Witnessed from Chicago's Metra Electric

Feely, Ashley

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/89892 Copy

Description

Title

Witnessed from Chicago's Metra Electric

Author(s)

Feely, Ashley

Issue Date

2016-04

Keyword(s)

Sociology

Abstract

A train ride through Chicago and its suburban areas offers a unique perspective of urban development, redevelopment, and decay, occurring in close proximity and illustrating the effect of social forces. The country club suburban areas are littered with symbols of high status, including monuments to the commuter train line. In fact, this train line was in large part created to service the country club suburban areas, which once served as home to Chicago's elite during the spring and summer. Areas once characterized by industrial and manufacturing booms now display remnants of times past in the form of crumbling, abandoned buildings these are the forlorn suburban communities. Diverse urban communities have experienced urban renewal and gentrification in the latter half of the past century, displacing former residents and attracting new investment. As a train passenger, you are struck by how quickly you move from one area to the next, each neighborhood with a unique and rich history. But these areas are not static; although investment and dispossession may visually demarcate geographic areas, the nature of communities is they are ever changing, affected by those that pass through.

Type of Resource

• text
• image

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/89892

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2016 Ashley Feely

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