School Achievement Success

Upon reading this success story in the Chicago Tribune today, I couldn't help but post some excerpts to draw attention to this astounding bit of happy news. 

Four years ago, the Urban Prep Academy began as an all black boys school in the neighborhood of Englewood here in Chicago.  For those of us who know Chicago, we know this is a relatively tough area.  As the first class graduates from the charter school, though, I think we can safely call the experiment a success.

Urban Prep, a charter school that enrolls using a lottery in one of the city's more troubled neighborhoods, faced difficult odds. Only 4 percent of this year's senior class read at grade level as freshmen.

Now, however, a much different picture of this school's students can be painted.

The entire senior class at Chicago's only public all-male, all-African-American high school has been accepted to four-year colleges. At last count, the 107 seniors had earned spots at 72 schools across the nation.

This in a city where overall the high school graduation rate alone amongst black males is only 38%.  It is an inspiring example of the difference that can be made via an educational investment.

The world's greatest city?

Which city do you think is the world's greatest? The editors of Time Out asked that question and here's their list:
1. New York
2. London
3. Paris
4. Berlin
5-tie. Barcelona
5-tie. Chicago
5-tie. Tokyo
8. Istanbul (not Constantinople)
9-tie. Rome
9-tie. Sidney

It's a fascinating list, and their reasoning seems good to me. I don't have many qualms with their rankings. The other fun thing on the site is that you can score the cities yourself. So for those of you who have travelled a lot, contribute away.

Chicago Then and Now

On Friday night we were for the first time this season taking in a show at Millennium Park. A fellow concert goer and I were admiring the awe-inspiring view from the venue, and as we were discussing what a positive the park is, we reflected back on how far it's come. I think it's a history many may be unfamiliar with, and so I thought it would be worth a march back in time...

The area now including Millennium and Grant Parks actually didn't really exist prior to the Chicago Fire of 1871. As a result of that catastrophe, landfill and trash were dumped at what was then the lakefront creating more shore, and creating a landfill area that would become these parks. By 1890, here's what the area looked like.

By the mid-20th century, though, the area had been overrun by railroads, parking lots, and poor planning. Come the mid-1980s, things were looking a little better, but what's today Millennium Park was still pretty much just a railroad yard.

With the completion of Millennium Park and now the Modern Wing of the Art Institute this decade, however, the area has become a world-class destination.

Reinventing America's Cities

Some have asserted that today's economic situation presents an opportunity to reformulate the usual means with which the country's infrastructure is paid for and the focus of the improvements. The very physical structure of our country may again need to be shifted. Indeed, there is no doubt that the way things worked last decade is now outdated. As stated by Richard Florida in the article I linked below,

But another crucial aspect of the crisis has been largely overlooked, and it might ultimately prove more important. Because America’s tendency to overconsume and under-save has been intimately intertwined with our postwar spatial fix—that is, with housing and suburbanization—the shape of the economy has been badly distorted, from where people live, to where investment flows, to what’s produced. Unless we make fundamental policy changes to eliminate these distortions, the economy is likely to face worsening handicaps in the years ahead.

Suburbanization—and the sprawling growth it propelled—made sense for a time. The cities of the early and mid-20th century were dirty, sooty, smelly, and crowded, and commuting from the first, close-in suburbs was fast and easy. And as manufacturing became more technologically stable and product lines matured during the postwar boom, suburban growth dovetailed nicely with the pattern of industrial growth. Businesses began opening new plants in green-field locations that featured cheaper land and labor; management saw no reason to continue making now-standardized products in the expensive urban locations where they’d first been developed and sold. Work was outsourced to then-new suburbs and the emerging areas of the Sun Belt, whose connections to bigger cities by the highway system afforded rapid, low-cost distribution. This process brought the Sun Belt economies (which had lagged since the Civil War) into modern times, and sustained a long boom for the United States as a whole.

But that was then; the economy is different now...

Along these lines, the NYT ran this fascinating article outlining some visions for reinventing the city in America. Using four examples, in New Orleans, Buffalo, LA, and the Bronx, ideas for rebuilding, reformulating, and reinvigorating our cities are examined. Using good planning and smart design, these changes can not only bring rejuvenation to an individual city, but collectively to our country.

The U.S. Economy Does Not Exist

So says the headline on this short snippet describing a study that claims,

The United States is not a single unified economy nor even a breakdown of 50 state economies. Instead, the country's 100 largest metropolitan regions are the real drivers of economic activity, generating two-thirds of the nation's jobs and three-quarters of its output. The sooner we reorient federal economic policies to support this "MetroNation," the quicker we can fix the mess we're in.

It's an intriguing idea, and one that actually makes sense. Chicago, for instance, would be the world's 18th largest economy if it were a country, right after Turkey and before Sweden. And with the economic climate the way it is, there is little doubt that the 'crisis' will affect different metropolitan areas in varying ways.

Richard Florida examined this idea in a fascinating article called How the Crash Will Reshape America. He observes,

The crash of 2008 continues to reverberate loudly nationwide—destroying jobs, bankrupting businesses, and displacing homeowners. But already, it has damaged some places much more severely than others. On the other side of the crisis, America’s economic landscape will look very different than it does today. What fate will the coming years hold for New York, Charlotte, Detroit, Las Vegas? Will the suburbs be ineffably changed? Which cities and regions can come back strong? And which will never come back at all?

The Places We Live

Today, I aim only to point you to this, a stunning site, which reminds us of our own blessings while educating us about the world we live in.

The Suburban Dream

So, after basically taking two months off, I'm back. Or at least I hope to be.
What better subject to kick things off with than a spiel on the collapsing suburban dream.

So a couple months ago, CNN ran an interesting article asking whether, "America's suburban dream [is] collapsing into a nightmare?" They noted,

This change can be witnessed in places like Atlanta, Georgia, Detroit, Michigan, and Dallas, Texas, said Christopher Leinberger, an urban planning professor at the University of Michigan and visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, where once rundown downtowns are being revitalized by well-educated, young professionals who have no desire to live in a detached single family home typical of a suburbia where life is often centered around long commutes and cars.

Instead, they are looking for what Leinberger calls "walkable urbanism" -- both small communities and big cities characterized by efficient mass transit systems and high density developments enabling residents to walk virtually everywhere for everything -- from home to work to restaurants to movie theaters.

The so-called New Urbanism movement emerged in the mid-90s and has been steadily gaining momentum, especially with rising energy costs, environmental concerns and health problems associated with what Leinberger calls "drivable suburbanism" -- a low-density built environment plan that emerged around the end of the World War II and has been the dominant design in the U.S. ever since.

Thirty-five percent of the nation's wealth, according to Leinberger, has been invested in constructing this drivable suburban landscape.

But now, Leinberger told CNN, it appears the pendulum is beginning to swing back in favor of the type of walkable community that existed long before the advent of the once fashionable suburbs in the 1940s. He says it is being driven by generations molded by television shows like "Seinfeld" and "Friends," where city life is shown as being cool again -- a thing to flock to, rather than flee.

"The image of the city was once something to be left behind,"

Continuing on that theme, the Freakonomics blog ran a quorum on the subject. They asked, "What is the Future of Suburbia?" Answers ran the gamut from 'apocalyptic utopianism' to 'brutal reality.

I then read a great article which talked about this trend featuring, of all places, Chicago. In The New Republic, in an article called Trading Places, Alan Ehrenhalt wrote about the demographic inversion of the American city. He notes,

In the past three decades, Chicago has undergone changes that are routinely described as gentrification, but are in fact more complicated and more profound than the process that term suggests. A better description would be "demographic inversion." Chicago is gradually coming to resemble a traditional European city--Vienna or Paris in the nineteenth century, or, for that matter, Paris today. The poor and the newcomers are living on the outskirts. The people who live near the center--some of them black or Hispanic but most of them white--are those who can afford to do so.

I'm not necessarily sure what to think of this trend. While part of me doesn't want to be part of a trend, I'm completely on board with the benefits of 'New Urbanism'. One of the things we love about the city is the walkability and the option of accessible public transit. Being part of a densely populated area seems to lend itself to a dynamic level of life in a neighborhood that is very appealing to us.

At the same time, there is no doubt that choices are being made. As noted, cost of living is higher. And certain amenities are being chosen over others. And I suppose it does come down to what you matter most. But I guess what most matters to me is that people make that choice not based on false reasons, like schools, but on what they actually are choosing between.
We must ask ourselves, do we want a big yard or a walkable community?

Chicago - Home of Human Capital

As probably anyone reading this knows, I love Chicago. It's a great city. But why is it great? What about Chicago makes it a place we want to be?

Yes, probably some of it is the architecture, some the lakefront, some the good planning. But all those really lead into the last, which is maybe the biggest reason of all. Chicago is home to a group of young dynamic people, who are the sort of people who you want to live near and be sharpened by. This was reaffirmed by this recent article in Crain's Chicago Business:

Brains, bodies and beauty
Human capital — a buzzword among economists — simply means people. Think of it as raw material made up of bankers, traders, consultants, advertisers, engineers, artists and others who, through brainpower and creativity, turn ideas into money.
"The comparative advantage of cities is determined by how smart, how trained, how innovative, how entrepreneurial the people are in that city," says Edward Glaeser, a Harvard urban economist who advised the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' study group.

Chicago's human capital is strong. Among U.S. cities, Chicago ranks first in the concentration of young people (ages 25 to 34) living within three miles of downtown. It's second only to New York in the number of those with college degrees. Its universities are world class. The University of Chicago has been home to 20 Nobel Prize laureates, while both the U of C's Graduate School of Business and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management rank among the world's best business schools. Chicago also has the quality of life that keeps people here — vibrant art and music scenes, restaurants, museums, parks and recreational facilities.

Here's to living in a world-class city like Chicago!

(ht: Steve Lavey)

Gangs of LA

In honor of the last season of The Wire kicking off, I thought I'd pass on this link to a fascinating article on gangs in LA. Apparently they're still a problem. Did anyone really think they went away?

Perhaps as an addendum, I should point out that Steven Levitt may not fully buy that the problem is worsening.

Family-Friendly Cities

The WSJ ran an interesting editorial espousing policies that would lead to more family-friendly cities. Due to an odd combination of high-priced homes and blighted zones or great schools difficult to obtain admission to and extremely poor schools, cities often struggle to retain families. At stake, though, is the very future vitality of the city.

There is a basic truth about the geography of young, educated people. They may first migrate to cities like New York, Los Angeles, Boston or San Francisco. But they tend to flee when they enter their child-rearing years.

In San Francisco, for instance, the population of children living in the city has dropped by more than 33 percent since 1960 as families with children have moved out. Elementary schools have had to close. This is a problem because cities that don't have families tend not to experience economic growth. And losing families points to a problem.

In order to create a healthy vibrant city, the emphasis should be on retaining young people as they grow up, marry, start families and continue to raise them. In order to do so, cities must become more family-friendly.

The key is to work closely with local public and private schools, churches, and civic organizations to build up the support structures that might convince today's youthful inner city urbanites to remain as they start families. Looking at the parks, playgrounds, and schools that young families would use is paramount to convincing them to stay.

The difficulty of urban education

As most any observer notices, there is a struggle when educating poor urban youth. You are dealing with children from homes that may not provide the support they need to succeed. Is it even possible to make that difference up in school? Earlier this year, the New York Times looked at some of the difficulties schools face.

Then, last week, the Chicago Tribune ran a tremendous series providing a firsthand look at a classroom where these issues play out. I thought this was a wonderful piece, filled with good insights; and most importantly reminding us all what a (justifiably) difficult time cities have providing their children with great education.

Definitely read it, and tell me. What do you think? Can success in situations like this be had? What resources would it take?

Chicago Architectural Gems

One of the things I enjoy most about Chicago is that it is a beautiful city. A lot of this is due to the high concentration of good architecture found here. We often find ourselves extolling the value (and beauty) of such buildings as the Wrigley Building, the John Hancock, the Lake Point Tower, or the Smurfit-Stone Building.

These and others are all great examples of good architecture, that which brings beauty to the city. But what we often forget in looking at these great buildings already here is that every year new great pieces of architecture are going up. And especially here, in a city known for its great architecture, the bar is set high for buildings trying to make an architectural mark. This means many efforts fall short of critical praise. Regardless, many buildings do succeed at catching our eye.

That is why I enjoyed this list in the Chicago Magazine of ten "innovative new buildings illustrat[ing] Chicago’s enduring power to attract great design." My favorite may be the new Gary Comer Youth Center on the South Side:

Sidewalks

As some of you know, I tend towards being pretty urban-centric. One of my biggest reasons for enjoying city life is the fact that it is a very walkable community. That's because there are sidewalks on every block. I enjoy being able to walk to the drugstore, the grocery, or a restaurant.

One of the biggest problems with many suburban subdivisions, in my estimation, is their lack of sidewalks. I think it cuts down on community connectivity and is detrimental to health. Studies have shown that suburban residents tend to be more obese.

Never did I think, though, that suburbanites were actually opposed to sidewalks. I always figured that they weren't there due to poor planning by villages or cheap developers who didn't want to foot the extra cost. Turns out I was wrong.

Says Northbrook resident Hubert Frank,

We came here for the green grass, we came here for the suburban environment and for the schools. I think we have a beautiful street, and sidewalks would take away that beauty.

The kids in the neighborhood walk to school via the street. Safety first, you know. The article notes,

Some say sidewalks could disturb trees and landscaping, and others fear who might come sauntering through their neighborhoods.

Sidewalks, it seems, represent some of the things people move to more rural-feeling subdivisions to escape: Foot traffic. Noise. Concrete. Taxes.

Yes, the miscreants that sidewalks inherently bring are insidious...

The Benefits of an Urban Life

Say one empty-nester couple who find urban life an improvement over their former suburban one:

This has had a profound effect on how we interact with people. We realize now that the cocoons of our cars kept us well insulated from the people around us. Our genuine interactions were with family and coworkers, the only people who saw us stripped of the metal that clothed and protected us. Our neighbors, we discovered, were virtually strangers. Now, we stand face-to-face with people in our building's elevators, at our corner hangouts, and on the sidewalks. We chitchat and pet our neighbors' dogs. We exchange 'good mornings' with the people we pass everyday on our way to work. We've developed friendships with several proprietors and servers at our favorite restaurants.

Granted, I'm biased--and of course, your relational networks are somewhat what you make them--but I have to agree that my impression is that urban life fosters increased interaction.

(ht: Kottke)

Urbanism

Who said this:

I’m not interested in the suburbs. The suburbs bore me.

Skyscrapers

the proposed Chicago Spire (graphic from the Chicago Tribune)

On the heels of a redesign to the proposed Chicago Spire (I prefer the original), it is worth looking at the state of the world's skyscrapers.
As luck would have it, Wired has done a great job of running it down for us:

The world's cities are getting taller – and fast. Between 2001 and 2012, almost as many skyscrapers will be constructed as were built in the entire 20th century. While vertical metropolises like Hong Kong and New York continue to mint monoliths, the most dramatic changes are happening in lower-profile places. Thanks to globalization and the steady migration of people to urban cores, cities that once had only a few high-rises are morphing into mini-Manhattans. Miami, for example, had only five skyscrapers (buildings more than 150 meters, or 492 feet, tall) in 1999 but will have 71 by 2012. Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, will soar from two in 1999 to 90 by 2012. Here's a snapshot of the world's fastest-changing skylines...

Be sure to check out the pictures showing what will be a progression of world's tallest buildings until 2012.

Urbanization

The world has changed remarkably in the last century. We've moved from a largely rural world citizenry to one that is rapidly becoming largely urban. In 1905 the largest city in the world was London, with a population of 6.5 million. Today it is dwarfed by Tokyo, with a population of 34 million. London, now with a population of 7.5 million, doesn't even make today's top twenty largest cities. In 1900, only 14% of the world's population lived in cities. It's likely that, as is my case, your ancestors did not live in a city. Today, roughly half of the world's population lives in cities, and unlike my ancestors, I do. Here in the United States, 80% of our population now is urbanized. Cities continue to grow larger, and many towns are becoming new cities.

The ramifications on our lives of this new societal placement are many. A common refrain of those less than thrilled about urban life is that this new settlement pattern is bad for the earth. As it turns out, this is really not the case. Many of today's most ardent environmentalists recognize that a city designed for sustainability offers the best opportunity for us to most sustainably populate the world. The best way to help our planet may be urban living. Of course, this is only if it's done correctly.

So what can be done to make a city sustainable? It's an important goal as currently cities comprise a mere 2 per cent of the Earth's land, but use up seventy-five per cent of its resources. What is good, though, is that the size of cities create inherent economies of scale that make living on less natural. First steps include reducing the need for cars and creating spaces for urban agriculture. Smart urban planning is needed to ensure vibrant communities centered on good transit options, with space for all socioeconomic groups to find a corner.

As the future becomes now, will urbanization result in more slums and poor educational systems; or will the world's resources be managed more efficiently in bringing a good life to the masses?

Green Chicago

Most people who are Chicago residents greatly enjoy the city they in which they live. What makes Chicago today so great? Many have argued the renaissance began with the movement to make it a 'green' city. Mainstream media has begun to hold Chicago up as an example of what modern cities should and could do to be on the forefront of the 'green' movement. Even its Latin motto — Urbs in Horto (City in a Garden) — evokes these images. Has Chicago earned the title of America's Green Thumb?
To give you an idea of what Chicago has done, since 1989, 500,000 trees have been planted in the city. Mayor Daley, since coming to office, has ordered that the heads of all city departments make their operations environmentally friendly. Chicago is now one of the largest users of green energy in the country. I have previously mentioned the movement in the city to convert many rooftops to 'green.' Time magazine says,

The city has been decorated with fancy planters, park space has increased and the lakefront, while still soiled with pollution, is being cleaned and preserved at a level never before seen.

Mayor Daley's continued goal is to make Chicago the most environmentally friendly city in the country. Says Chicago's environmental commissioner, Sadhu Johnston,

This is about quality of life. What we're talking about is creating a city that exists in harmony with the world, a place that can be a model. Cities have long been hurtful to the environment. Raw materials came in and waste went out. We're trying to redefine that relationship, and cities can be models.

All this work to create a 'green' city has made it an ever more attractive city. That in turn has served to revitalize many of its neighborhoods and helped sparked the urban population growth in areas of the city where much of the investment has been made. The New York Times says,

Chicago [has] attracted more than 100,000 new residents, added tens of thousands of downtown jobs, prompted a high-rise housing boom, reduced poverty rates, built thousands of affordable homes, spurred a $9-billion-a-year visitor and convention industry, and transformed itself into one of the most beautiful cities in America.

As a resident, all I can say is, "Keep it up!"

The Brutal Suburbs

Out of Ur asks, does the suburban lifestyle undermine our mission as Christians?

Many voices are beginning to say that the lifestyle of the affluent suburbanite, while heralded for 50 years as the fulfillment of the American dream, may actually be detrimental to the Christian life and mission.

David Fitch goes on to say,

...the suburbs are built for the idolization of the affectionate family as the end and purpose of all life. The problem? When the family becomes another form of life separated from God and the church, it too becomes another form of self-imploding narcissism.

By idolizing the family, suburbanites may become focused on consuming more stuff to create the perfect home and family. There is nothing but contrived affection left to keep the home together. And children who learn they are the center of this universe from parents actually develop characters that believe they really are the center of the universe.

After decades of this suburban lifestyle America is left with families split by divorce, kids leaving in rebellion, and millions on various drugs to relieve the emptiness as the idolized family turns out to be a myth. Apart from the personal destruction the suburbs can bring, suburban isolation also poses a real problem for the spreading of the gospel.

Do you agree? Is it more difficult to live the life of a Christian in the suburbs?

The New Face of Chicago

Will this be Chicago's skyline in the future?

On Sunday, the Chicago Tribune featured an analysis of the potential future skyline as shown above. The Trump Tower obviously will be completed as it's already under construction. The Fordham Spire was previously proposed (and blogged about here) but is not yet approved by the city. The ubiquitously named Tall Tower was the most recent proposal. It also has not yet been approved. If all were built, though, the view would be very similar to what's shown above.

For those into architecture, the Trump Tower was designed by Adrian Smith at Skidmore Owings & Merrill. Santiago Calatrava designed the concept for the Fordham Spire, and Cesar Pelli designed the concept of the Tall Tower, which is really only a glorified broadcast tower.

Personally, I think the Trump Tower is well done and will fit into the skyline nicely. The other two, however? Maybe too tall in comparison to the surrounding buildings for my taste. The scale seems wrong. What do you think?