Robert Chlala
First Voice Contributor
It seemed like such a simple question. Have you ever left your neighborhood? Why or why not? On Radio Arte’s First Voice broadcast Tuesday, April 6, we found out that the things that we take for granted can often have much larger meanings than we imagine.
When First Voice contributor Daisy asked people “on the street” in Pilsen if and why they leave their local area, we learned that people mostly cross to the Northside and the Loop for work, where a large amount of jobs are concentrated. Interviewees also said they venture out of their areas for entertainment: the Northside and downtown are full of film, music and sports venues and restaurants that bring in people – and money – from across the region.
As First Voice’s Cristina Davila explained, corporate advertising, from billboards to tourist guides, also promotes the idea that the best of Chicago can only be found in the North or downtown. On the flip side, the media sensationalizes violence in the South and West side and makes those regions seem like dangerous ghettoes. The press plays to – and worsens – people’s racist assumptions, pinning minorities and immigrants as criminals and blocking a reverse flow of people (and money) from North to South.
Carlos Belnap’s interview with Ada Gavina, Transit Campaign volunteer with the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO), also revealed how public transportation puts up a major barrier to traveling beyond the boundaries of one’s ‘hood. Not only are trains and buses increasingly expensive, but recent cuts continue to slice away at existing services. At this point, Little Village has only one bus route to take people out to the Loop, despite the number of local residents who depend on public transport.
While 65% of the commuters that take public transportation are Latino or African –American, the areas with the greatest concentrations of immigrants and people of color are often shortchanged by transportation funding. Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), in general, receives only 59% of regional transit funds, while METRA, which has over 70% white suburban riders and only serves about 12% of area riders, gets over 27% of funds. (1)
LVEJO took to the streets on this issue after the February CTA cuts, which removed 7 of 9 express bus routes on the South Side. The cuts affected only 4 express routes on the North Side. CTA admitted that they didn’t make the cuts based on how many riders would be affected, but instead claimed that express routes were cut that that had any “corresponding service” (i.e. regular bus service) in the same area. (2) They ignored the community claims, leaving bus and rail riders in front of what many transit activists have called a transportation “doomsday.”
Expensive and infrequent public transportation means many youth must rely on their families to leave their ‘hood. Ada from LVEJO and our in-house First Voice panel explained that many youth ask themselves why they would even leave their area. There are fewer and fewer public spaces: parks have limited programs, museums and other educational institutions are often expensive, and there are few other places for youth to come together for free. When black and brown youth do leave their neighborhood, they are welcomed by harassment from police and private security or treated like criminals by residents.
Segregation isn’t just based in people’s minds. It is not simply that youth – and adults – all over Chicago think they shouldn’t leave their neighborhoods or fear each other. Segregation is complicated and structural, which means that it’s inscribed in the way that resources in the city are distributed, that transport is developed, that policing occurs, that corporate funding is directed, and that numerous other aspects of a city are planned. If you follow how these choices are made, if you trace along the lines of money and power, you’ll also see how they mirror the divisions of class, of race, of immigration status, and of gender – the same barriers that keep us bound in our neighborhoods.
Solutions are just as complicated as the issue of segregation. Simply building more venues in one area or another, or adding more bus routes, may not mean we are going to have a more integrated city. As the last two decades of urban growth in Chicago and throughout the U.S have shown, changes to public transportation or infrastructure in one area are often being paid for with specific intentions. Private developers will pour money in when they know they can get an easy profit, which means attracting tourists or wealthier residents. Often, this means driving up rents and displacing the people who are living in the area.
But there are many possibilities and potentials to make a change that benefits everyone – not just those with money or power. It involves creativity and dialogue across communities. It involves action and struggle. It involves giving voice to those who have not been heard. Let us know your thoughts on travel and transportation, segregation and integration on First Voice’s Facebook, Twitter, or blog. How do you see a better Chicago, with fewer barriers across neighborhoods? What changes do you want to see in your communities? What steps can you take to make that happen?
And make sure to join us on Tuesday, April 13 from 6-7pm on WRTE Radio Arte 90.5fm or www.wrte.org as we continue to explore traveling across boundaries in the Chi-town. We’ll explore more on the North-South divide, and we’ll look at bikes, bikes, and more bikes. We’ll look at how ideas of beauty affect our daily life. We’ll also hear other exciting reports from the massive Chicago Public School rallies, as youth struggle to reclaim public education so that everyone can have a brighter future.
(1) See Secter, Bob and Richard Wronski. “Lawsuit claims racial bias in CTA, Metra funding.” Chicago Breaking News. January 6, 2010.
(2) See Edwards, Julia. “CTA rejects allegation that service cuts are racially unjust.” Northwestern Medill Reports: Chicago. Jan 21, 2010.
