Archives for Session 2 Paul
Bucktown public library: inside the cultural infrastructure that serves a changing neighborhood
The public library(CPL) as an emblem of Chicago was built in 1873 under the proposal of a Londoner, and expanded several times in the next one and half century to reach a total of eighty-one branches. While the libraries’ different styles of architecture and decoration mark visible historical shifts, their layout and space utility can reflect their intellectual identity....
Ruins of An Abandoned Past: Steelworkers Park
Author: Renbin Su Program of Study: Masters of Law (LLM) University of Chicago Law School On a rainy and grey Sunday, my friend Renbin and I are finally on the 6th bus after several failed attempts to navigate ourselves via our mobile maps. 6th bus is Jackson Express, which comes all the way from Downtown and goes down to...
Steelworkers Park: the Manufacturing Industry and Labor Movements in Chicago
Chicago has a long history of manufacturing development, with labor conflicts and workers movements occurring regularly. On the south side of Chicago, there is a park named Steelworkers Park which was built on the remains of steel mills. To explore the manufacturing industry decline in Chicago and associated history of labor conflicts, visiting Steelworkers Park may be a good...
Demolished or Revived Chicago?: Impact of Civic Engagement and Information Accessibility on Urban Landscapes of Kenwood and Old Town
“Cottage Grove and 46th Street. For your safety, please watch your step when you get out.” After the information screen on the bus indicated our stop, we hurriedly stepped out of the bus. After three of us departed the bus, it left us completely alone in this unfamiliar neighborhood of Kenwood. The scenery drastically changed from the one we...
Black There, White There: The Continuing Racial Segregation in Chicago
Thirty-minute trips by bus in Chicago can mean more than the physical movement of our body from one point to another. What seems like a short trip can also become an avenue to show us inequality among the population of Chicago. This is, at least, what I felt when I visited Kenwood and Old Town on the same day....
Andersonville, Chicago’s “Shop Local Capital”: Surviving Three Waves of Globalization?
“Opened in 1979, open today, open forever” – the three huge eye-catching slogans on the glass wall of the independent bookstore Women & Children First, one of the most famous feminist bookshop in the US located in Andersonville neighborhood in Chicago, seems like telling people coming that we’ll stick here and won’t leave, however, the truth is that...
Privilege Rethink: A Lesson from Rainbow in Andersonville
Rainbow was the first word that emerged when we were wandering around in Andersonville. Almost every storefront has a rainbow flag waving in the window, which mellows the street scene with marvelous colors. As a cozy neighborhood that straddles the border between Edgewater and Uptown neighborhoods, Andersonville is considered as a Swedish culture neighborhood and a gayborhood as well,...
ASSOCIATING ANTIQUES WITH LGBTQ+ IN ANDERSONVILLE: DEGENDERING AND INCLUSIVENESS
Walking on the streets in Andersonville, two things will immediately catch your eyes: a number of vintage shops and rainbow flags. Andersonville, a neighborhood on Chicago’s north side, is the home to many antique stores and the largest LGBTQ+ community in Chicago. Superficially, these two features are unrelated to each other: the former reminds people of the old times,...