Shelby Lingeman

EXPL 290

3 October 2017

Rogers ParkAsset-based Community Development

Rogers Park is popularly known as Chicagos most diverse neighborhooda big title for

a city known for its diversity as a whole. Many people know it for its wide and eclectic range of

foods, its population of people from around the world, and the Jesuit Catholic university in the

neighborhood. In this paper I will explore how this came to be, what groups of people are

represented in the neighborhood, and what assets are available to the public, and what makes the

neighborhood desirable or undesirable to immigrants and other vulnerable populations. I will

also touch on my experience serving in the community and share what I have gleaned from my

interactions with refugees who live in the Rogers Park community.

Before it was settled, the area now known as Rogers Park belonged to the Potawatomi

Indians. The white pioneer responsible for the purchase of the land and later the settlement of

Rogers Park was Phillip Rogers. The village of Rogers Park was incorporated in 1878 and it was

annexed into the city of Chicago in 1893. In 1915, the neighborhood annexed more northern

land. With that expansion and the Northwestern Elevated Railroad opening a station at Howard

in 1908, population increased significantly during this time. Slowly, less single family homes

were constructed and multi-unit apartment buildings became the norm. After World War II, low

rent prices attracted poor and transient populations to Rogers Park. By 1930, Rogers Parks

population was over 57,000, making it one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the

city. Since the 1970s, Rogers Park has seen an influx of immigrants from Africa, Europe, and

Asia, and today has an estimated undocumented population of approximately 5,000.

 As for demographics, Rogers Park is the least segregated neighborhood in the city. That

means that the dominant ethnic group (white people, by a 12% margin) has the least proportion

of residents. The neighborhood is 38.2% white, 26.4% black, 25.7% Latino, and 6.4% Asian

(McClelland, 2013). Due in part to the university in the neighborhood, the median age in Rogers

Park is also lower than other Chicago neighborhoods. Rogers Park has a higher rate of residents

with Masters, Professional, and Doctorate degrees than the state average, and the rate of

residents that work for non-profit institutions is almost twice as high as the state average (Point2

Homes). Big factors in the Rogers Park economy include the university, the many restaurants

and the walkability of the neighborhood, the multiple beaches on Lake Michigan, and film

culture, which has been prevalent for decades.

Despite all of the wonderful assets that will be discussed, Rogers Park is not without its

flaws. The needs of the community are apparent; poverty, mental illness, and homelessness

affect many in the neighborhood. A needs-based model of community development would focus

on these problems and operate from the idea that the community needs to be fixed or saved,

encouraging programs and volunteers who treat residents as powerless victims instead of agents

of change in their own lives. This would create a cycle of dependency and victim mentalities.

However, the asset-based community development model does not operate from the deficits of

the community, but rather begins with and empowers from the strengths the community already

has. Rather than seeing Rogers Park or its residents as needing to be fixed, effective community

development will happen when the neighborhood is holistically viewed and its already existing

assets are utilized on its behalf.

Rogers Park is home to people of many different countries, ethnicities, and language

backgrounds. This blend of cultures is most visible in the restaurant selection around the
neighborhood, but culture is also celebrated through the various diverse religious organizations

in Rogers Park. While the major university in the neighborhood is a Jesuit Catholic institution,

many other faith traditions are represented. On Devon, a street thats famous for its Indian and

Pakistani culture, one can find a Hindu temple. Just a few blocks east on Sheridan, a Jewish

synagogue. Northwest is the Mahdavia Islamic Center of Chicago. Because of its religious

diversity and availability of resources pertaining to various faiths, Rogers Park is an attractive

and welcoming neighborhood to many kinds of people from different backgrounds. This also

increases religious tolerance and facilitates positive intergroup contact due to the exposure of the

residents to members of other faiths and their faith practices.

One type of asset that is essential to asset-based community development is the

association. Associations are groups of two or more people united around a common cause that

work toward goals of improving or preserving a community. Examples of associations in Rogers

Park include GirlForward, an organization that empowers young girls to explore their identities,

access resources, explore their passions, and graduate high school. Another is Madonna Mission,

where our class has begun spending time, which connects refugees with tutors for English and

schooling so that they can more easily become accustomed to life in America and succeed. A

major association in the Rogers Park neighborhood is the Howard Area Community Center. It

started as a group of people who created a soup kitchen to feed the hungry in the neighborhood,

and now is a social service agency that provides affordable and free education, employment, and

health assistance programs.

Another type of asset available to the residents of Rogers Park are the many institutions.

Institutions are more formal than associations, and while they can be either for-profit or non-

profit, they are generally intended to last through time and involve paid groups of people. One
such resource is the Chicago Transit Authority, or the CTA. The CTA operates the bus and

elevated railway system (L) trains in the city, and Rogers Park has numerous bus stops as well

as four L stations. In addition to the CTA, Rogers Park has its own Metra station, and this line

goes as far south as Ogilvie and as far north as Kenosha, Wisconsin. The convenient availability

of public transportation is a major asset and attractive factor about the neighborhood.

In addition to public transportation, Rogers Park has institutional assets such as a branch

of the Chicago Public Library, nine public elementary schools, two Planned Parenthood clinics,

and numerous affordable assisted living, rehab, and nursing homes. The presence and

accessibility of these institutions is particularly important to vulnerable populations such as

refugees because many are getting an education and need access to public material, have children

who need to be in school, need access to affordable reproductive healthcare, or have aging

relatives that they can no longer take care of.

Another asset that Rogers Park has is land. The neighborhood, as is the case with a lot of

Chicago neighborhoods, is on Lake Michigan. There are many public beaches for the enjoyment

of the public, easy access to the Lakeshore path, and numerous public parks and playgrounds for

families and children as well as sports teams. When a neighborhood has natural landmarks and a

climate that the residents utilize and gather around, community can build in these spaces and

create safe space for differences to be celebrated and people from diverse backgrounds can get to

know one another. While associations and official gatherings of people for a cause are essential

to community growth, communal space is where things go from paper to practice and residents

actually interact with one another.

The most important asset, however, is the individual. Individuals must be seen as

carrying their own unique gifts that are a valuable asset to their community and worthy of being
utilized. When I spoke with some of the women I tutor at Madonna Mission, one said that she

received a very warm welcome in Chicago. She had been in another, smaller city before coming

to Chicago, and she did not feel as at-home as she does now in Chicago. She mentioned that this

was because here in Chicago more people speak Arabic and she has been able to find friends

who share similar interests and backgrounds. She also mentioned that while the process of

adjusting to life in America has its challenges, finding community and people like the volunteers

at Madonna Mission have made her transition easier. She also appreciated how close her home

was to the school that her children attended. Another woman said that Chicago is very different

from her home, but that she likes the availability of food here in Rogers Park that reminds her of

home. These two women have had welcoming and positive experiences here in America because

of the assets that they utilized in the neighborhood, but they also feel safe enough to begin to

invest in the community, becoming assets themselves.

Rogers Park is a vibrantly diverse community with its share of triumphs, difficulties, and

shortcomings. The issues surrounding homeless, poor, and immigrant populations cannot be

ignored. However, when we view the residents affected by these problems as separate from the

problem and powerful agents of change in their own lives instead of victims, we will be able to

start making change with instead of for the vulnerable. When the aforementioned assets are

connected, positive, and trusted, community development will happen.

 Works Cited

Point2 Homes. Demographics and Statistics, Employment, Education, Income Averages,

Crime in Rogers Park Point2 Homes, Onboard Informatics,

https://www.point2homes.com/US/Neighborhood/IL/Chicago/Rogers-Park-

Demographics.html

McClelland, Edward. White Flight, By The Numbers. NBC Chicago, NBC Chicago, May 6,

2013. http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/White-Flight-By-The-Numbers-

206302551.html