[¿Racismo? ¿Horas extras no pagadas?, which mean, Racism? Unpaid overtime? Were the first sentences I saw during my tour in the Chicago’s neighborhood Little Village “or La Villita as the locals affectionately call it”] Retrieved September 6, 2025 (https://www.choosechicago.com/neighborhoods/little-village/). These first words gave me an idea of what I would see during my tour.

To get to Little Village, I used public transportation, first taking route 55 and then route 52. As I made my way there, I could see how the urban landscape was gradually changing: colorful and lively advertisements were displayed in businesses, and pennants decorated the streets, reminiscent of a classic rural town in Mexico. In fact, these characteristics are due to La Villita is home to a large portion of Chicago’s Latino community, especially the Mexican community.

Figure 1: Little Village Arch symbolizes ethnic pride, resilience, and cultural heritage, welcoming visitors with the phrase “Bienvenidos a Little Village”

After passing through the arch, I saw the first mural in the neighborhood, entitled “Un milagro” (A Miracle), depicting residents referring to the miracle of having arrived in a new country in search of a better quality of life.

Figure 2: “Un milagro” mural

Another mural I saw was of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which symbolizes protection, hope, and faith for Catholics, as well as being a powerful emblem of identity, idiosyncrasy, and cultural unity in Mexico.

Figure 3:” Virgin of Guadalupe” mural

The main street, 26th street, is lined with businesses, both local stores and large commercial chains, their advertisements have a particular feature in the written language, the names of the businesses are a combination of English and Spanish. Going back to the first ad I saw regarding racism? Unpaid overtime? made me reflect that immigration status and language barriers make migrants easy targets. Perhaps that is why there is such a strong sense of community in La Villita, as all the residents look out for one another.

Also, it is interesting how the people of the neighborhood preserve their native language roots while also appropriating and embracing the culture and language of the country to which they emigrated for different reasons.

Figure 4: Advertisement in English and Spanish

Figure 5: Large corporate chains with street stalls alongside them, both important to La Villita’s economy

As you walk you can see vendors in the street, I had the chance to speak with Elisa, resident, who has been a street vendor for more than 15 years, I asked her what are the main problems of the city and she told me: air and water pollution and lack of access to health services.

Figure 6: Local vendor in the street

We will briefly address these issues below.

Historically, La Villita has been a segregated and marginalized neighborhood; it is in an industrial corridor which may cause detrimental consequences to the respiratory health of the residents. According to the Chicago Health Atlas, the perceived neighborhood air quality rate of La Villita is 26.4% which is roughly half the equivalent rate of Chicago. Moreover, the percentage of adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a disease caused by air pollution, is 5.78 whereas the percentage of Chicago is 5.40. Retrieved September 9, 2025 (https://chicagohealthatlas.org/neighborhood/1714000-30?place=south-lawndale&tab=data).

National Recreation and Park Association[1] reported that “Little Village was, in 2016, the second highest provider of tax revenue to the city of Chicago, behind only the Magnificent Mile in downtown. Nonetheless, the neighborhood is an excellent case study of a community that has endured environmental racism. According to a 2008 Huffington Post article, Little Village’s ZIP code was regarded as having the “second-worst air quality in the eight-county region of Chicago, [and] children in this area had the ninth-highest rate of lead poisoning of Chicago’s 77 community areas with asthma rates of 17 percent.” For decades, a coal power plant in the area also spewed more than 3 million tons of toxic carbon dioxide emissions each year, and for many years, low-income community members lived next door to an extremely toxic property”  Retrieved September 9, 2025 (https://www.nrpa.org/parks-recreation-magazine/2016/february/latino-residents-champion-for-green-justice-in-little-village/)

Another problem faced by the neighborhood, related to poverty and race, is the lead service line. It refers to the health risk posed by toxic lead leaching from old lead water pipes. Exposure to lead can cause serious health problems, including neurological and kidney issues. The solution is the complete replacement of old pipes, unfortunately the city’s project to replace lead water lines in Chicago’s Southside neighborhoods could take two centuries. Retrieved September 8, 2025 (https://www.chicagoreporter.com/an-invisible-threat-how-many-more-decades-of-lead-pipes-can-chicagoans-handle/).

Furthermore, people who become ill have difficulty treating their illnesses due to the lack of access to health services. In the neighborhood, there is a non-profit organization called Project Vida. Project Vida is aimed at helping the most vulnerable population. According to VIDA’s website, “Project VIDA was founded in 1992 to address the urgent needs of racial and ethnic minorities. We are a non-profit organization located in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago’s southwest side.” Retrieved September 6, 2025 (https://projectvida.org/about/). The creation of this kind of wellness center responds to the urgent needs of the population; the question would be: are these centers created because there is no help from the government? Is this a matter of discrimination against migrants? The answer I found there was that people who do not have their documents in order cannot access certain government programs that is why non-profit organizations play an important role to ensure that more people can access healthcare

Although La Villita is a vibrant neighborhood full of culture that contributes to Chicago’s economy, policies are still needed to help bring social justice to its residents. Only through cooperation and joint efforts between the government, residents and NGO’s can the momentum needed by La Villita be achieved.

Figure 7: Man, welcoming visitors to the little village

[1] The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is the leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to building strong, vibrant and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation.

#proudlymexican #littlevillage #socialjustice #resilience #culture