Nuestra Telenovela: For the love of Pilsen’s Landmark Ordinance Defeat in a Historic Planning District

Keywords: Gentrification, Landmark Preservation, Mexican-American community
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 11:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 12:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 23

Abstract

Community development organizations, planners, preservationists, and residents have tenuous relationships when it comes to neighborhood revitalization specifically in lower-income communities. Juxtapose City corruption, power issues, and counter measures by a predominantly Mexican-American community during the COVID pandemic and dynamic drama unfolds. This paper examens the process confronting the city of Chicago and the Pilsen community around a landmark proposal and its different iterations for landmark preservation after a city council vote. The main argument is how disempowered communities can prevent the coalition of developers and City Hall from taking further advantage of uneven systems. This research is part of a longitudinal study of Pilsen’s immigrant Latino community’s trajectory over the past 30 years through a historical genealogical approach using grounded critical visualization. Using published and unpublished materials from archives, secondary data, published research, interviews, and participant observation, we document Pilsen’s struggle to stay put against the forces of gentrification. We also address the nature of using different planning tools for slowing down gentrification and its impact toward homeowners and renters. Lastly, as researchers and a community activist impacted by this Ordinance, we address how community engagement has been utilized by city government, elected officials, developers and residents within the two-years of its introduction and defeat during the COVID-19 pandemic. The finding provide not only insight into policy implications for the development of local preservation ordinances but also provide a roadmap for the various approaches that low-income communities can take to push back developers and the city.