Re-Mapping the Publics | Booklet | All Boards

Re-Mapping the Publics…

EXHIBITION BOARDS Developed by Sweet Water Foundation for the Re-Mapping the Publics… exhibit, 2023.

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Re-Mapping the Publics...

Sweet Water Foundation welcomes you to the third exhibit in the Thought Barn: Re-Mapping the Publics…, an assemblage of art, artifacts, and reflections on city planning and development. Re-Mapping the Publics… offers a blueprint for re-mapping our city’s resources to create true common wealth - the spaces, structures, networks, resources, and opportunities essential to mending the urban fabric, healing communities, and equipping our neighborhoods to thrive, rather than merely survive.

This exhibit builds upon We The Publics...from Bounded Rationality to Unbounded Possibilities, which provoked a reframing and reclaiming of the ‘Publics’ and offered The Commonwealth as a living demonstration of the paradigm shift required to reconstruct public trust.

Re-Mapping the Publics… continues the conversation through an examination of how cities utilize public money, labor, land, and materials to address challenges and plan for the future. The first half of the exhibit aims to decode city planning and neighborhood development processes. It reflects on historical and present-day planning practices and examines their impact.

The second half of Re-Mapping the Publics… invites us to imagine what if?

What if we re-mapped public resources?

What if city planning and neighborhood development tackled fundamentals (trash pickup, growing food, building and repairing homes, etc.) before launching multimillion-dollar initiatives?

What if residents were invited (and expected) to do more than attend community meetings to make their neighborhoods and the city a better place?

What if neighborhood development took place on a human scale, fueled by relationships and a collective commitment to do the necessary work?

Developed by Sweet Water Foundation for Re-Mapping the Publics… (2023). Shared under Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. info@sweetwaterfoundation.com

THE PARADIGM OF PLANNING The paradigm of American urban planning was founded upon utopian dreams.

1 Utopia, however, is defined as no place. The static, picture-perfect moments of controlled spaces and master plans of prescriptive notions of life created by planners are antithetical to both nature and humankind. For much of its history, the planning profession has trained designers to shape and mold cities in the service of beauty, commerce, industry, and leisure of the privileged classes at the expense of the public. With “Make No Little Plans” as the mantra, American cities have been sculpted ffrom lofty dreams not grounded in reality.

“Make No Little Plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood... Make big plans... remembering that a noble, logical 2 diagram once recorded will never die.”

Daniel Burnham, October, 1910

LEFT: Daniel Burnham (left) stands before the 1909 Plan of Chicago’s vision for the Civic Center Plaza and Swiss-French archtiect and urban planner, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (right), known as Le Corbusier, works on a model in front of his 1925 Plan Voison. RIGHT: A model of the Pruitt-Igoe housing projects (top), which was once considered a breakthrough in urban renewal, is pictured above a photo capturing Pruitt-Igoe’s demolition. The 33, eleven story apartment buildings were constructed from 1951-1955 and demolished from 1972-1976 in St. Louis, MO. 3

The long-standing history of making big plans has been accompanied by limited actualization and little attention to what is needed for a healthy urban ecology. Far too many plans put forth impractical, utopian projects with speculative timelines that extend beyond the terms of the elected officials that champion them. Planners propose quick fixes to generational problems and, in doing so, cities used urban planning not to build better cities, but to divide the 4 city, creating beautiful spaces at the expense of the poor.

IMAGES OF IMAGINED AND PROPOSED DESIGNS: LEFT to RIGHT: THE LINE, a 170km conceptual, “cognitive city” in Saudi Arabia; Manas Bhatia’s AI x Future Cities with biophilic architecture, Hyperions, a self-sustaining urban utopia by Vincent Callebaut, Dragonfly Vertical Farm concept by Vincent Callebaut.

Yet, city planning and development continues to dream (and sell the dream) of a utopian future with no way to get there… because “utopia” is, by definition, no 5 place. We are left only with “noble, logical diagram[s] [that] will never die.”

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Utopia definition; meaning. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/utopia 2 Adam. (2019, March 6). Burnham’s “Make No Little Plans” Quote: Apocryphal No More! – Mysterious Chicago.https://mysteriouschicago.com/finding-daniel-burnhams-no-little-plans-quote/ 3 Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, August 24). Pruitt–Igoe. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pruitt%E2%80%93Igoe#cite_note-FOOTNOTERamroth2007164-8 4 Bloomberg. (2012, August 24). A brief history of the birth of Urban Planning. Bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-08-24/a-brief-history-of-the-birth-of-urban-planning 5 Adam. (2019, March 6).

1

Developed by Sweet Water Foundation for Re-Mapping the Publics… (2023). Shared under Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. info@sweetwaterfoundation.com

MAPPING CHICAGO’S RESOURCES Cities have significant resources available to carry out the work of the Publics.

How a city maps those resources to perform the functions of the city and address the needs of people is determined by elected officials and the individuals they select to lead departments and agencies of the city.

In 2023, the City of Chicago’s budget is $11.8 billion dollars with more than 31,000 people employed in 30 departments across seven divisions. Chicago is also home to sister organizations that include Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago Housing Authority, Chicago Park District, and City Colleges of Chicago - whose budgets and human resources are not fully reflected in the City’s budget. Collectively, they account for an additional $13.5 billion in financial resources and 61,451 human resources.

$25.2 BILLION DOLLARS 92,451 People

City of Chicago | $11.8 billion Chicago Public Schools | $9.4 billion Chicago Transit Authority | $1.8 billion Chicago Housing Authority | $1.2 billion Chicago Parks District | $545.4 million City Colleges of Chicago | $501.6 million

Budget and Staffing Sources: City of Chicago 2023 Budget Ordinance Book, Chicago Public Schools 2022-2023 Budget, CTA Meeting the Moment: Building a Strong Foundation for the Post-Pandemic Future: President’s 2023 Budget Recommendations, Chicago Housing Authority FY2023 Comprehensive Budget Book, Chicago Parks District 2023 Budget Appropriations, City Colleges of Chicago: Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Operating Budget.

Developed by Sweet Water Foundation for Re-Mapping the Publics… (2023). Shared under Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. info@sweetwaterfoundation.com

Developed by Sweet Water Foundation for Re-Mapping the Publics… (2023). Shared under Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. info@sweetwaterfoundation.com

BUILDING COMMON WEALTH Every neighborhood has the seeds for its own regeneration. Sweet Water Foundation’s practice of Regenerative Neighborhood Development (RND) uncovers those seeds through an evolutionary process of transforming “wastes” to resources that reinforces and regenerates community. RND recognizes that neighborhood development is human development and understands that healthy, intergenerational communities cannot be planned or developed, they must be cultivated organically, over time.

The Commonwealth is a living demonstration of how RND is capable of transforming a neighborhood at a fraction of the cost of any of the so-called equitable development initiatives underway citywide. In a so-called blighted community on Chicago’s South Side, SWF has transformed six contiguous city blocks through a series of interconnected, urban acupuncture–inspired installations that were collectively imagined, grounded, designed, and constructed by the Humans of Sweet Water. Each installation, whether a design-build project, program, or event, concentrates on a site that has experienced some sense of loss, trauma, or scarring of history (an abandoned property, demolished structure, or unfinished development, for example). By defying the bounded rationality of traditional planning and development, SWF has reconstructed a community and filled the void of food deserts, closed schools, and economic marginalization through an approach that is ecological, inclusive, and accessible with localized labor and limited financial resources.

The Commonwealth has become a Regenerative Neighborhood Node, a point of connection and a center from which new life in/for the community emerges.

“ Each neighborhood, each town, would have public workshops equipped with a complete range of tools, machines, and raw materials, where the citizens produce for themselves, outside the market economy, the non-essentials according to their tastes and desires.”

Andre Gorz, Ecology As Politics, Le Sauvage 1974 1

Neighborhoods across Chicago’s South and West sides are filled with spaces ripe for regeneration. Vacant lots, foreclosed houses, and underutilized spaces are all around us, permeating neighborhoods in every corner of our city. Yet, these spaces are overlooked or over-designed in traditional planning and development. RND shows us that these spaces represent unbounded possibilities to develop our neighborhoods in response to the needs of our time.

What if?… every neighborhood had a Regenerative Neighborhood Node,

like The Commonwealth, supported by the City agencies to do the work of the Publics on a neighborhood scale?

1

Gorz, A. (1980). Ecology as politics. Black Rose Books Limited.

Developed by Sweet Water Foundation for Re-Mapping the Publics… (2023). Shared under Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. info@sweetwaterfoundation.com

Developed by Sweet Water Foundation for Re-Mapping the Publics… (2023). Shared under Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. info@sweetwaterfoundation.com

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REMAPPING ART

CULTURE

Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events

Neighborhood Art Galleries

Performance Spaces

Civic Arts Inspired by Nature

Cultural Events

Developed by Sweet Water Foundation for the Re-Mapping the Publics… (2023). Shared under Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. info@sweetwaterfoundation.com

The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events “supports artists and cultural organizations, invests in the creative economy, and expands access and participation in the arts.” What if? . .. DCASE supported neighborhood nodes, like The Commonwealth, where the practice of Civic Arts connects people across generations. Using affordable, accessible, and aesthetic materials and mediums that are connected to our urban ecology and focus on transforming “wastes” to resources, Civic Arts at The Commonwealth has woven artistic expression into the fabric of the community. Nodes would also bring hyperlocal gallery and performance spaces to every neighborhood to cultivate and showcase artists at every level.

REMAPPING PAR

REC

Community Garden Beds

Community Green Houses

Healing & Sensory Gardens

Meeting House

Developed by Sweet Water Foundation for the Re-Mapping the Publics… (2023). Shared under Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. info@sweetwaterfoundation.com

The Chicago Park District focuses on enhancing the “quality of life” through “recreation and leisure opportunities” and providing “safe, inviting, and beautifully maintained parks and facilities.”

What if? ... the Chicago Parks District enhanced the quality of life of residents by supporting neighborhood nodes as safe, inviting, and beautiful spaces beyond the boundaries of traditional parks?

Nodes, like The Commonwealth, would provide regenerative forms of recreation by engaging residents in the hands-on cultivation of productive landscapes - producing flowers, fruit, herbs, and vegetables - and equipping them with the experience, and tools to apply their skills in spaces across the neighborhood.

REMAPPING THE TREET Department of Streets and Sanitation

the streets and alleys of Chicago.” What

if? ...the Department of Streets and Sanitation provided

neighborhood nodes access to tools and equipment to activate and empower residents in the shared responsibility of keeping neighborhoods clean. DSS could partner with neighborhood nodes to care for the city’s vacant lots, coordinate landscaping and cleaning support for community members, and supply compost, soil, and woodchips to meet neighborhood needs.

Neighborhood Tool & Landscaping Shed

Maintain the City’s Vacant Lots

Landscaping for Community Members in Need

Wood Chip and Soil Sourcing

Developed by Sweet Water Foundation for the Re-Mapping the Publics… (2023). Shared under Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. info@sweetwaterfoundation.com

The Department of Streets and Sanitation’s (DSS) mission is to “provide a safe and healthy environment on

from WASTE to RESOURCES Sweet Water Foundation provides hands-on, project-based learning that spans multiple STE[A+]M disciplines (science, technology, engineering, art + architecture + agriculture, and math), utilizing material destined for the waste stream. Approximately 90% of the structures at The Commonwealth incorporate reclaimed wood that would otherwise end up in a landfill. The majority of the wood that SWF salvages arrives in the form of crates or pallets, typically after the delivery of glass for housing or corporate development projects in the Loop and on the North Side, university projects, or public transportation projects (i.e. bus shelters, subway stations).

City Colleges to Luxury Hotel

Proposal Details

$32.7 million sale of building

$7 billion to redevelop 55 acres

$136 million initial rennovation budget

16 million square feet of high rise buildings

$3 million window detailing budget

Three new bridges and 21 acres of parkland

*$17 million budget deficit for City Colleges*

*$2 Billion of TIF support from the city*

Window Detailing

Window Detailing

14 stories x 65 Windows per floor = 910 Windows 4 windows per crate ( 910 Windows) = 228 crates

30 buildings (avg 20 stories) = All Glass + Steel Proposed subway station = All Glass + Steel

Developed by Sweet Water Foundation for Re-Mapping the Publics… (2023). Shared under Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. info@sweetwaterfoundation.com

Developed by Sweet Water Foundation for Re-Mapping the Publics… (2023). Shared under Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. info@sweetwaterfoundation.com

Developed by Sweet Water Foundation for Re-Mapping the Publics… (2023). Shared under Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. info@sweetwaterfoundation.com

Developed by Sweet Water Foundation for Re-Mapping the Publics… (2023). Shared under Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. info@sweetwaterfoundation.com