Category Archives: Places

Describing in 1857 a small Chicago area community that would later become a larger suburb

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In 1857, C. W. Richmond and H. F. Vallette described the small Illinois community of Cottage Hill:

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The village of Cottage Hill is pleasantly situated on the line of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, sixteen miles west from Chicago. The first settler here was J. L. Hovey, who came from Painesville, Ohio. He built a small house in 1843, which he kept as a hotel, it being favorably known by the farmers of the Fox and Rock river counties, who then teamed their own produce to Chicago, as the ‘Hill Cottage.’ The ‘Hill’ proper lies half a mile from the railroad, and commands as fine a prospect of prairie, cultivated farms, groves, cottages, and railroad trains, as one could desire to behold. This place being but 15 1-2 miles from the centre of business in Chicago; having good water, pure air, and railroad trains hourly passing – all of which stop here – must soon become known to those who would find for themselves and families, at a convenient distance from the city, a retreat from the noise and dust of its hot and crowded streets. (194)

This sounds like a suburb. A beautiful natural setting. Railroad access to Chicago. A small community. Away from the hustle and bustle of the big city.

However, at the time of the description, Cottage Hill (later Elmhurst) had very few people. The 1870 Census counted 329 residents. The train line offers access to Chicago but it is less than a decade old at this point. Commuting to Chicago is limited.

Elmhurst today is quite different. It has over 46,000 residents and the median household income is over $149,000. There is little open land on which to build. There is still greenery – laws, trees, parks – and road and train access to Chicago.

What this suggests to me is that long before the mass suburbanization of the twentieth century (Elmhurst had the highest percentage population increase in the 1920s), Americans had a suburban ideal. Even in the 1850s these two writers had a sense of the contrast between Cottage Hill and Chicago. They may not have envisioned the suburbs looking like they do today but some of the key elements are there long before suburban populations swelled.

The 15 “State-Designated Cultural Districts” in Illinois

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Several years ago, the State of Illinois started a program: “State-Designated Cultural Districts are communities, towns or specific geographic areas that have a distinct shared historical and cultural identity that binds the community together.” The goals of the program include:

Promote distinct historical and cultural communities

Encourage economic development and entrepreneurship

Encourage the preservation and development of historic and culturally significant structures, traditions, and languages

Foster local cultural development and education

Provide a focal point for celebrating and strengthening the unique cultural identity of communities

Several thoughts:

  1. Such districts combine historical preservation, development, and cultural tourism. The program provides funds to help communities have an officially designated district that they can then maintain and advertise. To have an official designation can help a place stand out among all the other places in Illinois.
  2. It would be interesting to visit all of these districts and see how they operationalize the “cultural” dimensions. If culture in the sociology of culture is “patterns of meaning-making,” how do these places demonstrate meaning-making for residents and visitors? This could overlap with but might be quite different from what people might expect from “cultural sites” which could include arts, entertainment, and museums.
  3. The map of the designated districts shows a mix of locations across the state. The program has only been around for a few years but it looks like there are plenty of places that could have such designations in western and northern Chicagoland, the western part of the state, and the Illinois portion of the St. Louis metropolitan region.

The coldest blasts of air on Manhattan sidewalks

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I walked the streets of Manhattan quite a bit on a recent trip. It was hot. Heat advisory hot. As I walked, I occasionally felt strong blasts of cold air. Not just a little breeze; shots of chilled air crossing the sidewalk. Where were they coming from?

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The strongest sidewalk air conditioning seemed to come from New York souvenir shops. The stores with mugs, t-shirts, keychains, stickers, and hundreds of NYC themed items. They had their doors wide open and the temperature was cold compared to that on the street.

I presume the owners of these stores are not interested in creating a better sidewalk experience; they want people to feel that air and head inside. In the cool interior, they will snatch up all kinds of souvenirs they did not know they needed. They will linger even longer when they remember how hot it is outside.

Few other businesses pursued this model. Department stores, restaurants, office buildings, indoor malls – their doors had to be opened and closed. They did not feel the need to try to entice people on the sidewalks with air conditioning.

Does the free air conditioning work? Does it sell more souvenirs? Since it is not cheap to let all that air conditioning escape, I’m guessing it may help these stores (or they believe it helps).

The American city with nearly 40% vacant office space

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Denver has a lot of vacant downtown space:

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According to CBRE data cited by the Journal, nearly 40 percent of office space in Denver’s central business district now stands vacant, creating concerns that the city could become trapped in the same urban ‘death spiral’ facing other struggling downtowns…

Denver’s economy historically benefited from growth in technology, telecommunications, finance, energy and professional services. Those sectors, Odell said, have also proven among the most receptive to hybrid and remote work arrangements.

As workers stopped commuting into the city center five days a week, demand for traditional downtown office space evaporated…

The question now is whether Denver can transform itself quickly enough to avoid becoming a permanent symbol of urban decline.

Big city downtowns are important for a number of reasons with the foremost in the last century or so being the center of office-based activity. Could they still be influential with less office activity (such as the housing-based mixed-use activity suggested in this article)?

Maybe. Upon rereading Jane Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities again this semester, I was reminded of her suggestion that cities are networks of neighborhoods. She speaks of Downtown and Midtown Manhattan but is more interested in somewhat dense neighborhoods connected to other similar places.

Or many places in the United States are already used to sprawling places where there are not centers but nodes of activity scattered across the landscape. Not one major center, many smaller centers that suburbanites travel to for work, entertainment, school, and more.

I cannot imagine downtowns as we know them from recent decades disappearing soon. The buildings still have some value to someone. But it is also hard to picture a different kind of center to regions with millions of residents.

Whether Charlotte wants to grow more or not

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An Axios piece suggests many in the growing city of Charlotte in the surrounding suburbs do not want the rapid growth to continue.

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As Charlotte barrels toward a population of 1 million, the city of transplants and unicorn natives is uniting behind a common phrase:

  • “We’re full.”

But are there arguments made on both sides, some for growth and others against?

Charlotte built a reputation as a place to escape more crowded, costlier cities. Now, residents fear rapid growth is recreating what they fled, from the Atlanta-scary traffic to the New York sticker shock…

“There’s really no equilibrium for a city,” says Andrew Blumenthal, a real estate broker and vice chair of Charlotte’s planning commission. “Either you’re growing, or you’re not.”

  • But Charlotte is playing catch-up on infrastructure…

Regional leaders this week shot down multi-billion-dollar plans to add toll lanes to I-77, the commuter route between ballooning Fort Mill and Charlotte.

It sounds here like rapid growth has led to some concerns. Charlotte’s population has more than doubled since 1990. This puts pressure on roads and local services. This affects housing supply and demand. This changes the experiences of particular neighborhoods and communities.

But American communities tend to see growth as good. Growth means there is new construction, more business activity. A growing population means the city and region is more visible at the national level.

What do leaders and residents in Charlotte want the city and region to be? Growth is not inevitable and leaders and residents can help steer it in particular directions. They can make decisions that affect future growth and what people experience in the next few decades.

It would be nice to have some data about what people in the region want. How do they feel about the growth beyond the typical American NIMBY responses of how their properties and lives might be affected or the excitement about new opportunities growth might ring. Should Charlotte keep sprawling? Who do they envision living there? What might happen when the growth slows down?

Arlington, TX is where the American Dream lives?

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I don’t know how I missed that Arlington, Texas is the American Dream City:

This campaign apparently started a while back. here is what local leaders said contributed to developing this slogan:

“Arlington is multi-dimensional with a lot to offer families, businesses, consumers and visitors,” said Jay Warren, Arlington Marketing Communications Manager. “When building this brand, it was important that we approach it by looking at the entire community. We wanted to make sure it represents all of Arlington.”

With an excelling education system (four independent school districts, the University of Texas at Arlington and Tarrant County College), a strong entrepreneurial business community and diverse neighborhoods where the housing dollar stretches further than most cities, Arlington is a direct reflection of how the American Dream thrives when citizens have a can-do, independent spirit and city pride.

Throughout its history, even when faced with those who said it wasn’t possible, Arlington has become home to a host of international brands, including:

  • The nation’s first regional theme park of American family fun, Six Flags Over Texas
  • American manufacturing with the General Motors plant
  • America’s pastime with the Texas Rangers and the iconic Globe Life Park
  • America’s Team with the Dallas Cowboys and its world-class AT&T Stadium
  • And, the United States Bowling Congress, celebrating the most participatory sport in the world

Located between two major cities, Arlington is a large suburb of over 400,000 residents. It is a racially and ethnically diverse city with a household median income of over $75,000. The homeownership rate is over 54%.

Using “American Dream” implies two things about the city. It is possible to achieve upward social mobility in Arlington. It also signifies reaching a certain level of success, particularly the middle class status of suburban homeownership.

I do not know if these features are more true in Arlington than they are in other suburbs. The Opportunity Atlas suggests Tarrant County, TX, the county in which Arlington is located, may not have provided much mobility over the decades. Four other Texas suburbs are in the Top 10 of the recent US News & World Report list of best places to live (and Arlington ranks at #56 in Texas). At the same time, having multiple major pro sports stadiums would be noteworthy to sports fans.

Now this gets me thinking: what suburbs have upward social mobility and a middle-class lifestyle? This might preclude places that have people who all already made it or are not doing much better than their parents or previous generations.

The scale of New York City in an American perspective

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As a sociologist who studies places, this always stands out to me when I visit New York City: its scale and size. Other American cities and places have small aspects of what New York has but NYC has more. Density, skyscrapers, mass transit, large parks, commercial activity, waterways, sidewalk life, a variety of neighborhoods, and history going back to the mid-1600s.

This might be most visible from up above. Coming in via airplane over New York City, you see the reach of the metropolitan region even before you get to the five boroughs. You see the tall buildings, not just in one location, but in multiple settings (midtown Manhattan, downtown Manhattan, along the rivers, in Brooklyn, in Jersey City, etc.). Development and human activity is evident everywhere. Standing at the top of the Empire State Building (picture above), you can hear some of the street noise even as you observe people and vehicles moving around.

But this is also evident at the street level. There is a level of activity across the city. Denser residential buildings and close-together single-family units. Tons of small businesses and restaurants as well as multinational corporations. Street traffic and overlapping mass transit systems that mean you can traverse the city without cars. Busy outlying neighborhoods in addition to the activity of Manhattan.

There is an argument that larger cities are scaled up versions of smaller cities. (See this book for an example.) I am more familiar with Chicago than New York City and for the Midwest, Chicago is the big city. But then travel to Los Angeles or New York – and I have been to both numerous times – and Chicago looks and feels smaller (even as LA and NYC are very different places). New York City is the big city for the United States. It is the leading global city in numerous lists and studies. Other big cities have their own unique features or have smaller versions of what New York has. As one quote says, “America has only three cities. New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland.”

I have been in even larger cities like Tokyo and Hong Kong. From above and on the ground, both of these cities are on a different scale compared to New York City. But that is a possible story for future posts. For now, New York City is the big American city.

Las Vegas quickly on the (sports) map

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It is rare for a city to add professional sports teams at the rate at which Las Vegas is going:

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With the potential for a city to add an NBA franchise in time for 2028, Vegas could go from no Big Four teams to become the 13th city with an MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL team in the span of 11 years.

Several things may have happened in a relatively short amount of time:

  1. The city has grown rapidly in recent decades. The city had 125,787 people in 1970 (too small to have 4 sports franchises), 258,295 in 1990 (still on the smaller side), and 583,756 people in 2010 (a big city).
  2. It is a new market. This presents a chance to have new fans.
  3. Gambling is now okay with every major sport because of the revenue generated. That obstacle is gone.
  4. The city and other governments are willing to provide public money for stadiums. Owners and teams really like this.

At some point, Las Vegas will not grow like it has in the past (it already slowed between 2010 to 2020 to 10%). At some point, a team might want to leave Las Vegas for greener pastures. But for now, Las Vegas is a shiny new sports city. If the NBA does indeed start a franchise there in the next few years, the teams in the four major sports help give the city and region a certain status.

Carving a full balsa wood model of New York City

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One man made a full model of New York City:

Three quick thoughts:

  1. Cities can fascinate people. The scale, all the activity, the density of people. This is one way to express this fascination.
  2. I appreciate the ability to see the city from above. There is something about this perspective that helps take in the whole city at once. Maps offer some of this but do not have the 3D angle or this size. Observing this model would provide a very different experience compared to being a pedestrian at street level.
  3. Does this fit into the professionalization or side hustle of hobbies? It is one thing to enjoy carving wood; it is another to keep going to create this size of a product that can be in a museum.

Would you put a “Museum for the Middle Class” in Schaumburg, Illinois?

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A 2004 Onion article imagined a “Museum for the Middle Class” in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg:

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“The splendid and intriguing middle class may be gone, but it will never be forgotten,” said Harold Greeley, curator of the exhibit titled “Where The Streets Had Trees’ Names.” “From their weekend barbecues at homes with backyards to their outdated belief in social mobility, the middle class will forever be remembered as an important part of American history.”

Museum guests expressed delight over the traditions and peculiarities of the middle class, a group once so prevalent that entire TV networks were programmed to satisfy its hunger for sitcoms…

During the modern industrial age, the middle class grew steadily, reaching its heyday in the 1950s, when its numbers soared into the tens of millions. According to a study commissioned by the U.S. Census Bureau, middle-class people inhabited great swaths of North America, with settlements in the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Northwest, and even the nation’s urban centers…

One of the 15 permanent exhibits, titled “Working For ’The Weekend,’” examines the routines of middle-class wage-earners, who labored for roughly eight hours a day, five days a week. In return, they were afforded leisure time on Saturdays and Sundays. According to many anthropologists, these “weekends” were often spent taking “day trips,”eating at chain family restaurants, or watching “baseball” with the nuclear family.

If there were such a museum, would it make sense to have it in Schaumburg? Here are a few pros and cons for doing so:

Pros: Schaumburg is a postwar suburban community incorporated in 1956. It is home to nearly 80,000 residents today. It has a large shopping mall within village limits and it has plenty of office space. (More on this in the Cons section.) It has access to multiple major highways and a train station on a line to Chicago, facilitating travel throughout the region. Locating a museum about middle-class life in a successful suburb makes sense given that suburban life is often associated with middle-class life.

Cons: Schaumburg is a particular kind of suburb, an edge city, with lots of retail and office space next to major highways. It is less of a bedroom suburb full of quiet single-family home neighborhoods and more of a suburban commercial center. It is less about a bucolic suburban lifestyle and more about easily-accessible stores and entertainment options. If a middle-class American life was about providing opportunities for their kids and having a single-family home, plenty of other suburbs could showcase this.

Perhaps the 2004 Onion was correct: the American middle-class of the turn of the twenty-first century might become a relic. If it does, where it is commemtorated will be interesting to see.