details that made them different from the next neighborhood. Each had a street where the community gathered. Some were gentrified and it was noticeable. Others were fighting gentrification and displacement and it was even more obvious.
