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| |  | McKinley Park, one of the Southwest Side’s most beloved green spaces — featuring a heron. (Emmi Mack / City Cast Chicago) |
| The Push For Green Spaces in Chicago | Chicago is in the midst of yet another heat wave. Earlier this summer, nine people in Chicago died from heat-related causes, all on the South and West Sides. | | According to a recent study, preserving more trees could prevent similar deaths. And that’s not the only reason Chicago neighborhoods are seeking more trees and green spaces. | | What more trees can do: On the South and West Sides, flooding is especially bad due to too much concrete. Green spaces help soak up excess water before it reaches (and overwhelms) sewers. University of Illinois researchers also found there is less violent crime in greener places. | - Right now, Latino neighborhoods have the least amount of park space. There is 25% less park space in those areas as compared to the city median.
| | In the works: Several green space projects are already underway around the city. They include: | | | Ahead of future developments, locals continue calling for more access to nature. | - In Pilsen: Residents urged the city to deindustrialize the area by adding green space along the Chicago River and shutting down polluters, including notorious metal scrapper Sims Metal Management.
- At former Ford City Mall, plans recently advanced for a distribution facility. But community advocates pushed back: "We want green space to be a thing in Chicago … there is a lot of grey."
- In Bridgeport: Neighbors also fear more industrialization, as Amtrak weighs moving its railyard to the area.
| | What can YOU do? Chicago property owners can call 311 to request a new tree on their parkway. But hurry: this initiative is only through the end of the year. | |
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| | | For one week this September, Chicago Exhibition Week turns the city into a map of over 60 galleries and museums, plus the restaurants, wine shops, and design stores in between. Our curated routes do the wayfinding, curated by the people who have brought you spots like All Together Now, SVRN and Feld. Pick a route, follow your curiosity, and see how the city connects. The full map is live now. |
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| What Chicago's Talking About |
| More Calls to Reopen Weiss and West Suburban | Former employees and patients and advocates pushed for the reopening of Oak Park’s West Suburban Medical Center and Uptown’s Weiss Memorial Hospital at a recent town hall. Insight Hospital & Medical Center could take over, but doctors do not trust the company. [Tribune 🔒] | | | Child Deportations Rising. Also, That Sox Parking Scam | An immigration judge in Chicago recently ordered six children to be deported. On today’s podcast, we break down what children are facing in Chicago immigration courts. Plus: How to not get finessed WHILE parking at a Sox Game and world-record meetups we’d like to see in the city. [City Cast Chicago 🎧] | |  | Arwa Yemeni Coffee sits on the border of Bucktown and Logan Square, in the former Infuzed Cafe space. It's open till 10 p.m. weeknights and till midnight on weekends. It’s also got plenty of cakes. (Emmi Mack / City Cast Chicago) |
| Yemeni Cafes Everywhere | After expanding from Detroit, Yemeni coffee chains are all over the Midwest. Chicago is now home to at least 27 Yemeni chain cafes, plus a dozen more independent shops. Many are open late 🦉 [Axios] | | | The Mysterious History of Chicago’s Aquarium Smokers | Aquarium BBQ smokers are unique to Chicago’s South and West Sides. Unlike traditional smokers, aquarium smokers let chefs watch the meat through glass doors. According to legend, they arose in the 1950s after the city’s health department cracked down on brick pits. But many traditional BBQ spots are disappearing. [Block Club] | | |
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Finally, congrats to my dear friends Bobby and Chunghwa, who just tied the knot at City Hall. It was a lovely one-minute ceremony, followed by an equally lovely party in Rogers Park, replete with char dogs and Daisy Cutter. | |  | From the wedding to the Red Line. (Emmi Mack / City Cast Chicago) |
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