Renovating Chicago (Logan Square)

The final Action project has arrived for the Urban Planning class, a mix of architectural studies, city design, science, and math. In this unit, we studied more about the efficiency and quality of urban panning as a whole. Featuring TedTalks of speakers such as James Kunstler and Ellen Dunham-Jones expressing their feelings on today's urban planning. Some activities involved actively considering how to improve the immediate area around us such as widening roads, or expanding sidewalks, creating bike lanes, and even try improving the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority). Now the actual Action Project had us redesign an area of our choosing. What I decided upon was a small block in the NorthWest corner of Logan Square in Chicago. Just below you can not only see what I made out Tinkercad, but my whole process of redesigning the block at Diversey & Pulaski.

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Google Maps Edit, VG, 2016

So upon deciding an area, I've heard from many people that Logan Square lacks much greenery and plants in a multitude of locations. Based on my inspiration from Majora Carter, who I agree with the importance of having more greenery around anywhere really, but of course an obvious focus on cities, I decided to include some more environmentally aware decisions whilst redesigning the block. Originally, my intention was to modify an entire few miles where the tracks run down, but that was clearly too much for a single person to handle in such limited time, so shrinking the area, that I worked on, I chose a space with 2 empty lots that are clearly not in use anymore, as they're rundown unorganized parking lots that are rarely used. Considering this, I looking around the surrounding area of this space and noticed there was already a park and a food market, so it would be pointless to add another one of those as they're already present. I thought to myself, what could any of this be used for? Then after inspecting the area more and more, I figured that there was no activity center nor clothe store within near proximity. That's what I decided to add, for the sake of the community that lives there.

Revamped Logan Square, VG, 2016

As you can see just here, this is the plan I had, include 5 additions or alterations as Carter's "greening up" concept stuck with me, so I decided to reorganize the residential parking lot so not only that it's more organized, but also so that it can be used by the neighboring business employees. What was added was a concrete block in the middle featuring trees and bushes to separate the parking lot and give it a sense of organization. Another thing that was added just added shrubbery around emptier parts (which are most likely taken up by concrete, which can be broken to get to the dirt for planting purposes) just because it never hurts to add some trees or bushes in an area that seems so barren in comparison to its surroundings. So with a remodeled parking lot, and added greenery, I manage to think of one last thing to assist Majora Carter with her ideals of greening up the ghetto, and that was added a solar panel to the roof of the business building that wasn't too busy.

Volumes, VG, 2016

Now, modifications aside, what about the two new spaces? Well the Fitness Center is a simple cylindrical building with a height of 45 meters, and a diameter of 30 meters. Now to find the volume of a cylinder, we simply find the area of the circle base, and multiply that by the height. So 3.14 (pi or π) x  15^2 (radius squared) = the area of the base, so we multiply that by the height to find the volume, which is 31,792.5 meters cubed. Then of course the volume of the clothing store, which is incidentally a half-cylinder, which had a practically identical formula to finding the volume of a cylinder, except it's only utilizing half the area of the circle, as it is just that. So we'd have 1/2 (or 0.5) x {27^2 (radius squared) x 3.14 (pi or π)} x 35 which amounts to 40,058.55 meters cubed for its volume. Now obviously, the purpose of each building is as the name suggests, as the clothing store would either be a large brand or even just a locally run business, as long as there's a place that distributes clothes as there's nothing of the sort nearby in this area. Then of course the fitness center is, simply put, a gym. Given that these area both right next to a bus stop, that shows that transportation is no problem, and access in general will be great for the residents who live nearby. Speaking on that concept of transportation, there's another  concept that was reviewed in class known as "T.H.I.S." which stands for Transportation, Housing, Infrastructure, and Services. So in that aspect, transportation has easy access to these 2 services which also makes nearby housing more desirable, so that's how my project relates to that concept known throughout urban planning. So to review, now instead of having a desolate slab of concrete with minimal usage, we have brimming opportunities for communities with more environmentally friendly energy sources, and simply housing that's now wanted more. A nearby Aldi and park make this area great to go to or live in!

Supreme Court and Public Commercial/Media

So the Final Action Project for the course Policy has had us analyze a supreme court case. We summarize it and then speak out mind on the subject and outcome. The unit itself was focused around, as you probably guessed, the Judicial branch of the government. We learned variety of facts about the judicial branch, such as how it works and how it exercises power. Initially, the project seemed easy as it we could have chosen any Supreme Court case, however I did want to chose one that had some relevance to it's time, which is why this 1942 case about public commercial distribution during a time of World War II strikes my fancy. It was challenging to gather up as much info as possible, but with that, I hope you enjoy the presentation below.

The Study of Spanish

So this final term of my Junior year at GCE actually had me (or rather, I chose) a Spanish class. Throughout the term, we learned a multitude of verbs and how certain words change based on pronouns. Certain challenges for me definitely revolved around how I speak, as my slight accent gives me a rough time with thick "R" sounds, so of course, there were some words the were just plain hard to say. Another thing that, without a doubt got me mixed up, is the fact that I've studied Italian before also here at GCE. Add that with my basic Portuguese knowledge (since my parents are Brazilian), and I had a jumble of different words butting heads as all three of those Latin based languages have many similarities. The Action Project for the class though had us create some sort of writing essay with a visual, and 20 sentences of Spanish, so trying my best and using past notes, I decided to choose a topic on Spanglish since that was already something studied during class, and it's more common than you think in poetry. Just below you can see the product, and I hope you enjoy!

Was the Bay of Pigs Invasion Justified?

Hello everyone once again, with another Action Project for the class called Policy. In the second project for this history and literature course, we've been tasked to refer to a war/conflict that the US has participated in and then broadcast our stand on whether or not we believe it was justified or not. The second unit itself revolved around the Executive branch of the government and how certain policies affected wars that the US may or may not have justly participated in. It was a challenge to single out a single conflict as the topic of war is very negative from my standpoint, but to only look at one side is without a doubt singling out a lot I can truly criticize. Anyway, without further ado, just below the picture you will find a written essay of my views regarding the Bay of Pigs Invasion, which happened in Cuba.

JFK picture; presidential library museum, 1962

1961, Cuba. 1500 exiles opposed the infamous Fidel Castro with an invasion that was supported via financial support from the U.S. government. However it was a few years before the incident occurred that is truly noteworthy, as Fidel Castro overthrew Fulgencio Batista's reign of dictatorship. As of that start of 1959, relations between Cuba and the United States began to become a trifling matter. With Castro in charge, he claimed as much private property as possible, and much of that territory was owned by North American interests. Castro provided many hostile comments and claims such as the U.S. attempting to sabotage the newly establish government and time went on. It was a conflict from the start. President, serving the term of 1956-1960, Dwight Eisenhower was allowed to commit acts of retaliation as legislation passed such laws as of June in 1960. As America was cutting off purchases of sugar, soon following up with an embargo, only allowing the export of food and medicine to Cuban soil. As of January 1961, one of Eisenhower's final acts was to cut diplomatic ties with Cuba. There was great hostility between the 2 countries.

However every since May 1960, a great invasion was planned by the United State's CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) and heavily debated with newly appointed president (at the time) John F. Kennedy. Eventually, succumbing to the proposition, the plan to invade was finally approved. 3 US-made airplanes bombed Cuban air bases, and then soon after, only a couple days, several Cubans trained by the US landed upon the "Bay of Pigs" on Cuba's South-Central coast. This series of events, albeit something Kennedy initially wished to condone against, forced him to issue out an "air-umbrella" as a plan of attack as Castro reacted with over 20,000 troops heading towards the beach, greatly overshadowing the 1100 men ordered out by the CIA's plans. Probably due to an altered time zone, the air umbrella attack plan arrives an hour late and is shot down... There were many prisoners, and plenty of casualties too.

The policy allowing the Invasion to happen was quite the large risk on Kennedy's part. With the CIA organizing such a hostile plan early on only made the act all the more questionable. However Castro was ready as his aggressive behavior did intimidate the United States, more specifically Eisenhower. This conflict really branched through 2 presidents, and Kennedy was truly thrown into the middle of things. Initially, I'd still personally say that for the size it grew into, the Bay of Pigs Invasion was far from justified. The United States went through a lot during that time, and Eisenhower essentially was making a new enemy hastily. JFK really seemed to have limited options, either wait for Castro's assault, or do what he can to prevent that by attacking first. The CIA's plan was disputed against several times, but Kennedy final saw no other option. If he were to be here today, there's no doubt that he too would say the conflict was unjustified. Now that's not to say Castro did nothing wrong, as confiscating the land was provoking a response from North America since it was privately owned as their's. Consequences of the Bay of Pigs Invasion resulted in hundreds of casualties, and the long term consequence was increased support for Castro, allowing him to continue what the CIA wished to stop.

Overall, the Bay of Pigs Invasion did not seem righteous in the slightest as the first issue was the seizing of already owned territory. Embargo and trade restrictions were made in response to Castro's actions, yet the escalation to violence the CIA decided upon was concerning even to Kennedy. It's possible that even Eisenhower had no clue of the CIA's intent. Honestly, it's even debatable as to whether or not the conception of such a plan was even legal for the CIA to create. The act of Castro taking land he didn't may have provoked the US, however regarding that issue, Eisenhower had an embargo set in place, so at that moment, it was still being taken care of. The act of violence was simply an escalation that did not seem to benefit the Untied States as much as it should have. It was as if America only had a hunch because there was known and obvious tension.

Citations:

• Bay of Pigs invasion, Encyclopedia Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, NA
• The Bay of Pigs, JFK Library, NA
• The Bay of Pigs Invasion, History Today, Micheal Dunne, NA
• Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Foreign Policy Journal, Karthik Gopalan, 2010

Electrifying Efficiency

The second Action Project arose for the class Urban Planning, and so after designing a bridge, we're going to revolutionize the electrical grid! Well... At least make a circuit. After studying current, voltage, ohms (resistance), types of circuits, and switches along with a multitude of other terminology and circuit design, our Action Project was to create a function parallel circuit (one where if one thing stops working, the electrons still have a path to flow through), featuring at least 5 resistors (light bulbs, motors, etc. Something that takes some electricity but allows some of it to flow), and 2 switches (one controlling everything, and the other cutting off only a single function). Initially, some challenges including creating a circuit that actually had flow to all resistors. Some circuit designs cut off flow from branches as there's not enough demand for the electrons to pass, thus taking the shorter path of wires instead. Overall, this challenge was overcome with the help of my partner in this project, where you can see her slideshow on the same build here. Without further ado, you may check out the full presentation just below.

Letter To The City

The first Action Project for the Policy class, a history and social studies styled class, has us creating a letter towards a governmental official that has jurisdiction over an improvement that we wished to see. This could be regarding the city, the nation, perhaps certain regulations you've questioned, maybe specific laws, or even how these changes would be handled. Initially, I found it to be quite difficult to even think of something I would want to change, as I always believed that the way things are currently are most likely the best, or else they would have been changed already. However when it came down to it, an FE (Field Experience; a purposeful "field trip" so to say) we went to earlier this Unit to Chicago's City Hall –to attend a meeting between the Aldermen and the Mayor (the president of the City Council) to discuss issues that have come up around/in the city– inspired me to write about the improvement of the way the City Council does things, as the meeting had several things that simple seemed inefficient, although our class did only attended the first hour of it. So without further ado, you can see the letter just below, which discusses how addressing issues during the City Council meetings can be improved.
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Vítor Garcia
GCE Lab School
1535 N. Dayton
Chicago, IL

April 30, 2016

Mayor Rahm Emmanuel
121 N LaSelle Street
Chicago City Hall 4th Floor
Chicago, IL 60602

Dear Mayor Emmanuel,

I'm sure you have a handful with all of the city's issues that require refinement or fixing, however I feel that you might be missing out on an efficient way to deal with the lot of them. See, during a visit to a City Council meeting in early April, I noticed that within the one hour stay, many issues seemed to be gleamed over or not referred to. More importantly, there was a lack of more than a few Aldermen, including my own, Ameya Pawar. Now of course, there's only so much time in a day and this was indeed the first visit, and so far the only one I've had but it just seemed lacking in the response towards a plethora of the issues brought up. On the first note, before I mention the main points of organization during the meetings, I want to point out that based on citizen word, many of Chicago's problems here are hardly being attended to, and when there are Aldermen that don't even attend to the meetings, it makes me wonder just how much can even be known of in the long run. One would assume that the meetings are mandatory, with little room for excuse or exception, but how can we say that the time spent during these meetings are even optimized with the officials that do show up?

There was some informal, irrelevant joke when one of the representatives claimed that your two daughters were interesting to his two sons... Now of course, comedy and light hearted tones are actually quite lovely in a majority of situations, but during a crucial meeting where Chicago's many problems are meant to be taken note of and fixed, is it worth having notes such as these take up the limited time? Granted that it's not impossible to for something of the sort to happen, the rest of the meeting is the main reason why I bring that detail up. When we speak of ones who have passed and who shall be appointed to replace them, it's understood that certain things need to be said, however perhaps such words of appreciation should be stated during an event that's centered around the person who has unfortunately died. It may sound cold for me to say that there should be no dawdling with things that could easily be brought up during a funeral, but seeing as how Chicago is one of the top cities in terms of gun violence, and that Illinois is in a budget crisis, doesn't seem more appropriate to tackle a solution to as many problems as possible?

When it was addressed that a couple police officers withheld someone's inhaler, and did not give it under any circumstance, despite the detainee suffering from it in the moment, that was a prime example to open a debate as of how to improve the issue and claims of police brutality. Look at the problem as objectively as possible, and find a way to fix it. When emotions or opinions are involved, that influences extreme reactions or acts to solve the issue, and one would assume that you clearly wouldn't want to create a problem whilst in the process of solving one. However during this topic, far too much time was consumed to keep restating what happened via different viewpoints. Of course it's impossible not to state both sides when viewing the topic objectively, but by the time everything was said and done, it was only stated that there will be a new person to fill in position of commissioner, rather than provide options and describe any clear improvements. That would be like having a new president and he never made a statement. Hopefully you may understand the point, while the inductive reasoning is that most cases show a plethora of police brutality, therefore the entire force must overuse violence, but of course that's not the case. However to ensure the people's confidence in your actions, the least you could do it say what exactly it is that you'll be doing as a simple reappointment that lacks descriptions is far to vague for anyone to understand what your aims are.

I do hope that rather than seeing this all as nitpicks, you view this as a suggestion to be more descriptive, and hold these meetings for efficient problem solving and make it known to the public that you, the Mayor of this city that needs improvement, are doing everything you can to solve as many problems as quickly as possible. The civilians lack confidence in your actions, and as a young mind that only hears the backlash from those who face these issues every day, I feel that there is a need, not to scold you, but to tell you that judging from my only experience in regards to your decisions, you've have lackluster appeal and action, which doesn't help anyone in this great City of Chicago. Gun control, police brutality, quality of education, roads, and taxes, it could all be improved given the current circumstance, and once you gain momentum traveling up the slope, you should be on a roll until you're at the top. Thank you, should it be the case, for taking the time to read through this letter, and I hope to see some more efficient work within future meetings.

Please do consider all of your options before giving up, because there's no doubt in my mind that simply speaking out to the public will help you help them, featuring a collaboration between citizens and government officials.

Sincerely,

Vítor Garcia