My Walking Chicago Journey
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/111XiEm7wC_yow4NV_aHi9fqvP4lvGGDV75g2Qlxe3Gc/edit#slide=id.p
Walking is the natural way of movement among most living animals. It is slower than running but more convenient because it is easier. Walks are meant to help you get somewhere. Sometimes they can even help clear your head. I walk because I need to get to classes, get food, meet with friends, go to the movies, or sometimes just talk to someone. I walk at a steady pace with my hands swaying at my sides or put in my pocket. The art of walking is a very important skill for someone to have in a concrete jungle like Chicago. It is a necessary action that allows us to function as a society and a human race.
Through walking, we build something called social capital. In the book, “A Waking Life”, author Antonia Malchik, wrote, “one of the single greatest factors in building social capital” (p. 45). Social capital is the number of relationships among people living in a society. The social work between individuals creates a functioning society. My community in Deerfield, Illinois, is a suburb of Chicago. The houses are spread out, and not many people walk to places as much as they would in a highly populated city. This leads to fewer social interactions, which creates barriers in the community. In Chicago, more people actively interact because they are in tight spaces such as CTAs and Bus stations. It is easier to walk than drive in the city, which can lead to more social capitalism. To go out to dinner, I’m forced to meet people at the Student Center. I’ve met many friends this way by getting placed in line at the cafeteria. I now have a routine of eating dinner with people because I was pushed into social situations.
Walking not only helps society function but flourishes it as well. What would happen if we stopped walking to get places in the city? That would mean we would only rely on other means of transportation like bikes, cars, buses, and trains. Instead of being dependent on yourself, you are dependent on machines. Everyone should have the ability to walk because it is easily accessible, good for the environment, and costs nothing. Many artists come up with their best ideas on walks. They can see a beautiful building next to a sunrise which inspires a painting. For example, “The Bean”, or its official title, “Cloud Gate’’, is a giant steel reflective sculpture located in Millenium Park, Chicago. In 2006, an artist named Anish Kapoor cut 168 massive stainless-steel plates into precise shapes and then pieced them together. He welded the steel into the famous smooth bean-like shape we know today. Kapoor was born in Mumbai, India, and then studied at the Chelsea School of Art and Design. “The Bean’’, was paid for by the taxpayers and private donors for $150 million.
I walked every week for my “Walking Chicago” class but nothing made me more excited than my first week. It all started with an hour-long walk around Lincoln Park on my first day of class. We visited Oz Park and were immediately greeted by the nature side of Chicago. It was fascinating to see hundreds of trees and flowers preserved in one of the busiest cities in the world. There were many other walkers, joggers, bike riders, parents with kids, etc. Everyone seemed to have respect for the park and the collective intent to keep it healthy. This was the first time I sensed what a community was like in Chicago.
It became more obvious as the week progressed that the community was an important part of the windy city. When visiting a neighborhood in Pulaski, I noticed the people inhabiting the neighborhood were middle-class citizens. While working on a garden that was maintained for twenty years by Mini Smith, many people driving by in cars seemed to wave to her. I assume most people knew who she was from her gardening work. They must have respected her for going out of her way to do something good for the community. In a neighborhood on North Astor Street, most people weren’t walking around and greeting each other. The homes inhabiting the street were some of the most expensive homes in the country. The neighborhood also seemed safe and secluded even in a city like Chicago. Another neighborhood called Humboldt Park had inhabitants mostly from Puerto Rico. There were many murals on walls that represented the people’s proudness of their heritage. There were locally owned businesses on nearly every street, delicious food being prepared, and Puerto Rican flags scattered around the area.
I could always relate to the assigned readings from my walks. In a book called “The Solitary Stroller and the City,” Rebecca Solnit writes that “Cities have always offered anonymity, variety, and conjunction, qualities best basked in by walking” (p. 182). What she meant by this was that you inevitably find new things when walking. During my walks, I became weary of the number of cars I would see on the street. There never seems to be a particular vehicle on the road that interests me or stands out. Once in a while, I would see a three-wheeled car called the slingshot car, which is not easy to come by. When it comes to people walking around the city, there always seems to be a variety, especially when it comes to clothing. You rarely come across three people wearing similar items of clothing on a sidewalk. While I was walking in the park, I noticed the sounds of the wind blowing through the trees. As I began to listen, I heard the sirens of an ambulance and the footsteps coming from the group of people walking behind me. It felt like there was so much happening at once. That was the most apparent conjunction during my walk.
There was a question I would ask myself as I got to know the city more. Why are Chicago’s south and west side so dangerous? To understand this, I listened to Episode 10 — “The Folded Map Project” where they interviewed thirty people asking this same question. Tonika Johnson realized that racial division in America was in play during one of the responses from someone who lived there. They said nobody told me that it was dangerous here. The significance of this response is that the majority of people who fear the south and west side of Chicago are not from there. They do not have any experience in that area. However, it makes sense that they would believe these stories. If someone told me a place I’ve never been to is dangerous, I would never go. Many people who have been to those areas have different stories. Maybe there are dangerous people, but the area as a whole is not threatening. The reason this has to do with race is that these Chicago neighborhoods are an African-American dominant communities.
In a book called “Paris, or Botanizing the Asphalt’’ Rebecca Solnit quotes Walter Benjamin, German philosopher, who writes, “But to lose oneself in a city — as one loses oneself in a forest — that calls for a quite a different schooling” (p. 255). This is asking what it takes to lose yourself in a city. Losing yourself means being left in a state of wonder. In a city setting, it’s the feeling of amazement after seeing the unique and remarkable aspects that the city has to offer. For years I have visited Chicago for family events, parties, and sports games. A few weeks ago I went to the top of the Hancock building. For thirty minutes I had a view of the whole city. All that time I have spent navigating the city and trying to comprehend where everything just drifted away. I stood silently as I looked outwards at the hundreds of buildings and city blocks. This is what it means to lose yourself. I was completely tuned into the moment. Nothing else was on my mind. All I could think about was how much was happening in front of my very eyes. At that moment, I realized that this was the city that was holding millions of people, and now I am one of them.
Work Cited:
Malchik, Antonia. “A Walking Life: Reclaiming Our Health and Our Freedom One Step at a Time.” Amazon, INGRAM PUBLISHER SERVICES US, 2020, https://www.amazon.com/Walking-Life-Reclaiming-Health-Freedom/dp/0738220167.
“The Solitary Stroller and the City — Rebecca Solnit.” Scribd, Scribd, https://www.scribd.com/document/402865392/The-Solitary-Stroller-and-the-City-Rebecca-Solnit.
It’s All Good: A Block Club Chicago Podcast. (2021). Episode 10 — The Folded Map Project (№10). Retrieved October 10, 2021,
“Wanderlust : A History of Walking / Rebecca Solnit.” Penn State University Libraries Catalog, https://catalog.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/20514777.
