Hull House

Last week's tour of the Hull House was rather interesting, and I definitely enjoyed learning about the contributions Jane Addams and her colleagues made towards the community of immigrants living in Chicago.  I have heard of the Hull House in the past, but I had no idea how deeply woven the services Hull House offered to the community were.  I also did not know the extent of her work, but the museum provided many details of each individual's life that I was unaware of before our visit.

However, what I do not understand is why the Hull House was shut down so abruptly .  Hull House was doing an abundance of good for the community; the "staff" left the lives they were used to, and moved to an area full of immigrants to actually be with them, understand their needs and try to do something to help them.  They were there, experiencing things with them in order to make their lives just a little bit better.  Hull House made decisions that were not necessarily "giant leaps for man," but instead, they made decisions that would best benefit the people living there; they made decisions that were feasible for the community around them.

Creating a daycare for working men and women that needed to support their children, but could not watch them and work at the same time was the first step the Hull House took toward helping the community.  It was a project that could help and be put into effect immediately.  Children were cared for and were not left to wander the streets.  Soon after book clubs, art classes, weaving classes, a boys club, sewing and cooking classes for girls,  and lectures emerged at the Hull House.  Eventually, apartments were created for families that needed a place to stay, a play ground was built for children, and even the first public bath house was created thanks to Jane Addams and her colleagues.

Furthermore, Addams made sure that all the immigrants could come to Hull House and share their culture through art, cooking, talking, dancing, weaving and games.  She wanted to make sure that every ounce of their culture could be shared, lived, and most importantly, not forgotten - all while helping them to become a part of American society.

However helpful those at the Hull House were, though, it did not seem to be enough to gain notice from the city of Chicago as a whole.  Instead, the University of Chicago decided to completely undermine anything and everything Hull House was doing for the immediate population, and petitioned to build their new campus on the Hull House's property.

It seems to me that Chicago has no regard for its people, and only considers it's appearance.  It did not matter that Hull House was helping so many people and giving them programs and skills to help build a better life so far away from the homes they once knew.  The city of Chicago only wanted (s) beauty that will attract businessmen and tourists to bring money into the city.  I mean, look at Cabrini Green as well.  Fix the high rises and make Cabrini look pretty, all while pushing the less wealthy to the outskirts of the city - that way people won't see them when they come to visit.

Instilling the values of community and helping those around you just does not seem to matter anymore; it's all about profit. The cost it brings to the people that live there and their families is no longer a concern, and helping them is no longer a concern either. If you ask me, it is shameful to even think that we could turn our backs so easily for money and appearance.

Cabrini Green

Cabrini Green is an area of Chicago that was once known as a very dangerous place (and is still considered as such by some people).  It was home to high rises that were built but never maintained; these structures gave Cabrini Green an appearance of a slum due to the lack of up-keep in and around the buildings.  

In recent years, those involved in the housing projects decided to make a change.  They tore down every last public housing high rise in Cabrini Green, and began major renovations.  New buildings were put in their place that would attract buyers (both previous public housing tenants and new tenants from mixed-income backgrounds) in hopes that mixed-income housing would take flight.  

In retrospect, this plan sounds like a good idea.  Tear down the old high rises, build pretty new housing, integrate the community, and viola - Cabrini Green has been transformed.  

WRONG.

In order to tear down the high rises, all the previous tenants had to be displaced - but where?  Our tour guide explained to us that the tenants had three options.  

1. Move to an available space, still within public housing

2. Choose to rent an apartment that would be subsidized by CPH, with the tenants only having to pay a certain percentage of their total income

3. Remove themselves from CPH all together

These tenants are technically guaranteed a place in the new mixed-income housing, but not all return, and CPH does not seem too concerned with the people that don't come back. Honestly, the places that were torn down were once their homes.  I believe it should be a responsibility of CPH to make sure that the past tenants get what was promised to them.  Our guide gave the impression that the needs or concerns of the people were not being taken care of or listened to in the slightest.  He even said that he knows it is not "right or fair" but that " it's just the way it is."

Just the way it is does not seem like the heart warming story that this was supposed to be.  Promising tenants new, better homes and then not caring about where they end up seems very cold to me.  While reading Koval,  almost all that was mentioned were things about improving the landscape to make it look more appealing and the generation of profit (other aspects were mentioned as well, but not as heavily as these two).      From these readings, and in hearing our guide speak to us, it is becoming more and more apparent to me that the government of Chicago is clearly more worried about its appearance than its residents.

Koval further states that the integration of the community is the only way to begin to fix the problems of Chicago.  I agree with this to an extent, we all must come together in some form or another- but kicking people out of their homes to make them "look pretty" and not caring about what happens to these people is not the way to do it.  To begin to fix Chicago's problems, they have to talk to the people, get to know them, and form a solution.  Making the landscape look nice to try to out do other cities/ make it look like we're doing something about our problems, and pretending like the problem has been fixed is not the way to go about it at all.  

The Gold Coast

In walking around the Gold Coast for last week's class, I realized that there was a slight stiffness in the air.  Each house we walked past was in pristine condition, not a single thing stood out, and they stretched out occupying the entire lot upon which it was built.  As our class was walking down Aster avenue, those who were walking down the block looked at us as if they were saying "we know you do not belong here." I also noticed that the people walking down the streets did not speak with one another.  They simply passed each other and continued on to their destination (though you would imagine in such a wealthy and quiet/safe neighborhood, people would be more likely to talk with one another since they have commonalities).  Furthermore, it is an extremely wealthy area, and as one proceeds to Lake Shore Drive, you notice the stores screaming out "high fashion" and "couture."  There are also high rise luxury apartments, and lavish hotels such as the Drake that we were able to see for a brief moment last class.

These observations show that status and looking your best are still as important today as they were in the past.  Furthermore, this also demonstrates the parallels between the two societies in the sense that neither of them spoke with their neighbors or bothered to get to know each other.  Interactions were reserved for the appropriate times, such as joining someone for tea (or, today, going out for lunch), and were ignored until the next appropriate encounter.  As we may read on page 66, "There is no neighborliness among those who live on the North Side.  I live in a  twenty-apartment hotel, and of the others who live in it I have a speaking acquaintance with but five, and know but one...People live on Lake Shore Drive simply because it is the most expensive place to live."  Here we may see that people were aware that no one knew each other, and did not care one bit.  They only wanted to live in the area to flaunt their money and improve their already high status, and I feel that there is still an essence of this (money flaunting) in today's Gold Coast that is no different than that of the past.

However, I couldn't help but notice the differences between the two societies either.  For example, as Zorbaugh demonstrates in The Gold Cost and the Slum, there were many rules that needed to be followed in order to be considered a proper member of society such as not carrying an umbrella, not being able to go to tea in a morning coat, or be seen at dinner without an evening jacket.  Rules such as these seem to have disappeared into thin air.  I am sure that there are still rules of etiquette that are to be followed in today's Gold Coast culture, but they do not seem to be as intensely articulate as those of the past.  Furthermore, although there were elite "high status clubs" that required membership in order to be a proper member of society, many of these societies no longer exist in today's Chicago.  There are only a few, and in order to be a member of the Gold Coast's select society, you do not need to show your status by joining them - you only need money.