#chistory

The Chicago that I first knew when I came to Chicago was strictly people, locations, buildings, roads, noises, and good restaurants. I now have a more personal relationship to Chicago as I have filled it with relationships and friendships, many stories, and many experiences. As de Certeau (1984) explains, “Stories thus carry out a labor that constantly transform places into spaces or spaces into places. They also organize the play of changing relationships between places and spaces,” (p. 118). My experience is constantly changing as it is being added to and changes shapes. As seen in my video titled “My freshman Chicago,” the experiences I had in the city included volunteering a weekend for homeless retreat going to sports games, and even exploring with Mawyer and our first year studies class. As I began the Loop program, I took it upon myself to begin my personal project, which was to meet various people throughout discovering places in the city and talking with them over tea or coffee, or a cupcake as I did with Holly (picture in my current Chicago video). We first met at the library when we were both walking in when the library was closing, and we were bummed out together. We chatted for a bit and decided to meet up for cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery on State Street. That time, we chatted for a while and I learned a lot about her life perspective and what she values in her life. She is a young, happily-married woman and entrepreneur who decided to come to Chicago for the week to just get away from business and enjoy some time with friends. She had seen all of the traditional Chicago destinations and hoped to come back someday to see even more of the city. The other people’s stories in the videos are self-explained. These street performers are mostly stationary and usually have a specific location they prefer to perform at, which they decide at their leisure. Gehl (2010) explains, “Like moving activities, stationary activities also cover a wide spectrum. The extent and character of the activities depend greatly on the surrounding culture and economic level… Every type of activity takes place in public space, and the pressure of external necessity means that the quality of city space has no great bearing on city life,” (p. 134). However, they can also become mobile and fluid within the currents of the urban space.

As I was interviewing the drum major near Ogilvie, people would walk by him without saying anything or even noticing he was there. However, a few people recognized him and knew him, and gave him some money for his talent and effort. This reminded me of what Hall (1966) says in connection to space and relationships, “Instead, man senses distance as other animals do. His perception of space is dynamic because it is related to action—what can be done in a given space—rather than what is seen by passive viewing. The general failure to grasp the significance of the many elements that contribute to man’s sense of space may be due to two notions: 1) that for every effect there is a single and identifiable cause; and 2) that man’s boundary begins and ends with his skin. If we can rid ourselves of the need for a single explanation, and if we can think of man as surrounded by a series of expanding and contacting fields which provide information of many kinds, we shall being to see him in an entirely different light,” (p. 115). The sounds that he created with his drum kit drew me over to listen and eventually talk to him.  The sounds of the city create definition for meaning. Augoyard (2006) reminds us of everyday sounds, “Let us listen to our cities. Is it not the very nature of the urban environments to make us hear, whether we like it or not, this mixing of sounds? Dull murmurs, machine noise, the shifting and familiar racket created by people – every urban moment has a sound signature, usually composed of many sounds together,” (p. 4). Listening to his drumming reminded me of my favorite movie August Rush. Everyday noises are constantly overlooked and forgotten, but his noise stood out from other usual sounds. Also, the space that people were giving him was not very personal. In fact, there was almost a bubble around him and the other street performers that I passed on my way home. People feel uncomfortable when others that are different from them are close in proximity. Familiarity and friendship change this schema. Gehl explains how space and architecture affect people’s movement, “The relationship between distance and intensity, closeness and warmth, in various contact situations has an important parallel in the prevalent perception of architectural dimensions. In cities and building projects of modest dimension, narrow streets, and small spaces, the buildings, building details, and the people who move about in the spaces are experienced at close range and with considerable intensity. These cities and spaces are comparably perceived as intimate, warm, and personal. Conversely, building projects with large spaces, wide streets, and tall buildings often are felt to be cold and impersonal,” (p. 71). Space is used and molded by people and created into an emotional, meaningful place. 

As I understand the city and it’s people more, I am taking more time to hear people’s stories: where they’ve been, where they are now, and who they hope to become. The city itself is not such a distant idea anymore but rather a personal fascination that I’ve acquired through observing the life and energy of Chicago.

               Works Cited:

Augoyard, J.F., & Torgue, H. (2006). A sonic experience. London: McGill Queen’s University Press.

de Certeau, M. (1984). The practice of everyday life. Berkeley: University of California             Press.

Gehl, J. (1987). Life between buildings: using public space. New York: Van Nostrand             Reinhol.

Gehl, J. (2010).  Cities for People. “Good cities for staying.”