tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186587935097536129.post8579204290414160846..comments2023-04-01T06:34:38.141-05:00Comments on Hyde Park Progress: Can We Green the Food Desert?chicago pophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17055796523227869734noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186587935097536129.post-32269138237249152152007-08-15T10:25:00.000-05:002007-08-15T10:25:00.000-05:00Woodlawn Wonder is right that things are much wors...Woodlawn Wonder is right that things are much worse for our neighbors to the south. All the more reason to get a good affordable supermarket in the area that will serve all of us, because we're all in this together!chicago pophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17055796523227869734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186587935097536129.post-8723467862890125962007-08-15T10:03:00.000-05:002007-08-15T10:03:00.000-05:00It is with great interest that I read HPP and in a...It is with great interest that I read HPP and in a way find it amusing the concerns of my neighbors to the north. <BR/><BR/>While I understand that what matters most to people is usually local, I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you that a majority of the good folks of Woodlawn don't even have a reasonably priced grocery store with FRESH items within walking distance of their homes.<BR/><BR/>So while the Co-Op may not be everyone's first choice, at least you have a choice in your neighborhood. <BR/><BR/>I, unfortunately, live between the Co-Op & the Jewel on 76th Street---both a little too far for a person with no car to do major grocery shopping. Don't even get me started on how difficult it is to get over $100 worth of groceries home on the bus when it's over 80 degress. Melted frozen food is no fun.<BR/><BR/>If I run out of a staple, my joke of a corner grocery store barely has an inventory much less FRESH inventory.<BR/><BR/>In fact, I also wrote a post about food concerns (http://ihatemydeveloper.blogspot.com/2007/04/oasis.html)so I feel your pain.<BR/><BR/>In short, I know these concerns are important to Hyde Parkers, but I can only say I wish my neighborhood had your problems.The Woodlawn Wonderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10438857335793360301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186587935097536129.post-50363695934541873642007-08-15T10:02:00.000-05:002007-08-15T10:02:00.000-05:00It is with great interest that I read HPP and in a...It is with great interest that I read HPP and in a way find it amusing the concerns of my neighbors to the north. <BR/><BR/>While I understand that what matters most to people is usually local, I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you that a majority of the good folks of Woodlawn don't even have a reasonably priced grocery store with FRESH items within walking distance of their homes.<BR/><BR/>So while the Co-Op may not be everyone's first choice, at least you have a choice in your neighborhood. <BR/><BR/>I, unfortunately, live between the Co-Op & the Jewel on 76th Street---both a little too far for a person with no car to do major grocery shopping. Don't even get me started on how difficult it is to get over $100 worth of groceries home on the bus when it's over 80 degress. Melted frozen food is no fun.<BR/><BR/>If I run out of a staple, my joke of a corner grocery store barely has an inventory much less FRESH inventory.<BR/><BR/>In fact, I also wrote a post about food concerns (http://ihatemydeveloper.blogspot.com/2007/04/oasis.html)so I feel your pain.<BR/><BR/>In short, I know these concerns are important to Hyde Parkers, but I can only say I wish my neighborhood had your problems.The Woodlawn Wonderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10438857335793360301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186587935097536129.post-27208953811947391652007-08-14T20:51:00.000-05:002007-08-14T20:51:00.000-05:00Good point about the transient student population ...Good point about the transient student population and how that might affect businesses(the reason I can actually grab a seat at Istria once in a while!) <BR/><BR/>It's true that lots of people -- rightly or wrongly -- are afraid of HP, or more specifically the neighborhoods that they need to go through to get here. The only way to change that is to change those neighborhoods. That's why I think it's important to think about HP's immediate environs as much as its core -- like Preckwinkle's project at Cottage Grove and 47th, and about not blocking projects that would add purchasing power to the neighborhood, like residential towers (or hotels!) We're surrounded by some of the poorest census tracts in the United States. Whether crime on those tracts is up or down, people don't like to deal with it if they don't have to.<BR/><BR/>How to do all that and preserve racial balance, housing at a mixture of price points, etc., is a huge question. Getting another major employer (besides the University) in the area would help. Some models do exist, like the Dominick's/mixed-income housing development at Clyborn and Divsion.chicago pophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17055796523227869734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186587935097536129.post-71401052970936366282007-08-14T18:11:00.000-05:002007-08-14T18:11:00.000-05:00Why SHOULD a Trader Joe's at 47th Street attract S...Why SHOULD a Trader Joe's at 47th Street attract South Loop residents? They have a Whole Foods, a Dominicks, a Jewel and a Target within a mile of their door steps.<BR/><BR/>The noodle packs are good, but how far will you drive out of the way for one?Famachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11117327917074489292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186587935097536129.post-20913014814515980292007-08-14T13:32:00.000-05:002007-08-14T13:32:00.000-05:00Very thoughtful piece.Are there any supporters of ...Very thoughtful piece.<BR/><BR/>Are there any supporters of the Co-Op left? There were, as recently as one, two, or three years ago. Now it's hard to find even older residents who are verbally loyal (some have to remain loyal in their shopping habits because of limited transportation, and the fact that Peapod is really most efficient and cost-effective for multi-person families).<BR/><BR/>There's another piece in the population-density puzzle, regarding how a good grocery store could survive here, and it's not a pretty thought, but we need to talk about it:<BR/><BR/>Good grocery stores DO need to draw on a large population to survive, and Hyde Park is not big enough, especially with its transient student population (witness the fact that it's a ghost town right now). But even if there were, let's say, a Trader Joe's on 47th Street -- a location that SHOULD attract folks from those thousands of new-south loop condominium units -- the fact is that downtown and north side residents are AFRAID of Hyde Park. Whether it's a perceived (but statistically fictitious) higher crime rate, or the presence of faces with color in the neighborhood, they just won't shop here. <BR/><BR/>So...how do we change hearts and minds when it comes to good old-fashioned prejudice?Elizabeth Famahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04931639156261179425noreply@blogger.com