Urban Monotony

In the 1960s, redlined and therefore, over crowded Chicago neighborhoods resulted in over crowded schools where students would be double shifted into some attending school only in the morning and the rest only in the afternoon. This left children of working class parents to fend for themselves during the pivotal moments they should otherwise typically be in school. Recreation for youth like these as well as adults alike, promote social & emotional learning, the development of creative and exploratory skills, relationship building, and a strong sense of responsibility to the communities they’re a part of. Recreational spaces can include but is not limited to church organizations, gyms and courts, urban farms and gardens, programs at local libraries and centers, sports clubs, parks and trails, and studios open to the public. These spaces also provide several residents with safety from possibly abusive and harsh conditions found elsewhere. With this in mind, a lack of recreation creates a social vacuum of an environment where learning cannot occur, social isolation leads to irrational anxiety, people become less involved in the wellbeing of the communities in which they live, and thus folks are more likely to acquiesce to conditions that affect them the greatest.