Examining the impact of residential segregation on rapid transit development in Chicago's South Side

Abstract

The striking contrast between two Chicago neighborhoods Hyde Park and Englewood which exist side by side is a prime example of what Edward Soja calls socially produced geographies of institutionalized racial segregation and what David Harvey terms as territorial injustice. Hyde Park with about 26,705 mostly white residents is a thriving economic center that has realized gains in property values and commercial investment. Nearby Woodlawn and Englewood have experienced declining populations, lower densities, lower property values, and increased vacancies that border Hyde Park, creating clear spatial lines of uneven development. Englewood and Woodlawn have one asset that Hyde Park does not: two public transit rail lines, the Green Line and the Red Line. In this thesis, I ask the question, can rapid transit be used to challenge uneven development and segregation in low income communities? I argue that public transit does not create growth, it merely redistributes it, and without the necessary development preconditions, the maximized benefits of public rapid transit in segregated communities will be hindered by persistent racial and residential segregation. I provide evidence to support that unless there is an intentional effort in conjunction with the proposed Red Line Extension to minimize residential and economic segregation, the expected benefits of transit-oriented development and economic revitalization in Chicago's African-American neighborhoods will be greatly limited. Such a plan might include developing transit stations into economic anchors through public and private partnerships, creating a coalition of community partnerships to develop land use plans that respond to the needs of the neighborhood, and working to secure investment for rapid transit infrastructure alongside investment for economic development.