Introduction

The neighborhood of Bronzeville in Chicago is known today as a hub of African American culture. In the early 1900s, as African Americans migrated to Chicago in search of employment, many settled in the community areas of Douglas and Grand Boulevard, which would later be coined as Bronzeville. This area became a center for black businesses, nightclubs, and blues bars. The area was also home to notable figures such as Gwendolyn Brooks and Louis Armstrong. While the area did have issues with crime and racial segregation, it is remembered widely as the “Black Metropolis.”1

In the 1960s through around the mid-1990s, the neighborhood experienced a long-term period of decline and disinvestment. Deindustrialization led to a loss of jobs in the city. Many white, middle class residents began to move out into newly built suburban homes, creating a loss of income for the city from taxes and subsequently a loss of city resources. The ending of racially restricted housing had the unfortunate effect of upper and middle class African American families and businesses moving out of the neighborhood, creating a rise in the concentration of low-income families in the area.2 The graph below illustrates this by showing a decline in population from 1970 to 1990 census but an increase in percentage of people living below the poverty line.

In the mid-1990s, the neighborhood of Bronzeville experienced a sort of “nostalgic revival” of its past. A push from both residents and city officials came to make Bronzeville a tourism center for African American culture, similar to Chinatown for Chinese culture or Pilsen for Latino/Mexican culture. In addition, people from the black middle class began to reinvest in the neighborhood, moving into new apartments or condominium developments in the area. This trend is continuing today. The maps below show median home values and median gross rent by census tract via the American Community Survey in 2015. The maps show that there is a diversity in value, with tracts ranging above and below the median home value of $222,900 and the median gross rent of $965.3

Sustainability Overlay District Site

In the western-most boundary of Bronzeville, on Pershing Road between State St and the I90/94 Expressway, lies four city blocks of vacant land. This is the area where I am proposing my sustainability overlay district.

The two southern blocks of this area is part of the former site of Robert Taylor Homes, once one of the largest public housing complexes in the country, spanning two miles on State Street from 39th to 54th Street. The construction of Robert Taylor Homes was completed in 1962, comprising of 28 16-story buildings with almost 4300 units that housed approximately 27,000 people.4 In the 1990s, after studies showed that high concentrations of people living in poverty had many negative impacts on its residents, the city of Chicago decided to demolish all of their public housing buildings and replace them with mixed-income housing. In 1998, demolition of Robert Taylor Homes began, with its residents relocated to housing in other areas of the city and state. The last building was demolished in 2007, and while a few areas have been rebuilt with mixed-income housing, majority of the land where Robert Taylor homes once stood remain vacant. The images below show side-by-side aerial images of part of Robert Taylor Homes in 1993 and today. The image spans around 1 mile in length and 500 ft in width.

The northwestern block of the district was part of another large public housing complex called Stateway Gardens, which comprised of over 1600 units.5 Demolition of Stateway Gardens began in 2001 and similar to the former site of Robert Taylor Homes, large lots of land remain vacant. The northeastern block of the district was once the site of Attucks Elementary School. In 2008, the school moved to a different building and this building on Pershing has remained boarded up and vacant ever since.

Income levels around the district are relatively low. The map below illustrates this by highlighting the median household income in census block groups around my sustainability overlay district. Data from the 2011-2015 Amercian Community Survey shows the highest median household income in the area is just under $48,000 a year, which is lower than the citywide median income of $48,522 in 2015.6

Transportation in Sustainability Overlay District

The location of my sustainability overlay district is fairly accessible. For longer distance accessibility, the State Street CTA bus line, which is a major bus line running through the heart of downtown Chicago, is just to the east of the district. Another major bus line, the Pershing CTA bus line, goes through the district in the east-west direction. The sustainability overlay district is also not far from CTA EL lines, with the Indiana Green Line stop only .5 miles to the east of the district and the Sox-35th Red Line stop almost one mile to the north of the district. It is also just off of the I90/94 Expressway, making it accessible for car transit as well.

In terms of more local accessibility, my sustainability overlay district is also very accessible via Divvy, with a station just on the border of the district at State St and Pershing. See below for a map of transit access points. Looking at pedestrian accessibility, the website Walk Score, which calculates a score based on walkability to dining, groceries, shopping, errands, parks, schools, and entertainment, gives the area a score of 63, somewhat walkable.7 The score sounds high, however, the average walk score for all of Chicago is 78, very walkable. This indicates that there is room for improvement for pedestrian access.

Recommendations for Sustainability Overlay District

My recommendations listed below are ones that I hope are sustainable to the community from an economic, environmental, and social point of view.

1. Development of Mixed-Income, Mixed-Type, LEED Certified Housing

Since this area used to be comprised of housing for low-income people, my first recommendation is to rebuild housing in this area. As mentioned earlier, research has shown that high concentrations of people living in poverty creates a number of negative effects on its residents, so I will not recommend rebuilding large public housing. Taking a look at alternatives, I came across a literature review on the success of mixed income housing. This review concludes that socioeconomic outcomes for low-income residents in mixed-income housing have been mixed, but most studies agree that there are benefits for residents in relation to place, such as improved housing quality and increased safety.8 Since there are some benefits to mixed-income housing, my proposal will be of mixed-income and mixed-type housing in the two southern blocks of my area.

Since much of the population in the surrounding area are of lower income, 70% of the units in the building will be public subsidized housing or affordable housing at below-market rates. The remaining 30% would be at market rate. I wanted to implement housing of mixed-type consisting of apartments, condominiums, and townhomes to encourage people of all backgrounds and income levels to live in this development. It could also give renters who become more upwardly mobile the opportunity to purchase and remain in the development if they choose.

In class, we read a few papers that discussed how historically, lower-income, minority communities have been subject to more environmental harms related to their higher income, white counterparts. In hopes of providing more equality in terms of environmental justice, these buildings would all be LEED certified. It would also have the added benefit of providing lower energy costs for its low-income residents. Lastly, low-income residents of this housing development will have social services available to them to help them achieve upward economic mobility. These services would include case management, employment support, and financial literacy.

2. Creating a Community Urban Farm and Learning Garden

My next recommendation is to create a local food source and sustainability learning center by creating an urban farm and learning garden in the northwestern block of my district. Many of the larger well-known urban farms, such as Growing Home’s Wood Street Urban Farm or The Plant, are far from public transportation, which could make it difficult to attract visitors. My intent with this farm is to not only implement a local food system, but to create a space that will teach local residents and visitors about local food systems and its importance to sustainability.

In class, we discussed how educating the local community as a necessary step to garner buy-in for longer-term sustainability plans. So, while this farm will provide education about food systems, it will also be a space where people can learn about other green technology practices. There will be a composting area to show to how reuse matter and food waste, a rain garden to give a small scale lesson on watersheds and the importance of permeable surfaces in dense urban settings, and a hoop house that can teach visitors about the whole cycle of a growing season.

3. Repurposing Attucks Elementary School as a LEED certified multi-use building

My last recommendation for my sustainability overlay district is the conversion of the former Attucks Elementary School on the northeast block to a LEED certified multi-use building. The building would provide additional resources for the residents in the mixed-income development and the urban farm, essentially creating a small, cross-functional eco-district.

One of the main uses for this building would be an indoor learning center that is connected to the learning garden next door. This learning center would focus largely on green building technology, highlighting what was used in both the housing development and the Attucks building that gave them the LEED certifications and the long-term benefits of implementing these technologies. There would also be a small hydroponics garden to illustrate innovative new ways of growing food.

The walk score of my district placed pedestrian access to groceries as one of its lowest ranked categories.7 Because of this, I think that another main use for the building would be the development of a small neighborhood market that offers basic staples in addition to fresh produce. I believe this asset would be invaluable to the neighboring housing development and would increase the overall walk score of the area substantially. Key to this market would be the implementation of a separate food stand that advertises produce fresh from the neighboring garden. This gives the neighborhood access to the freshest food possible and has the added benefit of teaching the community about the seasonality of produce and how to smartly purchase the best produce throughout the year.

Another valuable amenity to this mixed-use building would be the implementation of a café that can provide affordable, healthy meals to the area. This will not be a high-end café that serves a variety of expensive coffee and espresso drinks, but a community-based café that embodies the feel of the neighborhood. An example of a successful café in a lower-income area is the Green Tomato Café in North Lawndale. This café would have a similar feel and provide similar services, and some of the food offered at the café could come from the neighboring farm as well. Lastly, since Bronzeville is remembered as home to a number of famous blues and jazz musicians, it might be fitting to also implement a weekly Saturday evening dinner at the café with a pre-fixe menu and a performance by a local musician.

Other ideas for developments in this building would be ones that provide additional support for residents living in the nearby housing developments such as job training programs, a daycare center that would provide childcare on a sliding scale based on income, a technology education center, and a free community meeting room. However, I think that including local residents in the decision making process is vital for economic success, so I would make an effort to include them in developing ideas for other amenities that would be available in the building.

Indicators of Success

The corridor along State Street has been vacant for almost a decade, so virtually any development in the area could be seen as a success. Specific to my sustainability overlay district, however, success could be measured in the following ways:

Transportation

Mixed-Income Housing

Urban Farm and Learning Garden

Attucks Multi-use Building

Other measures of success that would be more difficult to quantify include: higher quality of life for residents immediately surrounding the district, increased safety in area surrounding the district, development of relationships between higher and lower income residents in the housing development, and an increase of pedestrians along the State Street corridor.

Conclusion

An area that is simultaneously under-resourced and revered for its culture, Bronzeville is a neighborhood that would greatly benefit from long-term investment in sustainability practices. Targeted investment in the area of my proposed overlay district and the rest of the State Street corridor where vast amounts public housing once stood would revitalize a long stretch of vacant land and allow the area an opportunity to rebuild and reinvent itself. While the district would likely be a cost-heavy initiative, I believe that my proposed plan would achieve sustainability by stimulating local economic growth, contributing to environmental viability, and providing a socially equitable support system for residents in an under-resourced area.