Quote:
Originally Posted by galleyfox
Not to mention, the industrial and warehouse jobs in that location are stabilizing the existing nearby neighborhoods. That’s why immigrants and Hispanics in particular have remained in the area. Move the jobs to a random suburb, and there’s not a ton of incentives left for immigrants to move to the SW side.
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not sure i agree with this take. it feels reductive to say hispanic immigrants only move to the SW side in order to work in warehouses. first, im not sure the percentage of locals these places employ vs people commuting in. there are also cultural reasons why people choose to live in the area, including family and community which other parts of the city dont offer in the same way at price points that are affordable.
there is huge opposition in these areas to additional polluting facilities being placed here. mckinley park is still furious about MAP, and little village is furious about pretty much everything related to the Hilco development. these communities fought for years via grassroots organizing to get the coal plants shut down which was a huge environmental win, but its bittersweet if the only consolation prize is a massive increase in semi traffic. people here want the same things anyone on the north side wants, which includes clean air and ample green space. as it stands, the SW side has among the least green space and the worst air quality in the state
the i-55 corridor is carrying way more of the burden for these kinds of operations vs the rest of the city, and its being born out through worse health outcomes for those who live here (PM 2.5 is nasty nasty stuff). simply piling more and more into this area just because we've allowed it to occur unfettered up til now is not the solution. little surprise the below map is a direct mirror image of your racial distribution maps above.
https://www.bettergov.org/news/inter...sides-hardest/
