Week 8
My understanding of Chicago not so many changes but expands upon what I thought it was when I look at a map. I’d say for most people their view of a city is based upon what they have seen of the city. I’ve only been to the heart of New York so New York is just Times Square and nothing else. This is what most people tend to do in my opinion and I do this as well. In my hometown of Memphis, TN I live downtown so when people talk about Memphis I think of downtown. Now applying this to Chicago. I spend most of my time in downtown Chicago and Old town. It completely slips my mind that there is a North, South, and West side to Chicago. So when I view a map and gaze upon all these places it reminds me of how big Chicago is and how much there is to explore.
I’ve lived in this neighborhood for my whole life/ 18 years before moving to Chicago. My parents have lived in this neighborhood for about 20 years so I have never moved in my whole life. The vibe of this neighborhood is what I’d say is a movie neighborhood. It’s the kind of neighborhood you would see in your typical movie or your typical trick or treating neighborhood. When you go for walks in this neighborhood there’s always people. Most people here are old couples in their 50’s/60’s not that that’s old but you need to have a little bit of wealth to stay in this neighborhood. It is a dog neighborhood so you see most people walking their dogs when outside. As stated before. Most people here are older couples so most already have kids that are grown up and don’t live with them so you don’t see too many kids playing around here.
Week 9
There is only one logical explanation for why good steakhouses are usually in old buildings… age. You can take all the cooking courses and practice your craft day and night and you will most likely be able to make a great steak. But with old building steakhouses, they have been curating and perfecting their craft for a long time maybe even over several generations. At that point, it’s almost impossible to have a terrible steakhouse when it’s been done for that long. The same principle applies to short blocks. They have most likely been around for so long that they have implanted themselves in the community that they have their connections within the community that makes it busier than a bigger block that is newer. An example of a steakhouse is a firehouse near downtown Chicago. It’s not a steakhouse per se but it’s been around for a long time and has its history and the food is amazing. It just makes sense.
My proposition for this project is that this neighborhood helps people relax and clear their heads. There are several places in this neighborhood that allow you to clear your head and give you a sense of peace. A lot of neighborhoods or places where people are growing up nowadays are either not safe or there isn’t much to see so it’s boring, but not this neighborhood. The sights you can see, the paths and trails you can walk along, and the conveniences around you make this place a great place to relax and clear your head and heart of whatever is haunting you, and I can show that through my preposition for this project. 2 pics
Week 10
Where you live influences how you live. This statement is very true and can be explained through an example. If you are apart of royalty you live very formally and proper with due respect to the process of things, but if you are poor and raised in the slums then you will live very sloppily and do whatever it takes to get by. This is an out-of-fashion example but it does portray that based on where you live, in the castle or in the slums, affects how you live, like someone who is trying to get by or as someone who has access to everything. A neighborhood’s social ecology affects how well they mesh with other communities. If one neighborhood has bad social ecology it can affect how they are viewed by other neighborhoods. The threats to walking are other people. Other people have the power to ruin your walk via car accidents or them being terrible humans. We reclaim streets, blocks, and cites for walking by renovating. Adding new things to a now-dead space in a city can bring back life to it and make people want to walk through it again to see what is new.
