Chicago Tonight: Black Voices
How You Can Help Redefine Chicago's Community Boundaries
Clip: 12/13/2023 | 9m 26sVideo has Closed Captions
Do boundaries mapped out in the 1920s still hold true?
A group of scholars from the University of Chicago is asking residents to weigh in and draw their own neighborhood boundaries through an interactive map survey.
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Chicago Tonight: Black Voices is a local public television program presented by WTTW
Chicago Tonight: Black Voices
How You Can Help Redefine Chicago's Community Boundaries
Clip: 12/13/2023 | 9m 26sVideo has Closed Captions
A group of scholars from the University of Chicago is asking residents to weigh in and draw their own neighborhood boundaries through an interactive map survey.
Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback
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WE CAN DRIVE CHANGE.
>> WE ALL KNOW CHICAGO AS THE CITY OF NEIGHBORHOODS.
BUT HOW EXACTLY ARE THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS DEFINED AND TO THOSE BOUNDARIES LAST MAPPED OUT IN THE 1920'S STILL HOLD TRUE.
THAT'S WHAT A GROUP OF SCHOLARS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO IS VENTURING TO FIND OUT.
THEY'RE ASKING RESIDENTS TO WEIGH IN AND DRAW THEIR OWN NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARIES THROUGH AN INTERACTIVE MAP.
SURVEY.
JOINING US NOW WITH MORE ON THIS.
OUR LYDIA WILDEN, A POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLAR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO WHO IS LEADING THIS NEIGHBORHOOD MAPPING PROJECT AND CHICAGO HISTORIAN SHERMAN DYLAN THOMAS, THANK YOU.
THANKS TO YOU BOTH FOR JOINING US.
WE APPRECIATE IT.
SHERMAN, WELCOME I'M LYDIA.
LET'S START WITH YOU, PLEASE.
HOW DID THE IDEA FOR THE SURVEY COME ABOUT?
>> SURE.
SO THIS IS A PROJECT THAT IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN MYSELF.
DOCTOR EMILY TALENT AND DOCTOR CRYSTAL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO.
WE ARE 3 RESEARCHERS ASSOCIATED WITH THEM AND INSTITUTE AT THE UNIVERSITY.
INTERESTS ARE BRADLEY ABOUT HOW PEOPLE EXPERIENCE NEIGHBORHOODS, PEOPLE ATTACH MEANING TO NEIGHBORHOODS AND NEIGHBORHOOD'S DO FOR INDIVIDUALS.
AND SO WE'RE REALLY INTERESTED THINKING ABOUT HOW TO PEOPLE IN CHICAGO ACTUALLY EXPERIENCE THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.
WE HAVE THE CHICAGO AREA MAP DEFINED IN THE 1920'S, BUT WE KNOW THAT THAT REALLY DOESN'T MAP ONTO HOW PEOPLE ACTUALLY EXPERIENCE THEIR COMMUNITIES.
BUT WE WANT TO ASK BECAUSE ELLEN'S, HOW DO YOU ACTUALLY EXPERIENCE A NEIGHBORHOOD?
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF AS YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARIES?
AROUND THE SAME TIME WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS, THE NEW YORK TIMES LAUNCHED A VERY SIMILAR PROJECT.
SO WE THAT KEEP US THAN 9 SURE THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO TRY IN CHICAGO ITSELF.
THEY GOT ABOUT 37,000 RESPONSES FROM THEIR READERS.
SO WE'RE FEELING A LITTLE COMPETITIVE AND HOPING TO LEARN DIRECTLY FROM CHICAGO RESIDENTS, WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT THEIR NEIGHBOR DEFINITELY TAKE ON THE NEW YORK AS AS YOU MENTIONED, WE KNOW CHICAGO'S MADE UP OF 77 COMMUNITY BUT THEN OF COURSE, WE HAVE NEIGHBORHOODS.
>> WITHIN CHICAGO AND WITHIN THOSE COMMUNITY AREAS, HOW DO YOU DIFFERENTIATE THE 2?
>> SURE.
SO THE 77 COMMUNITY AREAS ARE LARGE THERE.
I'M CHANGING THEY REALLY GLOSS OVER A LOT OF THE VARIATION THAT EXISTS WITHIN CHICAGO.
THERE IS THE 1978 COMMUNITY AS CITY NEIGHBORHOOD MAP THAT THE CITY.
EXPECTED IN THE 1990'S AND THAT RECOGNIZES ABOUT 280 NEIGHBORHOODS AND BELIEVE, BUT MISSING FROM MAP IS LIKE BROWNSVILLE, THAT INCLUDES NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE PILSEN THAT AREN'T COMMUNITY AREAS.
SOME OF RECORD PARK.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF VARIATION.
AND YET WE STILL THINK THERE MIGHT BE AREAS THAT I CAPTURED IN THOSE MAPS AND FACT THAT THE COMMUNITY AREAS DON'T CHANGE OVER TIME THAT THE LAST TIME THAT WE REALLY MAP CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOODS WAS BACK IN THE 1970'S SUGGESTS THAT THERE MIGHT BE A LOT OF NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE NATURE OF CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOODS THAT JUST ISN'T BEING CAPTURED.
>> TO LOOK AT HOW CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF CHICAGO'S CURRENT COMMUNITY BOUNDARIES MAP?
HOW DOES IT?
>> YES.
AND THE COMMUNITY AREAS MAP THAT DATES BACK TO THE 1920'S AND EARLY 1930'S DONE BY A UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO.
SOCIOLOGIST IS REALLY PLEASING TO HEAR THAT SOMETHING'S BEING DONE ABOUT OF BEATING NEIGHBORHOODS AND AND HOW COMMUNITIES FEEL ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOODS BECAUSE HISTORICALLY THE BOUNDARIES OF NEIGHBORHOODS AND COMMUNITY AREA CAN SOMETIMES EVEN THE NAMES.
AND THEN I REALLY ROOTED IN THE BEST OF HISTORICAL SPACES, RIGHT?
SOMETIMES THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN 2 NEIGHBORHOODS ARE ACTUALLY FORMALLY BOUNDARIES OF RESTRICT THE RACE TO COME IS THAT BY DOESN'T SEE SO IT'S GOOD TO HEAR THIS.
I'M TAKE FIRST LOOK AT >> YOU JUST KIND OF TOUCHED ON THIS.
BUT HOW WERE SOME OF THESE BOUNDARIES LAID OUT AT THE TIME?
>> SO IT ACTUALLY THEM FORMALLY IN CHICAGO.
WE HAD TERRIBLE THING.
CONGRESS STREET, THE RACIAL COVENANTS KNOWS THINK THE NUMBERS SAY 80% OF A PARTICULAR NEIGHBORHOOD.
DEMOGRAPHICALLY FOLKS THAT THEY WILL NOT.
THESE 2 ARE AT THEIR HOUSES PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT OF UP TO SAYING PEOPLE WHO CHRISTIANS IN EUROPEAN DESCENT AND THEY WERE FORBIDDEN FROM LIVING IN THOSE AREAS AND INTO WALL THEM THAT BECAME THE NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARIES.
SO BASELINE WOULD MIND AND RESTRICT RACE COMES PLACE MY ARM DRESSING.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE THE NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARIES FIND THEIR ORGANS BY >> OLIVIA, HAVE YOU.
YOU MENTION THE RESPONSE IS THAT THE NEW YORK TIMES RECEIVED?
HAVE YOU RECEIVED A LOT OF RESPONSES SO FAR?
>> THAT'S OUR SURVEY HAS BEEN UP FOR ABOUT A MONTH AND WE HAVE ABOUT 4,000 DIFFERENT MAPS THAT RESIDENTS HAVE DRAWN OF THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARIES.
SO, YOU KNOW, NOT QUITE 37,000 YET VOTE SO FAR.
OUTREACH EFFORTS HAVE REALLY REACH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS BY REACHING OUT TO ALL THEIR MEN'S OFFICE SAYS BY GETTING SOME MEDIA COVERAGE AND THEN ALSO THROUGH WORD OF MOUTH.
THAT'S PRETTY OBVIOUS FROM WHAT WE'VE COLLECTED SO FAR.
THE LIMITS OF SOME OF HER AT NETWORKS.
WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE DRAWN MAPS OF HYDE PARK, MANY FEUER OF WHAT LINE.
SO OUR EFFORTS RIGHT NOW ARE REALLY TO TRY TO CORRECT FOR THAT RESPONSE BIAS AND MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE ARE CREATING A MAP OF CHICAGO, WE'RE CAPTURING ALL OF CHICAGO'S VOICES.
SO WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY THAT WE'RE GOING TO PUT I'M TRYING TO REACH THOSE OTHER COMMUNITIES TO MAKE SURE THAT AT THE END OF THE WE CAN REALLY SAY THAT WE'VE AMPLIFY THE VOICES OF CHICAGO.
>> OBVIOUSLY, AS IT SOUNDS LIKE, BEN, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO BE SURE THAT YOU'VE AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE AND CERTAINLY FROM THOSE OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS THAT YOU'RE NOT HEARING FROM JUST YET DILLARD, YOU KNOW, WE ALL KNOW CHICAGO WOULDN'T BE CHICAGO WITHOUT ITS VERY NEIGHBORHOODS.
I I'M NOT ORIGINALLY FROM THE AREA, BUT I JOKE THAT CHICAGO SO BIG THAT EVEN THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAVE DO YOU FIND THAT CHICAGOANS STILL CLOSELY IDENTIFY WITH THEIR COMMUNITY?
>> OH, YES, VERY MUCH.
ONE MY PART TO MAKE SURE I'M SURE OBAMA PLATFORM THE SURVEY.
WE'VE GOT TO YORK.
I'M NOT GOING TO BE SLEEP VERY BUT DID KNOW PEOPLE WHO ROLLS MORE TALKING THAT THEY SEEN BECAUSE IT IS.
AND WE DON'T OUR ROLES.
WHEN WE TALK ROSE LEE, PEOPLE FROM EAGLE, WOULD I DISCUSSED NOT REALLY FEELING SEEN AS WELL BECAUSE SOME OF THAT THIS INVESTMENT WILL YOU RUN INTO PEOPLE FROM CHICAGO TO WAYS WE IDENTIFY OTHER, IDENTIFIED GENDER BASED THE HIGH SCHOOL THAT WENT TO AN A STOP IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT ARE SOMEONE NEIGHBORHOOD.
YOU'RE SPEAKS VOLUMES TO THE TYPE CHICAGO AND THAT YOU IN PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE CITY PROPER.
THAT'S HOW WE THE VIKINGS.
THEY DIVIDE.
THAT'S HOW WE FIGURE OUT YOU'RE ACTUALLY IF YOU'VE ABLE TO DO IF YOU FROM DOES YOU FROM THE SOUTH SIDE WEBSITE AND THEN WHAT YOU SAY, YES.
NOW WE'RE LOOKING FOR THAT.
FOLLOW FROM THE WEST SIDE.
ARE YOU FROM NORTH LAWN FROM GARFIELD PARK WHERE I'M PEOPLE VERY, VERY MUCH.
STILL TIED TO CHICAGO NEIGHBORS THAT THEY'RE FROM.
>> THERE WE GO CHICAGO.
A PRETTY PARTICULAR ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT FROM CHICAGO CLAIMING THAT THEY YOU DO.
COMMUNITY TOURS ACROSS THE CITY.
YOU KNOW, WHAT DO YOU HEAR FROM FOLKS ABOUT THE WAY THEY THINK THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE CHANGED OVER THE YEARS?
>> YOU KNOW, IT JUST DEPENDS ON THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT I'M GRACIE TAKE NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE BILL SOMETIMES PEOPLE WORE ORGANIC, ORIGINAL 2 BILLS NOT NECESSARILY LOVING EXTRICATION THAT'S TAKING PLACE PRICE DOWN THERE MOVING TO THE WEST ENGLEWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD.
WHEN THE FAMILY WANTED PULLMAN, THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY BEYOND PROUD BORN AND RAISED PULLMAN.
LOT OF THOSE HOMES, OUR OWN MARK FOR PULLMAN RESIDENTS.
I'M DOING NEIGHBORS LIKE PROM TO THE LIBYANS POINT THERE THAT THEY'RE NOT ON THE MAP, RIGHT?
GRAHAM WAS LIKE HOLE THROUGH MAINE.
WHAT WE CALL THIS SPACE REALLY IS BEEN BRONZE FOR POINT ABOUT 100 YEARS.
JUST DEPENDS ON WHAT YOUR YOU WERE IN.
PEOPLE ARE VERY PROUD.
IF I HAVE FOLKS ON THE BUS WE KNOW BRIDGEPORT FOLKS ARE FROM BRIDGEPORT AND THEY'RE EAGER POINT OUT THINGS THAT IS SO FALL IN LOVE NO MORE INSIDE TRACK ON THE STORY THAT I TOLD, KNOW, THOSE RESPONSIBLE ARE YOU?
>> ALL RIGHT, LYDIA, WE'VE GOT ABOUT 30 SECONDS LEFT.
THERE'S A QUESTION THE SURVEY, IF YOU FEEL A SENSE OF BELONGING IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT ALSO INCLUDE THAT QUESTION?
>> YES, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AREAS OF CONSENSUS, BUT ALSO AREAS OF DIFFERENCE.
AND TERMS HOW PEOPLE SEE THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE INTERESTED IN IS DO PEOPLE DO NEWCOMERS RACE IS LONGTIME RESIDENTS HAVE DIFFERENT OPINIONS.
PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT FEELINGS OF BELONGING IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD TO FIND THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS DIFFERENTLY.
SO IT'S PART OF CONCLUDED OKAY, THAT'S WHERE WE'LL HAVE TO LEAVE.
IT SOUNDS LIKE AN INTERESTING PROJECT.
CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR FROM WHEN YOU GET THE GUN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD GOT NO RESPONSE IS THAT YOU NEED?
ABSOLUTELY LIBYA.
WILD INTERMINGLE.
THOMAS, THANK YOU BOTH.
>> FOR JOINING US.
THANK YOU.
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