Aaron “Haroon” Garel, 39, recounts fond memories of growing up in his vibrant south-side neighborhood, Woodlawn, during the 1980s. Block club parties were “on and poppin,’” treating neighborhood children to an abundance of candy and a free petting zoo. Stores and restaurants lined 63rd Street and at the corner of Kimbark Ave, the original three-story branch of the neighborhood public library doubled as a community center that held talent shows, dance practices and a local theater.
“It felt familiar and it felt homey,” says Jazmyn Taylor, 26. Tayor spent her childhood in Woodlawn before her parents moved to the suburbs during her teenage years. She returned to the neighborhood as an adult. “It felt like I was walking in a space where people saw me and saw that I belonged there. And they knew that I was a part of the fabric.”
Much of the change is institutionally influenced. In 1964, the University of Chicago agreed not to develop beyond 61st Street, but in recent years it has expanded southward, shifting racial and economic demographics.
The Obama Presidential Center (OPC), which is cleared to be built in Jackson Park, is another large institution that has many residents worried about their future in a historically affordable neighborhood.
However, some residents see the neighborhood change as a positive sign.
These residents have their own ideas for the community and what they hope to see preserved. Most importantly, they share why they choose to stay.
