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Executive Summary
"West Garfield Park: A Nine-Week Ethnography on Chicago's West Side"
Research Intern: Mario McHarris, University of Illinois
Community Partner: Bethel New Life, Inc.
 Brief Overview of Area: Bethel New Life is a community organization working on Chicago's West Side.
 The Chicago media, local lore, and urban legend have all worked to characterize the West Side as a 'dangerous place to be.' However, there are many positive aspects of West Garfield Park that have been ignored. After years of neglect there is renewed interest by the city of Chicago, land developers, and other business interests.
Go to map of area land use >>
The Research Question(s):
 What does the community value, in terms of industrial, commercial, and residential space? What are the challenges in accommodating the needs, desires, and aspirations of members of the community? The theme of land use was distilled to focus specifically on housing affordability and availability and business development in the community.
Methods:
Within the participatory action framework, the methods employed included a combination of qualitative interviews of those who live and work in the community, as well as participant observation. Initial contacts were provided by Bethel New Life, and the snowball sampling method was employed thereafter to obtain additional contacts.
Key Findings:
 The findings focused on four key areas: residents' perception of development, availability of affordable housing, business development, and community ties and assets.
 There is a recent interest in the West Side. After having been characterized as a bad part of the city due to years of neglect and an increase in crime rate, it is now being dissected into different communities where attributes have been identified and refurbished, making it appealing to developers and prospective property and home owners. Many residents feel that their neighborhood, after decades of neglect, is now the target of people after the money redevelopment brings.
- They are concerned about the availability of affordable housing, and have differing ideas about how best to define 'affordable'.
- Residents want access to fresh food, department stores, and businesses owned by locals with a stake in the community.
- One of the most salient themes that emerged from interviews was the desire to assist one's neighbor and community. Residents commend work of local CBOs, and would like to see more community members actively engaged in development processes.
- Residents of West Garfield Park identify their community as 'the West Side.' Some say the community 'West Garfield Park' is an invention of the city and developers.
Findings in Action:
The recommendations address the most common concern and aspiration of the residents, which is a desire to see more and varied business enterprises in the community.
- Collaboration with the Garfield Park Chamber of Commerce would assist the search for and recruitment of those businesses and services specifically desired by the community.
- In addition to wanting businesses to engage in customer-friendly practices and offer their patrons products and services that are currently difficult to find (fresh food, department stores) community members want to be actively engaged with the businesses through ownership and employment opportunities, as well as entrepreneurship programs.
- Organic networks of neighbors helping neighbors (with yard care, for example) should be formalized into opportunities for business development and entrepreneurship.
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