Discovering Chicago

When walking, we intend to get somewhere. Sometimes we travel hurriedly, zipping through the journey as if it never happened. However, on more relaxed occasions, we can slow down and notice all the uniqueness around us. Sometimes we even go on walks with no destination in mind, aimlessly wandering until we find something else for our eyes to digest. Those are my favorite walks because I can enter a state of mindfulness that allows me to accomplish so much from relaxing in stressful times to enjoying nice weather. I can disconnect myself from the stresses of everyday life and ponder things that would have otherwise been totally unnoticed. During these past couple of months in Chicago, I’ve gone on many walks to calm myself during the difficult transition and noticed so much about the city that has been both misrepresented and disregarded. I grew up hearing terrible things about Chicago on the news, from peers, even my parents at that time. I always heard about how Chicago was one of the most dangerous and violent cities in the country and how anyone going there should be fearful.

As I grew older and my parents brought us to Chicago more, I learned that Chicago wasn’t necessarily the jungle of danger that the news made it out to be, but I admittedly was still stressed out and very vigilant when coming to the city. Now that I spend almost every day walking here for fun or with intentions, I know that fear of Chicago is a fabrication and exaggeration of reality spread by those who benefit from painting that picture of the city. I know that my anxiety is not unique and I feel like walking through the city is the best way to overcome that unreasonable fear.

Even when I lived in Aurora, I would go on walks to calm my mind all the time because it’s a useful tool that my mom taught me to deal with my anxiety disorder. Life can be extremely stressful and overwhelming at times, but when your mind is swimming with negativity and stress, you won’t work to your full potential. During these times, it’s better to do something else to clear your mind so that you can get back to doing your work at your fullest potential. The best way for me to clear my mind and get myself back on track is to go on a nice walk with no destination. I love being in nature and feeling the sun, so a half-hour walk will usually be enough to calm me down and allow me to get back to my work. While transitioning to living in the city, I was dealing with the most stress and anxiety that I’ve dealt with since I can remember. It was almost a blessing that this class immersion week was so heavily focused on walking because it allowed me to be mindful during that immensely stressful period of time. I know that a lot of other people who were not in Walking Chicago were having a really hard time adjusting to the new environment and without a class to encourage them to walk, they would just sit in their room and worry. That’s why I think that walking and mindfulness are imperative to our lives as it serves as a sensory reset that can clear the mind and soothe anxiety.

Anxiety can be chronically present in people, especially those with disorders, and it can be made significantly worse by outside factors such as news coverage of stressful things. I grew up hearing on the news that Chicago was a warzone of crime and murder and although my parents would reassure my sister and me that negative news performs better than positive news and that’s why we usually see crime on it. Despite being told that Chicago is not what news coverage makes it out to be, I was admittedly still nervous for my safety in the city. But after just a few short walks in Lincoln Park, I realized that there is just as much if not more positivity than negativity in Chicago.

Here you can see a rusty old cow standing over some flowers. This particular individual’s yard was full of beautiful trees, plants, and decorations, but if you were painting your mental image of Chicago based on the news, you would never see something so innocent and passive as this decoration. I feel like there is a lot of beauty and positivity in the city, but the media prefers covering unsavory topics to keep retention and produce fear of the city.

So, who gains something from painting the city out to be a dangerous place? I’ve already talked about how news channels can benefit from selling fear because it’s the content that gets the most attention and brings them the most traction. But I want to argue that there is someone else who benefits from making those outside the city fear for themselves once they step inside. I agree when Kathleen Rooney says, “The city is dangerous and cannot be trusted is something you are told all the time because somebody benefits by having you think that” (Rooney). I think that the people who benefit the most from spreading misinformed fear of the city are land developers and corporations trying to take the city for themselves.

By showing imagery of grim cloudy skies the majority of the time, the media can paint a depressing image of the city that just isn’t accurate. Mixing this depressing imagery with a dialog of the laundry list of crimes committed just this week paints the city in a bad light that will become ingrained into those who consume or even are adjacent to the news. I feel as though this negative coverage of the city is pushed upon those outside who don’t know any differently so that developers can continue to gentrify communities without risking retaliation. It generates a narrative that if the city is full of criminals then who cares if we remodel and make homes for “productive” citizens?

However, I, as well as many others, argue that these oppressed communities are full of hard-working and moral individuals just like you and I. By spreading the false narrative that these communities are full of criminals and dangerous people, it causes the masses to turn a blind eye to the continued oppression of these communities. A way that these communities are retaliating against gentrification and the conversion of communities into corporations is through the paintings of murals. There is no doubt that art can be not just refreshing to see but also deeply meaningful to a community. For example, murals aren’t exclusively a way to fight gentrification, they are also used to spark conversation and a sense of community. It’s extremely refreshing to hear, “artists explain that they depicted a transgender Latina, as well as other underrepresented demographics, in the hopes of provoking a dialogue about unity and acceptance” (Scannell).

Murals can be powerful conversation starters on the unity of the city’s citizens and the act of appreciation, and many of the murals that we saw in Pilsen fostered this sense of togetherness and producing something for everyone in the community to be able to appreciate, admire, and enjoy.

I do want to make it clear that not all murals have positive outcomes, some murals being an aid of gentrification. Areas of Detroit were covered by commercial murals to give those areas an upgrade and raise the overall morale of those passing by. Although almost everyone universally likes public art, “even when created with the best of intentions, it can help kickstart a real estate machine that ultimately becomes ravenous” (Luckerson). The news article describes how increasing the appeal of an area can cause a snowball effect that leads to “the new Detroit […] devour[ing] the old one” (Luckerson) or in other words, the gentrification of that area.

An area such as this one on the left isn’t likely to have corporations fighting over each other to get a piece of the pie because there’s a lot of restructuring and prettying-up that would need to be done. An area that is already nicely structured and decorated is much more likely to have competition over space; however, these more developed areas usually already have a tight-knit community living there. As the area is developed and commercialized, housing is lost and the old community is forced out of their homes because of the increased cost of living in a commercialized area. This is gentrification, so although the majority of the time, murals are used as a defense against the gentrification of communities, there is always a chance that they can be harmful to the cause if they do not tie deeply into the community and their culture.

I would have never known about any of this had I never walked the city streets, so I argue that walking in a mindful manner is not only beneficial to one’s emotional well-being but also to the fight against gentrification. Many people don’t go on as many or as far of walks as I do, therefore, I assume that many people don’t know what gentrification is, the power and purpose behind murals, or even about corporate takeover at all. A simple walk through the streets would give you all the clues you need to piece the puzzle together for yourself. So after much walking and pondering the city’s situation, I want to reiterate the question, who benefits from making you fear the city? In my opinion, corporations are the ones benefiting from the spread of misinformation and fear of the city because they are the ones who are trying to harm the communities through gentrification and displacement. The biggest force standing against these corporations is the communities and by making outsiders scared, it makes it harder for these communities to grow and thrive. An article written by Micah McCrary speaks on the subject of fabricated fear by recalling a time when he had put himself between an individual and a colleague “to protect her from this uneasiness — caused, perhaps, by [the man’s] poverty, by his maleness, by his blackness” (McCrary). He reflects on this moment recalling how at the time he “thought it might put [his] friend at ease to know that [he] was placing [himself] between them” (McCrary) admitting that he was held hostage by his fear. Nothing violent or even negative even happened during their interaction, it was merely fear of city people because of what the media had told him. I have been approached by many homeless people asking for spare change, and it has always ended up being a peaceful and respectful interaction. Admittedly, I was very nervous the first few times and stuttered over my words not knowing what the person’s reaction would be. But I soon realized that these are people just like me, and to think of them as being generally scary is immoral.

The city is a beautiful place full of unique people, places, and communities with deep-rooted history on these streets. However, over time the city’s oldest communities have started falling victim to displacement and gentrification. These tight-knit communities are all that stand between massive corporations and these peaceful and unique blocks that I love walking through. The painting of murals in these communities has shown to be an effective defense against gentrification as they strengthen the bond within the community so that they can continue to hold their ground against developers. Additionally, ill-willed media coverage can attempt to scare outsiders by painting the average city person as violent or aggressive. This marketing of fear helps corporations gentrify areas because it alienates these communities from outsiders and hinders their growth and prosperity. Without walking these streets, I would have never noticed these murals, learned about gentrification, and seen for myself that the city isn’t what the media makes it out to be. This, paired with the significant emotional benefits of walking, has inspired me to convince others that walking doesn’t just have to be about getting from point A to point B.