Image inquiry: how do these two photographs capture Klinenberg’s point about the social ecology of Chicago’s neighbourhoods? What kinds of evidence can we draw from these images?
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Brandon Davis
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Image inquiry: how do these two photographs capture Klinenberg’s point about the social ecology of Chicago’s neighbourhoods? What kinds of evidence can we draw from these images?
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natashap, 
congo96, 
yitailiu, and 21 others are discussing.
jonl 9:14 am on March 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The picture of the Latino community shows a higher density community. I think with that many people living in close proximity of each other, they can more easily seek help. Also with stores closer to the people of the community, it may be easier to get something they need.
The picture of the African-American community looks like it is much more spacious and less dense. It may also be more common to see empty streets or not see people often. Therefore, with more people staying in-doors because of the heat, the support or aid from one another was less likely to occur.
msmith92 5:10 pm on March 22, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The picture on the left of the Latino community appears to display a vibrant cultural community while that of the African-American community appears to almost be deserted. Often with strong cultural connections among a group of people comes stronger social networks. People who share traditions and cultural values tend to look out for each other. During the heat wave, those who had few social contacts were said to be a high risk for death. In neighbourhoods with strong social support, people would be more likely to check up on one another.
jenniefrench 3:10 pm on March 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
These two images highlight Klinenberg’s point that while Latino and African-American populations may be living along a similar poverty line, the development of a city can effect who is more able to continue a community, and who is isolated through no fault of their own. The Latino community is obviously denser, more populated, whereas the African American community appears abandonned. I think another point to make is that when you are surrounded by people, culture etc you feel more supported and more motivated. When you live somewhere that feels abandoned, you feel abandoned and believe there is no one to help. The development, actual planning of a city, can influence how communities form and help each other.
emilym 11:40 am on March 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The two images show that neighborhoods within Chicago are very different and serve to highlight Klinenberg’s point that the populations living within different areas were affected differently by the heat wave. The Little Village, which is primarily Latino, is densely populated whereas North Lawndale, which is predominately African-American, is far less densely populated and appears to be partially abandoned. This partial abandonment can isolate a community and contribute to a perceived or real lack of available services in times of need.
sharonshi 4:17 pm on March 26, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The two images presented in the reading showed two very different neighborhoods within Chicago, and with that two very different social ecology. The first image showed a much more busy and people-dominated area, whereas the second showed an abandoned neighborhood that was less dense in population concentration. What we can draw from these images is that such abandonment in the second image leads help in the time of need to be hard. Since the area is already so isolated from the rest of Chicago, people will have less of a tendency to try to help them. Thus, the social connection is lost, and with that, lives.
lcoulthard 7:02 pm on March 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
It’s hard to imagine that these two photographs are two different parts of the same city. Little Village is obviously much more vibrant than North Lawndale, the active community would have had a much easier time relaying information and supplies to each other during the time of need. The picture of North Lawndale makes it seem like such an area that you could almost assuredly expect lawlessness during a crisis like a bad heat wave, and therefore the residents probably shut themselves in, accidentally cutting themselves off to any possible help from the outside.
Danni 9:45 pm on March 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
These two pictures illustrated the differences in neighbourhoods organizing had social impacts in both Latino and African-American community. There is a highly dense community of Latinos, but the African-American community is much less dense instead. The people in the abandoned community could feel isolated. Furthermore, the social connection between different communities in a city are related, but may not be easily emerged by the planning of the city. The densities of different communities associates the social impacts from different communities in the same city.
Joyce Lin 10:05 pm on March 27, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think aside from all the good points everybody has brought up in the thread about densely populated vs. abandoned spaces, the two images also show that cities are very unnatural environments. Yes, they have physical aspects such as location and situation, topography and geography but they’re constructed space. Cities are either built with a high degree of planning and care, or they are on the other hand, built with little planning care. In the images, we can see that not only is North Lawndale removed of any human presence but that infrastructure is also very poor, the roads are not being taken care of. In comparison, the Little Village image has evidence of public transportation, street lights, clear sidewalk and road boundaries.
katehaxt 1:27 pm on March 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Little Village looks like a functioning urban ecosystem. It is obvious from the photo that people are sleeping, working, shopping, eating and interacting socially in Little Village. North Lawndale may be housing some people but from the photo we can deduce that it is not filling any of the other basic human needs. These photos support Klinenberg’s point that North Lawndale was hit harder by the heat wave because it wasn’t a healthy human ecosystem to begin with.
sampethick 3:20 pm on March 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Well Klinenberg talked about how the Latino part of Chicago was more social and “vibrant” and there were lots of people around to help each other, and how the African American part of Chicago was basically abandoned and people who lived on their own (especially elderly people who lived alone) were left to their own devices when it came to the heat wave. He also talked about how two of the main risk factors that made people more likely to die during the heat wave, were living alone and not having social contact close by. We can see from the two photos that the Latino area of the city is packed and there is lots going on and everyone probably had social contact close by. But the African American part of the city is completely deserted in Klinenberg’s photo, meaning people were not out and about, not socializing, there was probably not many people there at all so the people who were there did not necessarily have someone close by that could help them if need be.
paige 4:11 pm on March 28, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The picture on the left shows a community that can work together, support each other, and function as a whole to survive the worst of it. The picture on the left shows a desolate area where one another are not aware of the struggles going on around them.
tsung 2:08 am on March 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The two photographs capture Klinenberg’s point about social ecology as it illustrates the un-natural history (or deep-seated social problems) that shaped how the neighborhoods looked. The Latino neighborhood was vibrant and offered a sense of community. However, the African American neighborhood looked impoverished and underdeveloped. Additionally, the neighborhood seemed to lack a sense of community therefore when the heat wave occurred, those most vulnerable were those living alone and mainly African American. Since there was no social support from the African American neighborhood, it is no surprise the area was abandoned along side a higher mortality rate than the Latino neighbourhood.
brenden 8:04 pm on March 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The picture’s perfectly describe what Klinenberg discusses in his article. There were less heat related fatalities in the latino community as it appears to be somewhat more “tight-knit” with many people out in the street communicating and carrying on with their daily lives despite the heat. This can be observed in the first photograph. Death rates were higher amongst african american’s due to the impoverished abandoned disconnected community environment they lived in. As Klinenberg stated in the article, people who were most susceptible to heat related illness were those who were both elderly and alone. By looking at the second photograph, we can see that the african american community looks both poor and abandoned and it conveys the message that individuals in this community are isolated from one another for the most part, which is in sharp contrast with the latino community.
midara 10:46 pm on March 29, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The two photographs each capture a shot of Chicago’s neighbourhoods, and I think these photos are great representation of social ecology of the area. While in the Latino neighbourhood the picture depicts an obviously crowded and denser community, the one on the right shows a less dense and abandoned. Noticing that in fact both communities are of a similar level of poverty, it is obvious that the one with better development may receive more help and focus if anything happens. The isolated area usually receives less help from the society, and may be ignored or receiving insufficient resources for development. Even resources are available to the African-American comunity, they still have to be reserved to the share of developing/improvement of social/environmental problems. In case of heat wave, we may draw the conclusion that due to the better social ecology in the Latino community, we may see more help or better off result because of the developed services/facilities; while in the African-American community, due to the abandoness and isolation, we may foresee more damages due to impact of lack of interactions and resources.
jaydee 12:09 am on March 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think that these two photos most clearly represent the difference in three of the risk factors Klinenberg discussed: Living alone, not leaving home daily, and not having social contacts near by. From the photo, it is easier to tell that the Little Village is much more densely populated compared to North Lawndale. This means that the people of Little Village are more likely to have more close contacts, be living with other people, and from the looks of things, spend more time in the streets. There is much more activity in Little Village, so there is likely more money and resources being used and received in these areas, which in turn are giving the residents a better chance at surviving these natural disasters.
erikaw 12:12 am on March 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
As was stated earlier in the module that the hispanic community was much more densely populated, with more businesses and street traffic and general motion of society. It would be fairly easy to have social support in a community such as this. As for the African American neighbourhood that was much more barren and widespread, it would be difficult to be connected to a community. It would be easy for many people to slip under the radar of society and go unnoticed, which happened during the unfortunate Chicago heat wave.
bgibson 12:38 pm on March 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
These two images clearly illustrate the stark contrast between the two neighbourhoods discussed earlier. The vibrant image of the Little Village neighbourhood shows how an individual would feel compelled to participate in the community, to get out and socialize. In contrast, the image of North Lawndale shows a neighbourhood that is quite desolate and obviously in disrepair. Truthfully I wouldn’t blame an individual from avoiding the street and becoming somewhat of a recluse, particularly an elderly individual. Clearly, there is less of a sense of community in North Lawndale, and a significantly underdeveloped social safety net.
phoebe 5:04 pm on March 30, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
These two images demostrate the contrast between a vibrant, densely populated neighbourhood of the Latin communities which although poor is filled with life and supported its citizens against the African American neighbourhood which appears desolate and lacking life. The citizens living in the Latin neighbourhood were surrounded by people and help, thus increasing their survival rate. The African American neighbourhood is still and quiet, leading to some of their elderly citizens dying alone.
alyumam 10:33 pm on March 31, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Like people have mentioned it, both image are contrasting. In the picture the Latin-american community, despite experiencing the heat wave, also seem to be involved in a dynamic of exchange, exchange of goods, services, and so on. In contrast, the African-american inhabited area picture looks empty and therefore no social dynamic seem to happen.
It also would be interesting to know in detail what kind of streets were photographed since the first picture seem to have been taken at a busy location, and the second picture looks more like in a suburban area.
Keaton Briscoe 3:39 pm on April 8, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The two images are very different and portray two very differenent societies. The picture on the left, which is predominantly latino, looks like a community in which is densely populated and looks as though they are a communiting which could survive through practically anything and isnt really showing the effects of the heat wave. Meanwhile, the picture on the right looks abandoned and as though the community is more isolated from the rest of the city.
nytsuen 4:11 pm on April 9, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
It is obvious how Latinos are situated in a more bustling area of Chicago. There are abundant store signs to suggest that many businesses are there; therefore, many people reside in this area. There is a music and clothing store, street signs, and a bus stop with a lot of cars. The picture of North Lawndale appears to be deserted, and isolated from the city. There seems to be little infrastructure, and all the buildings and electrical poles all look ruined. No one is outside and therefore, it encourages crime; whereas, in the Latino community there are many people walking around casually. The two photos convey completely different messages and vibes of each community.
yitailiu 3:42 am on April 11, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The picture of the Latino community does show a much higher population density and appears to be much more lively than the African-American one. There is a sense of abandonment and isolation in the African-America community, it seems that people living there would have difficulties to get help when they need it. Looking at these two pictures, one can easily relate to the case of the heat wave in Chicago, which was concluded by Klinenberg that poverty and neglect were the main causes of the disproportionate deaths.
congo96 11:14 am on April 11, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
In the latino neighbourhood photo we see busy streets full of people meaning there is a vibrant community that interacts with one another. In the other photo the streets are void of people and the buildings look condemned reflecting a deteriating neighbourhood that people are not trying to be a part of but would rather abandon and get out of which is a problem for those who are part of it but can’t go anywhere else
natashap 4:54 pm on April 13, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The image of the Latino area is bustling and busy, there are stores and residences mixed together which supports the idea that they were well connected, neighbours would know each other, etc. The African-American neighbourhood on the other hand appears sparse and deserted, there’s a few buildings, but they’re far apart and the streets are empty – even if you did know your neighbours, it doesn’t seem like the type of neighbourhood where people would check up on one another.