How much is Chicago shaped by its winter?

Author: Carolina Pagotto Trevizo

Program of Study: Master of Laws (LLM), Law School

Description: Curious about how Chicago’s winter influences the city’s economy, infrastructure, and the lifestyle and mental health of its residents and students? If so, I invite you to listen to this podcast episode, where I uncover the profound impact of Chicago’s winter and spiral into the consequences for the city and its residents if things were different. Tune in to learn how the cold shapes this iconic city!

Listen here: 

 

Transcript (provided by author):

Welcome to the ELI’s Finding Chicago Global Perspectives Podcast Series for the AEPP class 2024. I’m your host, Carolina Trevizo, and I’m currently enrolled in the University of Chicago’s LLM Program. 

When I first got into the Program, the one question that everyone keep asking me was: “How would I you survive through Chicago’s winter?”. At the time, I didn’t really think much of it. I knew the weather would be a challenge, sure, but I figured I’d be fine — after all, people live here, right? And the city is built to handle it.

But what I never realized is how much the winter is part of the city and the lives of its residents. I personally have yet to experience one myself, but as the days go by, living in this beautiful city — even in the summer — I’m starting to notice how so much of life here revolves around the cold months.

I first began to realize how much this season is a huge deal when I was reading, back in April, the lease agreement of my current apartment. There was this strange clause that specifically said that I couldn’t open the windows if the temperature dropped below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. I thought that was odd, but hey, I’ll go with it.

Fast-forward to a couple months later, the Senior Director of Graduate Programs at the University of Chicago sent out an email saying that the Academic Year wouldn’t start until late September. Well, that struck me as a little curious since most universities start a month or two earlier. I later figured out that one reason for this is so people can squeeze in as much summer as possible before it’s over.

And then there was the advice from the LLM alumni, that we just received due to the registration period coming up. They advised us not to overload ourselves with classes in the Autumn quarter. When we asked why, they told us it’s better to take more classes in the Winter quarter since we’ll naturally be spending more time indoors anyway. They also recommended getting outside as much as possible now because once Fall and Winter hit, we’ll be cooped up inside.

Finally, when I arrived in the city, a friend took me to this cool bar on the Riverwalk – the name of the bar is Tiny Tapp, for those asking. She said we should go there as often as possible in the summer because the Riverwalk bars usually close in mid-October and don’t open again until summer time. That blew my mind! How do businesses survive if they’re only open for 5 months? When I asked if there were ways to keep them open during winter, she mentioned some places did have heated walkways and paths, but it’s still not enough to keep the Riverwalk establishments going in the colder months.

I mean, coming from a tropical country, I never really thought about how challenging it must be to keep a city running in extreme cold, or how much energy, money, and effort goes into it. I also hadn’t considered how this affects the lives and mental health of locals, students, and businesses.

The fact that so much revolves around winter makes me wonder: what if Chicago had mild weather all year, or if winter wasn’t so intense? How would that change things?

For starters, I believe one of the first consequences would certainly be the reduction in spendings by the City to make the city livable, whether it be by clearing snow from the streets, building pedestrian infrastructure, or even heating establishments to control the temperature.

Not only that, but the economic impact would also be noticeable because businesses that shut down for winter could easily stay open all year-round.

I can also guarantee this would have a positive effect on the lifestyle and mental health of Chicagoans. Winter blues and weather-related mental health issues wouldn’t be as big of a deal as they are now.

How much the city is shaped by its harsh winter also made me wonder, if the situation was different, how this would positively affect the lifestyle and college experience of UChicago students?

First of all, I do believe the academic year might start a little bit earlier, allowing for a better distribution of classes throughout the year, which could help students absorb the material much better. Also, students probably wouldn’t hesitate to take more classes in the Fall semester because they wouldn’t be stuck at home in winter.

And honestly, I think more students would choose UChicago if they didn’t have to deal with the harsh winter, as I know there are many out there who avoid this university because they don’t want to deal with the cold.

Taking this idea even further, what if universities only existed in countries with tropical climates to avoid harsh winters? I personally think that would lead to serious consequences.

First, I have no doubt in my mind that there would be a concentration of higher education in certain regions, leading to disparities in educational opportunities based on geography.

Not only that but countries with better climates would benefit economically from the influx of students and faculty and see greater advances in research and innovation.

Meanwhile, countries further north or south would unfortunately miss out on the economic and cultural benefits that come with having major universities.

The truth is that the main idea of this podcast—how Chicago is shaped by its winter—doesn’t just apply to this city. Many cities adapt to their climates, whether it’s extreme cold or heat.

The key is that these cities found ways to thrive despite their challenges, and Chicago has done this masterfully. I’m looking forward to experiencing everything this city has to offer, including its brutal winter.

Thank you for listening to this amazing episode. As winter approaches, let’s embrace the season and discover how it truly defines this remarkable city—until next time!