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Here are some updates on various things that have been happening on the South Side and with SSN4H.

Celebrate Earth Day again this weekend!

In honor of Earth Day, we are having our first in a series of Community Conversations about the OPC and what it will bring to Jackson Park and our communities. This first conversation will be this Saturday, April 27th (starting at 3pm) and will feature Landscape Architect Robert Rock from Living Habitats, a member of the landscape design team working on the plans for the Obama Presidential Center. Mr. Rock will be able to help us envision how newly planted, climate-change suitable trees, shrubs, perennials, and grass will complement the OPC buildings and provide enhanced habitat for Jackson Park’s wildlife and migratory birds. Come with any and all questions, including on tree and vegetation plans, the relationship between the new design and Olmsted’s vision for the park as a community space, and his thoughts about how our changing climate is impacting landscape design in the 21st century.

Wear sturdy walking shoes and weather appropriate clothing (including umbrellas). VIRTUAL REALITY goggles provided (will fit over standard glasses).

This event will be part of our Jackson Park Earth Day workday and celebration. Details, including where to meet, are below.

Saturday, April 27, 2019

ALL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.- Community Service Project- Cleaning and re-chipping the playground at 6200 Stony Island.
3:00 p.m.- 4:30 p.m.- Community Conversation and Tour of the Obama Presidential Site (meet on east side of Stony Island Ave. at 62nd St.)

Then, at the fieldhouse at 6401 S Stony Island Ave:
4:30 p.m.- 5:00 P.M. Environmental Resource Fair including: SSN4H, The Chicago Park District, the Nature Conservancy, the American Youth Soccer Organization, the Jackson Park Golf Association, the Jackson Park Advisory Council (JPAC), the Obama Foundation, 1Woodlawn, TreeKeepers, the office of Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th), and Illinois Sen. Robert Peters (D-13th)

5 p.m.- Screening of Leonardo DiCaprio’s “BEFORE THE FLOOD” with One Earth Film Festival. Register here.
6:30 p.m. Discussion, Fair, Final Raffle

How much of Jackson Park will the OPC occupy?

Last month at the SSNH’s resource table at the Woodlawn Community Summit, SSN4H asked people to indicate the size and location of the Obama Presidential Center site on a map of Jackson Park. Nearly 9 out of 10 people who took the challenge either could not identify the site location or substantially misjudged the size of the site by estimating it to be many times larger than it actually is.

Do you know how much of the park the site will occupy?

Below is a map of Jackson Park showing the actual OPC footprint. 

The OPC is slated to cover roughly 20 acres, or about 3.5% of Jackson Park’s 560 acres, on the western perimeter of the park between 59th and 62nd Streets along Stony Island Avenue. Only 2.6 acres or about 13% of the OPC site will be covered with buildings, including both the one story above grade Forum and Library Buildings that will have fully accessible green roofs. The site also includes the historic Women’s Garden at the corner of 59th Street and Stony Island which will be restored with improved drainage and new plantings. Taken together, 87% of the OPC site will be publicly accessible to all visitors to Jackson Park and continue to provide park amenities including lushly planted grounds, a public plaza, new paths, and open spaces for active recreation. You can see a map of the proposed site on our website, here.

Concern has been raised regarding how the OPC design might violate the iconic design principles of American’s greatest landscape design architect, Frederick Law Olmsted who designed parks as democratic and inclusive spaces available to all as respite from everyday urban life. Olmsted’s parks were also designed to meet changing needs. In 1895, after the Columbian Exposition, Olmsted redesigned Jackson Park as a series of exterior landscapes for specific purposes, much as rooms of houses are designed.

A close look at the OPC design team’s decisions reflects their knowledge of Olmsted’s principles and plans and how they respectfully built on Olmsted’s site language to revitalize the use of one of the more damaged and undervalued areas of the park. The OPC design clusters its buildings near the MSI to create a museum campus that harmonizes architecture and nature as Olmsted envisioned for the north end of the park. The design of the OPC campus and track replacement similarly echo the public recreational facilities designed by Olmsted for that site. The sense of transition from city streets to parkland Olmsted created through a series of landscaped berms is retained by recreating the gentle elevation from street to park interior through the accessible green roofs of the Forum and Library buildings and other landscaping features. And finally, the landscape designers have committed to increasing the number of trees and ground level plantings that will complement the historical plant palette and be both environmentally and wildlife friendly.

Recent News on the South Side

Bike Path for the Midway Plaisance

The Midway Plaisance Advisory Council (MPAC) voted to create a new committee to explore creating/restoring bicycle/hiking paths that extend east-west along the outer panels of the Midway Plaisance from Stony Island Avenue to Cottage Grove Boulevard, connecting Washington Park, the Midway Plaisance and Jackson Park (linking with the bike/pedestrian path on the future site of the OPC).

Partial and deteriorated paths have been uncovered along the outer panels of the Midway Plaisance; it has been suggested that these paths were once part of push chair routes that connected the Columbian Exposition and Midway Plaisance fair grounds. The committee will explore the feasibility, costs, and potential sources of funding to repurpose these paths as bicycle/hiking paths that would create an east-west connection from the lakefront and Jackson Park to Washington Park. The resulting paths would allow bikers and walkers access from along the full length of the lakefront and through the full South Parks system, connecting adjacent communities, the University of Chicago and DuSable Museum campuses, and the transportation, cultural, and business amenities south west of the Midway and south of Washington Park.

If you are interested in participating in this committee, please contact us via email (sosideneighbors4hope@gmail.com) for further information.

Ghian Foreman appointed CEO of the Emerald South Economic Development Collaborative

In a big more forward for Emerald South, Ghian Foreman, a Hyde Park native with an MBA from Chicago Booth and executive director of the Greater Southwest Development Corp. will take the helm of the Economic Collaborative that was formed to "ensure that access and opportunities are shared and benefit the residents and business owners who call the South Side home today".  For more information, see this recent interview with Mr. Foreman on WTTW.

Upcoming Community Events

Golf Course Rehabilitation Discussion:  Community forum at the First Unitarian Church, 5650 S. Woodlawn Ave., on Sunday, April 28, 2019, from roughly 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., on the subject "Should a professional golf course be created in Jackson and South Shore Parks?" Come to hear arguments for and against the Rehabilitation of the Jackson and South Shore Parks Golf Courses.

On the Table hosted by Chicago Community Trust. On the Table hosts and their guests will write a Memo to the Mayor – documentation of their actionable ideas about an issue they feel must be addressed by the city's new mayor.  

Come to these On the Table events for the South Side:

On the Table for Jackson Park Communities:  Monday, May 13th at 6:30pm at the Jackson Park Fieldhouse (JPAC meeting will follow).  Potluck.

On the Table for the South Shore Community:  

Tuesday, May 14th at South Shore Brew, 7101 S. Yates Blvd.  9-10:30 Economic Development; 11-12:30 Environment; 1-2:30 Housing and 3-4:30 Arts & Culture

Wednesday, May 15th at Heritage Cafe 1849 E. 79th St  3:30-5 Public Safety; 5:30-7 Education; 7:30-9 Memo Drafting

4th Annual South Shore Summit 2019: Making Waves in South Shore  hosted by South Shore Works, Saturday, May 18, 2019 from 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Adam Clayton Powell Academy 7511 South Shore Drive. For more information and to register, go here.

For these and other events, check our Calendar on the website.  

Five Things You Can Do NOW to Support the OPC

1. Tell your friends you support the OPC. Voicing your support to your personal network via email, social media, or even in person discussions boosts the energy of others and gets people off the fence. You can also follow us on social media (Facebook: SoSideN4Hope, and Twitter: @SoSideN4Hope).

2. Do your research. An informed supporter can dispel rumors and drum up positive enthusiasm around the topic. Use our SSN4H website as a resource. Any questions, ask us!

3. Participate in a walking tour of the site. Imagine yourself in the space and see where this development will be in Jackson Park. Information on walking tours is available by signing up for the JPAC newsletter here or following them on Twitter (@JacksonParkAC).

4. Visit Jackson Park. Go for a stroll, take your kids to the playground or your dog to Jackson Bark. Tour Wooded Island, go for a walk with the birders or visit the Japanese Garden. (Don’t forget the Purple Martin Houses south of the MSI lagoon!) There are so many exciting ways to use the park. See for yourself how great the addition of the OPC will be to Jackson Park.

5. Sign up for the Obama Foundation newsletter. Be among the first to know about the latest details. Follow the development of the OPC as it starts the spark of revitalization of Jackson Park and our surrounding communities. The newsletter also highlights the work the Foundation is doing directly in our communities, reinforcing its mission to make the South Side, and the world, a better place for us and our children.

GET INVOLVED

Please see our new GET INVOLVED page on our website. If you would like to advocate for the OPC or just get more involved with your community, please check out our new page with suggestions on how to get more involved. Included are links to our Letter of Support and suggestions about penning letters to the editor, joining Park Advisory Councils or volunteering with us or the Obama Foundation in programming to help make our communities stronger, safer and happier.

Download and post our Timuel Black and Five Things to Know posters and use them to engage/discuss the OPC with your family, friends and neighbors.

Letter of Support

Join almost 500 UChicago and local community members to voice your support for the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. You can sign here.

Volunteer!

Please consider volunteering with us.  We are currently not accepting donations, however we welcome anyone with enthusiasm, diverse skill sets and hope for our future on the southside to work with us moving forward. Go to our volunteer page to sign up.

Please also follow us on Facebook and Twitter @SoSideN4Hope for more frequent updates!