When I first realized I was part of the northeast end of Little Village, I had always assumed my home was within the boundaries of West Pilsen, Marshall Square, South Douglass Park, or even West of Chinatown on Cermak. Recently, I feel like I’m somewhere in the invisible lines of where North Lawndale and Little Village meet. Note that this map is marked with McKinley which to me has always been the neighborhood park next to where I live, east of the Heart of Italy, towards Bridgeport, but not that far. According to this urban canopy map, courtesy of the Morton Arboretum, Little Village is defined within the boundaries shown above.
Old school Chicagoans will say Little Village is actually South Lawndale, which is a listed neighborhood under the City of Chicago Data Portal. I don’t hear people refer to the area as South Lawndale or see it on any city street sign. Over the course of the next 5 years (and hopefully more) the city is working towards a tree equity effort due to the lack of urban canopy in underserved communities. While the work sound easy, especially if money is in the budget, being able to communicate with and connect with the people that live in these neighborhoods is the biggest challenge of all.
Ever since my certification as a volunteer community TreeKeeper with Openlands, I’ve continued my tradition of early morning hikes at places like Morton Arboretum, walks through city green spaces, and adventures into neighboring forest trails. At my own pace, I am taking courses under Morton Arboretum’s Natural Conservation Areas Training (N-ACT) program and have become a member of the International Society of Arboriculture. It is my intent to bridge my skills in Data Science with efforts towards improving our urban canopy, advancing tree equity and quality of life.