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The Space and Place of Play of Hamlin Park – Chicago, IL. As described by Daniel Giddings TE 818. Children playing on one of the large play structures in the park. Public ----------------------------- Private .
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The Space and Place of Play of Hamlin Park – Chicago, IL As described by Daniel Giddings TE 818 Children playing on one of the large play structures in the park.
Public -----------------------------Private • Hamlin Park is a community park over on Chicago’s north side. The interplay of public/private are on full display in this area. Even though the park is open to the public, there are spaces all over the park where people have carved out their own private niches using the public land. • For example, you can see on the left, a baseball game is in effect on one of the fields. The players are all in cooperation and concert with each other emphasizing the values of teamwork and fair play. However, not being a member of the team, one couldn’t just run into the middle of their game and start playing. Even within a public space, there are boundaries.
Who’s In Charge Here? When zooming in closer, you can see that erected in this space is a scoreboard. It’s prominently displayed over this area and depending on who has the most points on the board could to a change in the character The losing group is going to relate to this piece of scenery quite differently then the winners. You can already hear the familiar chant of “Scoreboard, scoreboard!” The scoreboard also shows that there is an authority governing the results. As slide two of the Representation Power and Hegemony points out, “Power is an effect of structures” (HeilmanPowerpoint, Slide 2). Someone is in charge of this space and that authority is regulating and monitoring the score.
Politics and Power These two pictures all highlight the mix of politics and power that are presented in Hamlin Park. Rules are posted prominently throughout the park. In the lower left you can see there is a sign that says “Dog Friendly Area” and directly across from that there was a sign stating the boundary where “No Dogs [are] Allowed” . These signs for the dogs reminds me of the Powerpoint presentation that stated, “We are simultaneously subject to power while exercising power on others” (HeilmanPowerpoint, slide 4). While we are subject to the rules of the park, we also help the park by monitoring the dogs in certain areas. Rules are political in nature and the Chicago Park District (CPD) isn’t immune to this. CPD is the regulator of Hamlin Park and these rules show where and what they value for the public space. These rules show what those in power value and expressly state these values with clearly marked signs.
Who Values What? This picture is an interesting depiction of spaces within this park because it represents what isn’t as clearly displayed and that’s the difference between the values of young and old. Where the CPD values the clear display of rules, youth at the park value the sports areas. The interaction of these clashing values will also shift as the youth that play on these fields become adults themselves one day. The fence also is another representation of the physical boundaries that the park uses.
Class Divisions These two areas are placed next to each other in Hamlin Park. The juxtaposition of these two areas in the park clearly shows the social and racial differences that play out. Above are the tennis courts, reserved by private clubs and teams and overwhelmingly white. The picture to the left is of one of the basketball nets on the Hamlin Park court. This suggests a hidden curriculum in that, “Any setting, including traditionally recreational and social activities, may teach unintended lessons since it is tied not necessarily to schools but rather to learning experiences” (Hidden Curriculum Wiki, p. 1). The basketball court is used primarily by adolescent boys of mixed racial descent. The frayed remains of this net seem to suggest that the basketball court is not as highly valued by authorities in this space as the tennis courts used by the higher socioeconomic classes.
Interaction with Place and Space The arrow in this picture is showing the graffiti present on this bench; one of many that is placed around the park. Older people might say that the graffiti placed by a young person shows that they clearly don’t value the park, while young people may respond that the graffiti actually shows the opposite. It shows that they value the park as a place. The graffiti, to young people, shows their values off to the rest of the public and provides a forum for them to display their feelings, likes, and dislikes to an audience that may not have a chance to view them. Youth sometimes feel that their values are not given a chance to be displayed and graffiti lets them display them clearly. This generational gap is an example of, “…the different ways in which cultural identities are thought of as related to places…” (Heilman, p. 162).
Not just a “port-a-potty”…. As silly as some may think, this picture isn’t supposed to be a joke. This picture was taken to show that the CPD values cleanliness of the park and so do the users of the space. The park was extremely clean with garbage cans, these latrines, and a field house with a pool and CPD employees. These are “public” facilities, but as we all know, they are used privately! These facilities are also representative of patience and gratification…as many people are aware. The hidden curriculum here suggests, “…the transmission of norms, values, and beliefs conveyed in both the formal educational content and the social interactions…” (Hidden Curriculum Wiki, p. 1).
Transit Modes Any behaviors in this place are ultimately decided with what people are able to get there. Hamlin Park is able to control elements of its space ultimately by its location and proximity to public transportation. Those that make it a point to journey to the park ultimately want the benefits that the park offers. This seams to be an effort to have these “myths of order” in which Chicago is trying to, “suggest choices,” by providing the park in this apex of transportation in the city (Heilman, p. 161). Biking is a very popular mode of transportation in Chicago. It is also more economical than using a car. Bikes construct the identity here in this space that the people using them are fit, athletic, and have the power over where they go.
The People and the Park One of the issues in a park is how do you carve up the land so that people can appreciate the natural landscape, but also have structures so that people can use the land. As you can see by this picture, the paved road carves up the space in the park and shows that man is the authority even in a place that celebrates public land. The paved road shows the changing character of the land, which more than likely used to be mere dirt and as more and more people have taken advantage of the park, the paving was put in. Does it harm the image of the park? ANSWER!
Shifting Back Natural Resources The final picture slide is showing how the authority in charge of the park, CPD, is trying to add more natural resources to the landscape. They are trying to construct the space so that more people are aware of its natural resources. However, protecting these trees is also an economic decision, because there is a certain amount of money allotted for park resources and they have to protect the structure of the park as much as they can. As technology develops, they will use geographic mapping to plot out where to best allocate these natural resources and plan out park improvements strategically.
In Conclusion The park district of Chicago can suggest a lot to us and teach us things that are not obviously present otherwise. It teaches us the power that the city of Chicago is trying to bestow over us. Whether it is showing us the difference in socioeconomic status present in the tennis and basketball courts, or the difference in opinion over the graffiti on the park bench. We can even look to the port-a-potty’s of the park to suggest to us how the park is kept and its importance to the city. One would like to think a park similar to this, found on the west side of Chicago, would find a “hidden curriculum” similar to this or better. Having worked on the west side of Chicago for four years, I don’t believe that would be the case.
