“Village of Evergreen Park Options for Sustainable Development “

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The community/site I will discuss in this paper is the Village of Evergreen Park. Evergreen Park is located within Illinois. I have been a resident of the community for almost two years. I thought this would be a perfect site to unpack as it relates to urban sustainability practices and development, because it’s a relatively small suburb with a denser population and located adjoining to the City of Chicago. In general, Evergreen Park total area is 3.5 square miles. The mapping tool allows me to capture some interesting aspects of the site within the 1 kilometer radius. I will also mention some localities outside of my initial study area, as they have pertinent effects on my overall analysis.
Historical Context
By 1828 the Village of Evergreen Park had settled within Illinois as a farmstead community. It is reported that starting population was 500 .The community maintained its agricultural and rural foundations for decades to come. The era of the 1930’s brought a significant increase in land use and building. The population grew from about 800 in 1930 to almost 16,000 by the end of World War I in 1953. The village didn’t begin to formally develop community services, such as schools, parks, recreation and local councils until after the end of the World War I. The village received incorporation in 1952 and officially opened. The Village of Evergreen Park has a total population approximate to 20,500 people.
Sprawl
Firstly, I would like to provide a brief background on the Village of Evergreen Park relating to patterns of growth and sprawl. We have spent a great majority of the class discussing how “sprawl” reshapes the morphology of place. Sprawl directly impacts the way in which a community uses its “land” and so it is imp...

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... on a main arterial road for local commuters. Since CTA and Pace Bus Stops are few, each stop should have a protective covering with electronic information about the bus schedule. Pace Bus stop signs should be more visible, to pedestrians and Bus operators.
Lastly, I have learned a great deal about the importance of urban sustainability as it relates to planning. It takes time and energy to develop a plan that is logical and feasible for a community of people. Suburbs are unique in that, once the standard of living has been set into place it’s hard to recreate a “new space” without disrupting the order of what has previously been. I believe suburban planning has to involve rethinking about exclusion as a way to keep communities “clean”. Suburbs should plan for mixed income communities that are racially diverse, while using” natural space” to bring people together.

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