COVID-19 & the 15-MINUTE CITY

by Cora Saddler

After two years of COVID-19 and the civil unrest of George Floyd, Englewood has seen a new coming together.

“Not in our neighborhood,” says community leader Rashanah Baldwin regarding increased violence and destruction of property. “Lots of clean-ups happened in the neighborhood, like repairing damaged stores and surveying the immediate needs of impacted businesses.” In response, the community—homeowners, businesses, and even the 7th Chicago Police District, came together to protect and rebuild the neighborhood.

“It was working together to heal. Now it’s time to get back to work. We all want to be a community with the goal of helping each other,” said Baldwin, who is also a neighborhood resident and principal at Baldwin Media Group, a public affairs and public relations consulting firm.

Staying at home during the pandemic highlighted the need – and also the opportunity – for a “15-Minute City,” a concept that came up in the International Consortium of Global Cities and that has been embraced by Barcelona, Paris, Milan and Melbourne. Similar to cities before the automobile, the concept seeks all life’s daily necessities within walking distance. The idea is to make life easier and more equitable across a city, with similar access in every neighborhood to grocery stores, parks, libraries, primary schools, secondary schools, hospitals or urgent care facilities, pharmacies and transit.

In Chicago, only 51 percent of residents have 15-minute access to six or more of the above categories, according to a Metropolitan Planning Council blog. However, “neighborhoods have the potential to be the driver of the recovery,” said Chicago Commissioner of Planning and Development Maurice Cox said in a blog on marketplace.org “The scale of neighborhoods is going to be one of the major takeaways post-COVID.”

If every neighborhood had its own downtown, people could go to work, get their weekly needs, he said. “That is the next step forward in showcasing there is ‘Good In Englewood.’ We want to restore our community to a livable, shoppable, walkable, and safe neighborhood,” Baldwin said in support of the 15-Minute City. “It’s impactful because we’re keeping dollars in the Black community. Oftentimes, we are expected to abandon our community due to lack of resources, but many of us stayed to demand equal opportunities and resources in our neighborhood. Englewoodians want to see our local economy thriving, with successful businesses, stable homeowners, and quality schools.

With Black and Brown communities being hit the hardest by the pandemic, a lack of quality access to health care, lack of resources, and continued disinvestments forced the community to come together. “We do want to get back to the thriving Greater Englewood community our parents and grandparents were used to, where everything they needed was at their fingertips or in walking distance, making it rare for them to spend money outside the community or leave the neighborhood,” Baldwin said.

Rashanah Baldwin

The Go Green Community Fresh Market, a $5 million grocery store at 1207 W. 63rd St. that opened March 8, is just what Englewood needed to address food insecurity and nutrition, Baldwin said. It also engages urban farmers and local vendors and growers to diversify the local food ecosystem and it addresses health—combating rising rates of obesity and diseases linked to poor diets. Englewood residents have a life expectancy 30 years lower than the rest of the city. Until now, Englewood has also seen $55 million in grocery dollars leaving the community annually.

The Go Green Community Fresh Market is part of a larger Go Green on Racine initiative at the 63rd Street/Racine Avenue intersection, the border between Englewood and West Englewood. The Go Green initiative is a partnership of IMAN (Inner-City Muslim Action Network), Teamwork Englewood, E.G. Woode, and R.A.G.E (Resident Association of Greater Englewood).

"Good in Englewood" mural

(Photo provided by Rashanah Baldwin)

The Fresh Market Cooperative is the first of three catalytic phases of development for Go Green. The second phase will be the “Regenerator,” an innovative repurposing of a former Chicago Public School as a hub for supportive housing, reentry services and green enterprise; and the third will be "Racine Village": 20 mixed-income rental units and rooftop garden, E.G. Woode’s business incubator and 24/7 co-working facility, and Pazzo’s Italian restaurant, run by the proprietor of the popular eatery with the same name at 311 S. Wacker Drive.

Accompanying strategies include a housing vision and transit advocacy. Within five years, Go Green officials anticipate enough momentum, density and private/public investment to warrant reopening the L station at 63rd and Racine. Right now, it’s a mile between the CTA Green Line stops at 63rd and Halsted and 63rd and Ashland; reopening the shuttered station would cut that distance in half.

The exterior of the Go Green Community Fresh Market.

(Photo provided Go Green Community Fresh Market, courtesy of WTTW)

The Go Green Community Market was in production prepandemic, but saw an increase in start-ups and pop-ups as many Chicagoans pivoted to survive and meet the new needs of their customers, Baldwin said. As prices fluctuated throughout the pandemic, many brick-and-mortar stores became unsustainable and saw an increase in prices. The withdrawal of big box stores gave Englewoodians a chance to go into business for themselves and address the disinvestment and inequalities in their neighborhood. It was a chance to “fill the void with our own businesses.”

Rashanah Baldwin giving a presentation at St. Bernard Hospital. Baldwin joins other Englewood residents during a community event at Whole Foods, 832 W. 63rd St.

(Photo provided by Rashanah Baldwin)

Chicago’s Loop also embodies many aspects of the 15-Minute City, says Michael Edwards, president and CEO of Chicago Loop Alliance (CLA).

“You can walk to Grant, Millennium, or Maggie Daley Park; shop for groceries, clothing or otherwise at stores along State Street, visit the doctor, dentist, and generally conduct all forms of business or pleasure within 15 minutes of Michigan Avenue or State Street,” Edwards said. “This concept model has been weakened a bit by the loss of the storefront economy, but we are hopeful that it is on the mend.”

The Loop is also the site of the Harold Washington Library and William Jones College Preparatory High School. Nearly all transit lines – Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Pink, Purple – stop there.

Harold Washington Library

(Chicago Public Library photo)

In February, the Loop saw its highest foot traffic since before the pandemic, according to CLA’s latest monthly downtown activity report, released March 15. Pedestrian levels were at 72 percent of the 2019 baseline. Office occupancy was 33.5 percent of the 2019 levels, while parking garages were at 51 percent and hotels at 39.7 percent. Chicago Transit Authority ridership was 44.3 percent of prepandemic levels, but Metra just 19 percent.

The number of people living in the Loop increased more than anywhere in Chicago – 44.45 percent – according to the 2020 census. There are now 42,298 people living there. Well over 100 individuals who don’t have housing are among them, according to a CLA blog.

“Before the pandemic, the Chicago Loop Alliance felt like we had a good handle on the issues affecting individuals on the streets of our district,” Edwards said. “Now there is a bit of an unknown, in terms of a situational analysis of what is influencing the lives of those experiencing homelessness. The decrease in services provided, along with the increase in those experiencing mental health issues, has amplified the need for centrally located services and opportunities in the Loop.”

Assisted by Heartland Health Alliance and Thresholds, CLA started a weekly pop-up resource center at the Harold Washington Library 19 months ago. In January, Octavion Thomas, a CLA Street Team Ambassador since 2014 who holds a bachelor’s degree in clinical psychology, was named the Loop’s new Social Services Outreach Specialist. Thomas circulates throughout the Loop, identifying and building positive relationships with people in need of services, whether illnesses or addictions.

– Suzanne Hanney contributing

COVID-19 2 Years Later: Catching up with our Vendors

William “Bill” Plowman

Before COVID-19, I was selling at the Whole Foods on Belmont and Ashland avenues, sometimes at the Target on Ashland avenue and School street. When COVID-19 came, my sales went down and I was hardly doing much of anything. Partly because I wasn’t making any money and partly because it was so contagious. They didn’t have vaccines out yet and I didn’t want to be out any more than I had to.

I got my first vaccine May 15, 2021, and my final booster January 5 this year.

Now I am selling at Starbucks on Lincoln and Paulina. I went back to Whole Foods for a while, but somebody else was selling there. Technically, I had been away, so it was fair game. I don’t know if anyone took over Target. I need one more spot.

I sell the magazine because rent takes up just about all my disability benefits. They really need subsidized housing [in Chicago]. It’s hard to get. One of the excuses is that people are not meant to be stacked up like that. Then, why are we building these skyscrapers? I don’t get the concept that poor people are not meant to be stacked up, but people who eat steak and lobster, stack them up to the sky. We need more affordable housing, and especially for the disabled. My vision is 20/200 or worse with a visual field of 20 degrees or less.

I am doing better, but I am hoping we don’t have to go back to mask mandates as far as government policy. A lot of people don’t want to handle cash, they’re afraid there will be germs on it. I am learning Venmo, and I am doing better than I thought I would be doing.

– as told to Suzanne Hanney

A. Allen

When I first heard about COVID, it was scary because I didn't know what happened. I thought it had something to do with drinking. Coronavirus, Corona beer? And so I said “well, that doesn’t affect me because I don't drink beer. I don't drink at all. So that was the first thing.”

Then when they started saying people were dying from it, that there was a virus that people were actually spreading to one another, and it was affecting their respiratory system, I said ‘well, this is serious, right? And how and what can I do to protect myself?’

First thing I did to protect myself was to get closer to God because God has everything under control. Everything. So then when they started coming out with these different ways of protecting yourself—like using the masks, standing six feet apart, not having big social gatherings where everybody's crammed together—I knew that God was gonna protect me, but that He wanted me to do my part too. And my part was the to wear my mask, stay six feet apart and wash my hands. And so that's what I adapted to do.

Then they came out with the other suggestion: get a shot. I still had to do my part. So I got a shot. Then they said to get another shot. I got the other shot, the Pfizer. Then they come back around and said, you got to get a booster shot. You know, in order to protect myself from all these things that everybody is talking about, I had to do certain things for myself. You know, you can't wait for God to do everything for you and don’t do anything for yourself. So I'm here to tell you this: government said to do it, and I did that, and I still I pray to God that God keeps me safe. So that’s the way that goes.

One of the things I think I've learned is that God helps those who help themselves. You can't say, for example ‘God, give me a job.’ You have to go out and put in an application. You can't say ‘God, give me a winning lottery ticket’ and then not go out and buy a ticket. How are you gonna win if you never buy a ticket? So there’s always something that I have to do. It's not something I can just put in the hands of other people. Even with the virus, there is something you got to do: you’ve got to get a mask, you’ve got to wash your hands, and you’ve got to stand six feet apart and get your shot. You know God will not do that for you. He will not come down and give you a shot. God won’t come down and cover your face. You’ve got to do it yourself.

So that's what I learned. There’s always something that we have to do too. You know, it's not just something that you can look for someone else to do for you. And that's what StreetWise is all about. We have to be self-supporting ,through our own efforts. That's what I learned from StreetWise and that’s what I learned from COVID. So it all blends together. We all have to do our part to make it effective.

– as told to Cora Saddler

Percy Butler

How did I adjust? I had to go, get tested, and I tried to stay humble throughout the hard times of COVID, stay strong through it. I still worked. Sales were down, but now everything’s much better. I have a new apartment. It was a blessing from God. I was in the process of looking for somewhere else and He made it happen. I tried to forget about all of the things that was so rough on the world at the time. I was babysitting my grandchildren, still taking care of my family, keeping hope alive the best way I could. At one point I did the extra work with StreetWise [promoting filling out the census among people who are homeless] and then I started back selling the magazines.

Since Oct. 13, 2015, I have been at Trader Joe’s in Evanston. I live on the West Side, in the Garfield area. I take the Green Line straight here [to the StreetWise offices] depending on my route; sometimes I have to do the Red Line or the Metra or the Purple Line to get to my location. I am busing or training, but I have to do what works for me.

When COVID came, I had to relocate. There wasn’t as much traffic, people were inside quarantined. I just had to make do with what I could do. I sold at Walgreens on South Boulevard in Evanston until Trader Joe’s was in the opening process. As soon as it happened, I turned back to that. Things started slowly moving up to almost where it was, but it’s there now.

It feels beautiful, like we have accomplished; we’ve gotten through something. It’s not all the way. We still have to wear masks, stay safe. [But] We can move around. My customers missed me when I was gone. Sales went up because they missed me and everybody is happy to literally be alive. Some people lost people. It was really serious.

I even had to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. I stayed strong, still raising my family. We just had to be stronger. Even though it was a rough patch to go through for the world. You had to think positive, just had to find a way out, even if it was inside, spiritual, any way you could do it: exercise, meditation.

This is one of times it’s been roughest for the world, not just one person. It’s everyone. We just have to take a positive outlook about how to get through it. None of us is perfect. Something has to be strong to push you through it. I am grateful for everyone who is still here, for my customers. They’re so amazing.

– as told to Suzanne Hanney

Kimberly Brown

I was selling at the 5th District Chicago Police station at 111th and Ellis; now I am selling downtown and in Roseland.

I have been with StreetWise two years. I have worked with Rashawn [Sanders, StreetWise Workforce Coordinator] for other jobs in moving and professional cleaning. I have received help with furniture and everything else to be in my place.

– as told to Suzanne Hanney

Craig Barrow

I haven’t completely adjusted to COVID. I am still adjusting. A lot of depression, feeling of impending doom, the world is coming to an end. An emotional, psychological feeling. In my lifetime nothing like this has ever happened. During the lockdown, the streets were deserted. Most of my customers lost a job or they work from home now and want to continue working from home.

I worked at the Board of Trade, the financial district. People are just beginning to come back. We call it gagging.

I am moving around to different locations. I’ve gone to Wrigley, but you have a lot of vendors up there and a lot of panhandlers. And Sox park is not too tolerant, they treat you like a trespasser.

During the pandemic, I mostly stayed home, during lockdown. StreetWise had different compensations. I did the census [outreach]. I enjoyed that, going to homeless areas where people had tents, telling them to fill out the census. And a lot of buildings after the George Floyd incident was boarded up, so I could staple flyers on the wood about the census. I went to a lot of places, under the bridge, homeless people, tents. I really liked doing that outreach.

StreetWise: Are we back yet?

A Little. In between. Things are just beginning to open up. Even Wrigley field, even Sox park. The players were out there. [But] they had dummies for the crowd in the seats, people lookalike posters. If there is no crowd, how can you get finances?

Talking about it, thinking about it, you can see I am upset. Everything we went through after two years, I was reduced to a panhandler.

– as told to Suzanne Hanney

Many StreetWise vendors had to change the way they sell during the pandemic, including moving to different neighborhoods that have higher foot traffic than the Loop. Vendor Lee Holmes even used a karaoke microphone to help increase his visability.

John Hagan Jr.

I am still by Union Station, the Adams Street bridge. Prior to the pandemic, I was by Adams and Franklin. There is two-thirds less traffic than before the pandemic. There is one-third of the business there was before COVID. A lot of my regulars are permanently gone or retired.

I don’t think we will be back where we were before. A lot of people who were downtown decided to work from home. Some people moved out of state. One guy who worked for a bank talked about retiring. He looks relatively young, no older than 55. A lot of people decided to work from home. A couple come downtown only once or twice a week as opposed to every day.

I work three or four days a week at Union Station. I don’t start every day at 6 o’clock in the morning like I used to. One day I might not start until 7 o’clock. Usually Tuesday, I get there earlier, because I have a regular, who stops by at 6:30. On Wednesdays or Thursdays, I start a little later. On Friday, I usually work 6:30 to 9, only the morning rush hour.

I work one evening rush hour on Monday. I work near the CTA Brown Line at Wells and Adams, because I have a customer over there in the afternoon. Before COVID, I worked at Adams and Franklin. There was a lot more traffic flow going up and down Adams and Franklin. I was between the CTA Brown Line and Union Station.

StreetWise: So the way you adjusted to COVID was to cut back your downtown hours?

Yes. I did Lincoln Square before COVID and I still do Lincoln Square – more on weekends since COVID. Especially Saturdays. Saturday is like payday.

Have you also adjusted to COVID by selling more hours?

It varies. The farmers market [on Saturdays in summer] especially. During winter, Saturday, Sunday and one of the weekdays up there.

Have you had to add a sixth day of selling the magazine to make ends meet?

Yes. There’s more people coming back to work but not like it was prior to the pandemic.

– as told to Suzanne Hanney

John Taylor

It’s been a very trying time, very challenging emotionally, mentally and psychologically. I sell at Belmont and Clark. I have been a vendor off and on, [two or three years ago and seven years ago], downtown at State and Grand. Now I have my own apartment [in Edgewater] and am much more confident.

It’s a challenge. I love seeing the expressions on peoples’ faces. People are hesitant. They don’t know if you got your shots, so they don’t approach you enough. I got my two shots.

You just keep on coming back. I use the KISS program: Keep It Simple, Stupid. Just keep on coming back. Like, I was sick last week but I don’t use no excuses, no crutches. I sell [the magazine] part time. I just got a job through StreetWise and I start Monday. I just kept everything simple.

StreetWise: Did you have to add days?

Sometimes I did. Sometimes I had a rigorous schedule, sometimes a little schedule. I kept going back and forth. I went to three or four locations to see if I liked them. I have not gone back to Grand and State because I like Belmont and Clark, even though I have to take a train for half an hour. I am not a person who gives up anymore.

The people are genuinely nice. The people who do love the paper give great donations and are great persons. I always have to bypass the people who give me dirty looks, who want to treat me like I’m homeless. I just have to be myself. I tried a couple other locations too. I kept bouncing from location to location and this is the only one I haven’t bounced around. They’re more accepting. There are those who may be stereotyping and those who don’t stereotype. There are men who are comfortable wearing dresses. I don’t judge or criticize nobody. I just let people do what they do, let the paper sell itself. I get better results. If a potential customer comes up to me, I know they will be a customer in the future because the customer knows I am not a bad person. They know my heart.

– as told to Suzanne Hanney

Danny Davis

StreetWise: We know you as the vendor who sold downtown at all the hot shows. Is it coming back?

It’s changed a whole lot. The shows have come back downtown. They’re still checking ID cards and making sure everyone has vaccination shots.

When this first happened, I was working for Postmates, delivering food on my bike. Things have gotten back; when restaurants were closing early, we had to leave [the food] downstairs.

Before the pandemic, when the Cubs was playing baseball, it was hard not to sell at Cubs games. We were able to sell at Cubs games, go inside and sell at the ballpark.

You were selling at CIBC Theatre, the Vic, the Aragon and the Riviera.

All that stuff shut down, downtown and Uptown. I moved to Target on McClurg and Illinois, across from the AMC River East 21 Theatres. It was hard. It was slow, but I made it happen. Since Navy Pier opened up, tourist attractions opened up, it’s picked up 100 percent. We’re back with all the theatres, basketball games, hockey games. It’s changed 100 percent. It’s better.

The reason is, a lot of customers missed us. People were not coming outside. They were staying in the house. They was surprised we was still up. A lot of companies and business closed down. They was thinking maybe StreetWise went out of business too. They are like, ‘I am glad to see you guys back; you survived.’ They pitch in, sometimes give me a nice tip.

– as told to Suzanne Hanney