Sunday, September 20, 2009

Nature Walk Assignment

Nature Walk


Every morning I take a run from Fullerton and Racine to Lakeshore drive where I follow the bike path all the way to Navy Pier. Each time I experience something different, whether it is in the people I see, the events taking place, or how the city is being used. Although, there is a dominant aspect that is pertinent in what I observe. Every time I encounter people inhabiting the city, more so in the places and spaces where nature really exists. Where trees and flowers are flourishing, where the natural bodies of water can be seen, where sand and green grass lay, and where people can really interact with the natural elements of the world. After reading the various articles posted to Blackboard, I realized that if the theory of the study of Defensible Space (DS) is proven true, than the city of Chicago that I see on my way to the Lakefront everyday is a great indicator of how the presence of trees and grass invite people in and allows social ecology to form.

This particular morning I decided to walk in between my daily run, in short to take a breather and give me legs a day off, but also to really observe the nature around me and focus on the elements of nature I normally don't see as I am whizzing by. 

          I encountered a few changes through the beginning of my walk. Mostly  surrounding the current construction plans that are interfering with my view of the beauty of Lincoln Park, but also the new "L" stop had caught my eye. This is an element of our city that has been under construction for what seems like forever, but now that it is finished it surprisingly makes the nature of our city look a little bit brighter and even cleaner. 

As I walked through the area of restaurants with outside seating I realized how many people would rather be outside than sitting inside. I came across long streets filled with houses but from those houses were people jumping out of their doorsteps and onto the pavement to walk their pets, go for a brisk walk or jog and this I think is because there's so many "urban" places to go that provide a habitat for both nature and people to exist. I walked past the large parks right before I got to the lake, the parks where the trees stand tall, and the grass is vibrantly green, and amidst all of this beautiful nature were people entrenched in it, playing frisbee, flying kites, lying on the grass reading a book, writing, or having a picnic with their kids. It was evident on my walk that the city is very much alive. However, I came to the conclusion that it's alive because there are places like the parks, the lake, the beach, the farmer's markets, the zoo, that make this city a likely place for a "healthier ecosystem" than others. 

I finally made my way to the lake front where I saw numerous aspects of nature. The water crashing upon the rocks, the tree leaves finally making their way to the ground, and the grass and the sand sticking out amongst all the other colors. Here, people are biking, roller-blading, running, kayaking, sailing, boating, sitting and enjoying the weather, playing volleyball, and soccer. Today there was an event at North Avenue where it seemed like hundreds of families were helping out a cause to make the city cleaner as they contributed in cleaning up the trash on Lakeshore. This also relies on the "Children's Access to Adults Outdoors" that was presented to us in the Arboriculture study, because everything I saw on my walk affirmed these types of interactions because the nature allows for this to exist and acts as a common interest for both kids and adults. 

The nature of this City, to some, may not be as present as other cities. But as I really payed close attention to what I saw and what surrounded me, I was able to clearly see the nature in everything from the grass to the interactions of people outside. 

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sacrificing a run to share some thoughts!

    Great observation of the social ecology around you. I really appreciate your view on the new CTA station and its sparkly effect on the surrounding nature!

    ReplyDelete