The Southern Coastlands: On the Subtropical Margin

Neighborhoods and Communities

It's hard to imagine, but Chicago started out in the 1830s as simple village of settlers along Lake Michigan. It was a popular passageway for travelers and merchants crossing between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. After the introduction of major railroads to the city and the increasing traffic of ships through the city's waterways, the small port was becoming recognized as a central key link between the eastern and western coasts of the country.

Cartographers have distinguished over 200 neighborhoods and 77 community areas in Chicago. Chicago was built on a grid system that makes it one of the easiest big cities to navigate. Every half-mile, (equal to four city blocks) there is a major street. The starting point for the grid is at the intersection of State and Madison in the downtown Loop.  

Natural Disasters

One reason that helps make Chicago the place where web-based data is stored is the region’s lack of natural disasters. Chicago has become one of the nation’s top sites for an unrecognized but critical element of Internet and computing: data centers. Data centers are temperature-controlled, fortress-secured buildings that store the web servers, network services and storage equipment that companies need to transmit, store and back up data. The data centers also include additional locations that belong to companies such as Microsoft, Google, Level3, AT&T and other major high-tech and info-tech companies.

A Geophysics Professor at Purdue University stated that the closest area of earthquake activity is the Wabash Valley fault zone in southern Indiana and southern Illinois near Vincennes, Indiana. That is about 240 miles from Chicago. The area is not recognized as a quake-prone zone.

References

http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/neighborhoods.html

http://www.chicagoneighborhoods.cc/

Regional Landscapes of the United States and Canada

Authors: Stephen S. Birdsall, Eugene J. Palka, Jon C. Malinowski, and Margo L. Price

http://www.suntimes.com/technology/guy/4373615-452/keeper-of--web-based-data.html

The Changing South

Poverty

According to City Data (2009), Chicago residents with income below the poverty level is 21.6 percent compared to the whole state at 13.3 percent. The number of children below poverty level in city of Chicago is 31.2 percent compared to the state of Illinois which is at 18.6 percent. The poverty rate among high school graduates who are not in families in Chicago is 18 percent while in the state of Illinois it is at 16.2 percent.

Employment

Chicago is one of the cities was suffering even before the mortgage crisis and the recession that followed. The Illinois Department of Employment Security says unemployment rates have fallen in 11 of the state's 12 metro areas. However, since 2006 the unemployment rate in Chicago has been climbing, and in January of 2010 reached the height of 11.1%. In Chicago people are more likely to find jobs in the high tech industries and health care. The high tech industry (professional services) accounts for 15 percent of jobs while health care accounts for 18 percent of jobs. Manufacturing and education account for a very small percentage of jobs.

http://www.progressillinois.com/sites/progressillinois.com/files/imagecache/content_scale/pi-images/chicago_poverty.jpg

http://www.horizonmapping.net/projects/tmc/tmc_gallery/poverty_maps/chicago_poverty_2k.jpg

Information Retrieved from: 

http://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Chicago-Illinois.html

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110922/NEWS02/110929938/chicagos-jobless-rate-rises-to-10-4-in-august

http://www.chicagoilzip.com/

Transportation and Political Geography

Transportation

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) operates the nation's second largest public transportation system and covers the City of Chicago and 40 surrounding suburbs. According to the CTA, on an average weekday, approximately 1.6 million rides are taken on the CTA. The CTA began operating on October 1, 1947. The CTA is convenient and is comprised of easy-to-use buses and elevated subway train lines – including the famous “L”. During warmer weather, people can also board one of the water taxis which run along the Chicago River or lake shore.

Political Geography

The city of Chicago and some of its older suburbs are very Democratic. The rural character of Central Illinois helps maintain a largely Republican voting pattern. The combination of poorer soil, coal mining and industrialization has caused the southern region to be inclined towards the Democratic party.

Information Retrieved from: 
http://www.choosechicago.com/transportation/

http://www.transitchicago.com/

Fuller, Jack (2005). "Chicagoland". The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago Historical Society. 

Information Retrieved from: 
http://www.metrowalkz.com/images/Chicago/ctamaptrain.gif

Information Retrieved from: 
http://www.limoenvy.com/images/im-airport-ohare.jpg

The Bypassed East

Trees are one of Chicago’s most important natural resources. Chicago has more than 520,000 parkway trees and each is maintained by the Bureau of Forestry. Forestry strives to trim 100,000 trees a year, plants new trees along public sidewalks and promotes the health of trees throughout the city. The Bureau of Forestry, which has more certified arborists on staff than practically any other major city, also responds to tree emergencies in the community at all times.

The Chicago area is located among many fishing opportunities. You can find channel catfish, blue catfish, and bluegill. 

References:

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/streets/provdrs/forestry.html

http://windycityfishing.com/

The North American Manufacturing Core

According to textbook, Chicago is located in the North American manufacturing core (Figure 5.1, page 90). The city has grown to become a major financial, transportation and distribution center. Manufacturing, printing, and publishing, and food processing also play major roles in the city’s economy. It is the largest city on the Great Lakes.

Chicago is arguably the dominant city of the interior manufacturing core. Due to its importance and large population it was known as the "Second City" for many years. Chicago is close in proximity to the Great Lakes which makes it a prime location for people and the import and export of goods. Its location also provided for steel and metal product manufacturing which is characteristic of the Great Lakes port pattern. The textbook considers Chicago's focus on inland water transportation as one of its strengths. 

In 2005, the percentage of employment in manufacturing is 110 percent relative to the United States average of 100 percent (Table 5.2, Page 109). 

Reference: Regional Landscapes of the United States and Canada 

Authors: Stephen S. Birdsall, Eugene J. Palka, Jon C. Malinowski, and Margo L. Price

Chicago Board of Trade Building

Megalopolis

French geographer Jean Gottmann predicted the development of megalopolises in the U.S., with one of those being Chipitts (Chicago to Pittsburgh). The Great Lakes Megalopolis includes metropolitan areas within the Midwest that surround the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Region is one of the world's largest economies. The Great Lakes contain one-fifth of the world's surface fresh water and tons of cargo is shipped through through the Great Lakes each year. Tourism is an important source of economic growth in and around the Great Lakes. 


The Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI Combined Statistical Area (CSA) combines the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Michigan City (in Indiana), and Kankakee (in Illinois).  The metropolitan Chicago population (CSA) is over 9.8 million people.


Information Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_metropolitan_area#cite_note-csa_pop-1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes_Megalopolis
http://www.census.gov/




Chicago seeks to continue its growth and economic expansion. Chicago Metropolis 2020 is a business-backed civic organization that seeks to  promote growth in the region. It strives to create public awareness on issues such as the city's land use and transportation policies. Their vision is that the region's governments, businesses, and residents work together to make the region attractive and economically competitive 10, 50, and 100 years from now.


Information Retrieved from:
http://www.chicagometropolis2020.org/

Foundations of Human Activity

Chicago's growth during industrialization shaped its urban development. Chicago had many opportunities for the large number of European emigrants in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. African American from the South were drawn to Chicago between the 1910s and 1960s. In the late twentieth century, immigrants from around the world also took advantage of regional economic opportunities. The ethnic and racial diversity of Chicago resulted from metropolitan growth and contributed to its expansion.

Humans have lived in the area for many years, but most of the local history begins with the Potawatomi and their settlement in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. 

In 1833, the Grand Settlement ended the Black Hawk War and Potawatomi settlement in the metropolitan area. The U.S. government sold the territory that they had just acquired to farmers and investors. 

In the last three decades, a new wave of immigration has affected the city's development. Highly educated, skilled professionals and low-skilled, poorly educated workers are part of this new immigration. Immigrants from Asia and Latin America have settled across the metropolitan area.

Retrieved from: http://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/821.html

The culture of Chicago, Illinois, is particularly known for various forms of performing arts, such as improvisational comedy, and music, such as Chicago blues and soul. The city is additionally known for various popular culinary dishes, notably the deep-dish pizza, the Chicago-style hot dog and the Chicago-style Italian beef sandwich.

Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Chicago

The main ethnic groups in Chicago include Irish, German, Italian, Mexican, Arab, English, Bulgarian, Czech, Greek, Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Serbian,Slovak, Swedish, Ukrainian, Dutch and Puerto Rican. Chicago has the third largest South Asian population in the country, after New York City and San Francisco.

Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Chicago

Retrieved from: http://www.visitoakpark.com/Photos/deep%20dish%20pizza.jpg

Retrieved from: http://discounthotels.com/travel-blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/chicago.jpg