Cabrini Green

To be completely honest, I was slightly disappointed with our trip to Cabrini Green.  I was expecting to get a bit more discussion out of the group about how the area has changed, and what happened to all the people that the new housing structures have displaced.  I did like the fact that he gave us numbers to compare the amount of housing before; the amount of housing there is now, the cost benefits to the city, etc.  He also mentioned the reasoning behind the rebuild and reorganization of the area, which was simply that the projects weren’t working, and that something had to be done not only to house these people, but to make the area safer and more appealing for the middle and upper class.  Koval also mentions the problems behind the projects in Chapter 22 in a very vivid and compelling manner, “Elevators, stairwells, lobbies, hallways, parking lots and alleyways, garbage cans, and laundry rooms became veritable playgrounds.  Each possessed a particular set of hazards, which could add to their enjoyment.  Parking lots were strewn with broken glass…hallways and stairwells were the domain of gamblers and drinkers,” (2006:270).  Children were of concern when it came to CHA planning (according to this section of Koval’s work).  

The city was concerned about more than safety and numbers though, and it was apparent when we saw Cabrini Green for ourselves.  The homes were built to attract a higher class.  They were spacious, built at a reasonable height.  They were built to please, not built for purpose.  Chicago wanted to fix the aspect that Cabrini was surrounded by upper-class areas, and make it not only livable but presentable to the public eyes. It was reasons like this that now only one third of families who lived in the Cabrini Green public housing have homes there today.  However, when Justine tried to bring this subject to light, it was as if the question was ignored.  He said that he wasn’t here to discuss politics, and I suppose that’s true, but I feel that a group discussion of the displacement of the Cabrini Green residents would’ve been not only highly beneficial, but very interesting as well.