It took less than forty-five minutes during my walk to realize what I have been missing out on lately. I walked though a combination of parks and urban neighborhoods. My short trip started at 16th Street and Indiana and lead me to Jackson and Michigan and back around to State Street. I meandered through a few ritzy neighborhoods which eventually led me to Grant Park. I chose this path because it offered a combination of green-space and urban buildings. Plus I wanted to see how the city developed and maintained its green space.
From the very start I encountered nature attempting to sprout through a bed of mulch. The mulch bed was a buffer between a sidewalk and a parking lot. I thought, “Wow, how persistent nature can be.” My walk then took me through small park in a private neighborhood. People were laying on the grass and dogs were playing with one another. People were just happy to be there, as was I.
No matter if I looked at trees, flowers, grass, birds, or buildings; I was able to see that nature is all around us. It was only natural for me to look at the trees, flowers, grass, and birds as nature, but I soon looked at the builds for the same. While looking at the high-rise buildings that create a wall bordering Grant Park, I found myself looking for a connection. How we, as humans, gravitate towards the beauty of things natural or created to simulate nature. In this case, the parks and Lake Michigan. While walking through Grant Park I kept thinking about the design of the city and parks. I noticed the perfect line and wall the buildings on Michigan Avenue make is like a large picture window for the city, which looks outside to our most valuable natural assets. In this case the parks and the lake.
I took many pictures while on this walk. Each one meant something different. A picture of buds sprouting on a tree, let me know leaves will soon appear. A picture of berries on the paved sidewalk in Grant Park is a reminder that seedlings cannot penetrate their roots through what we have created. A picture of my of shadows from trees on the pavement with me standing between them is a reminder of potential energy, the energy of would could be put in place of this pavement that absorbed our shadow. For example, the pavement could be replaced with the same thing that was creating a show, in this case, trees and me. Lastly, the photos of a park, a new green-space being built on State Street is a reminder of the much needed therapy nature provides us. It was quite pleasant to see that a new park is being made where a building once stood.
My walk was a pleasant reminder that I need to walk more. I was charged up with energy and love for what nature provides us. I appreciated the parks being created and I thought about the buildings as a best used for overpopulation and prevention of sprawl. I thought about the city recycling bins that were loaded with trash; which reminded me of how much more energy and research of humans and our effects on nature we must do to prevent our own demise.
See below for further images from my walk!
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