The South Shore neighborhood is renowned for its beauty and greenspace along the lakefront. From the Cultural Center to Rainbow Beach Park the natural allure of the neighborhood is undeniable. It is our responsibility as residents and neighbors to maintain this beauty and keep our community fresh and vibrant. You can find too many areas of unused lots, abandoned storefronts, dilapidated buildings and trash in the street on Chicago’s south, east and west sides. For this and other reasons, several organizations and groups have come together to form the South Shore Quality Of-Life Plan team.
The South Shore Quality-of-Life Plan (QLP) is a community planning effort that aims to create positive change in the South Shore neighborhood. The LISC Chicago, the South Shore Chamber of Commerce and South Shore Works, came together to create the LQP, a community-driven process that involves residents, business owners and nonprofits.
One of the first events of QLP was the 75th Street Cleanup. On July 28, and again on September 10, members of the South Shore area came together and participated in a community-wide cleanup of 75th Street, from Jeffery all the way east to the Lakefront. Both events were hosted by The Quarry Event Center, Chicago Cares, South Shore Chamber of Commerce, The Neighborhood Network Alliance and South Shore Works. Hood Hope Movement, Real Men Charities and other local community members and organizations also showed up to lend their hard work and support to our efforts.
It was truly inspiring and heartwarming to see so many community residents showing up and working hard to clean and beautify our community It makes me proud to be a member of a community in which everyone cares about each other. Local business owners and youth volunteers happily added some muscle. This was just the beginning of several cleanups we plan to do.
On both cleanup days, we began at nine o’clock in the morning. The volunteers dispersed among various areas that required the most cleaning along 75th Street. Our stewardship team, composed of upstanding community members and organization leaders, led the way, helping to manage and direct us.
The volunteers dispersed among various areas that required the most cleaning along 75th Street. Our stewardship team, composed of upstanding community members and organization leaders, led the way, helping to manage and direct us.
We cleaned empty lots, picked trash along the sidewalks, shoveled garbage into bags and swept the street clear of glass and debris. One group was picking the glass from dirt, clearing the way for flower planting. Others, including the group I was with, worked on design propositions for some of the unused vacant lots owned by the city, to uplift the aesthetic in the area.
Within a month after the first cleanup day, much of the trash and garbage we cleaned seemed to have built up again. That is why persistence and commitment to the cause is important to effectively change the culture and keep the South Shore clean and beautiful. We need everyone in our community to work together on this.
Our overarching goal is the beautification and revitalization of the 75th street corridor from Stony Island to the Lakefront. Cleanliness and organization comprise a practice not a project and we hope to cultivate a culture of cleanliness for our community.
We will heighten the aesthetic and interactivity of 75th street. It is a street that marks the center of the South Shore neighborhood and should be a place bustling with activity, enterprise and community.
Starting with these small steps of cleaning, redesigning and planning more new ways to improve our community, we hope to bring back the former glory of the neighborhood while propelling it to new heights The journey of getting the word out, interacting, and building with local community members is the prize we didn’t plan for. Building together and going through challenges with others builds meaningful bonds and connections that will last a lifetime.
Rabang Phillips is a recent Landscape Architecture graduate of University of Illinois Urbana who has a 9-year history of community service to Real Men Charities, based at The Quarry arts and culture hub.
