It turns out that the real reason Hyde Park is bleak and miserable isn't that U of C students are (or think of ourselves as being) too bookish, but is in fact the result of zoning restrictions. Chicago professor and Volokh conspirator Jacob T. Levy weighs in on today's hot topic, "Where's the Gap?" After summing up Will's and my arguments, he asks:
"Honestly, what are they teaching in University of Chicago economics classes these days? I thought Chicago was supposed to produce libertarians who knew to look for government failure behind market strangeness. In short: it's the zoning. "
Levy also gives a good summary of the bustling commercial zone that is Hyde Park:
"The old joke goes that you can buy anything in the world you wnat to in Hyde Park, as long as it's a book. Two of the country's great bookstores are here, plus a very good used/ rare book shop, a very nice Borders, and a mediocre little Barnes & Noble. But (as Phoebe and Will point out) there's nary a Gap in sight. No Banana Republic. No Indian food, no sushi, no Bed & Bath, no Whole Foods or Trader Joes, only one restaurant allegedly first-rate restauarant (though it isn't) where outside speakers or job candidates can be brough without embarrassment, very few low-price studenty restaurants or bars. No comic book stores or gaming stores. No poster stores or boutiques selling precious little $200 Guatemalan peasant skirts. No Birkenstock dealer. And so on, and so on. The area around the U of C looks nothing like the area around any other American residential college or university I know of."
He's only slightly incorrect here: there's sort-of-Indian food (Rajun Cajun, anyone?) served in a dilapidated cafeteria setting, and Kikuya serves something sushi-like in a lovely setting over by the Metra tracks. But his overall point is indisputable.
Levy concludes:
"Don't get me wrong; I love it here, and the neighborhood as well as the campus have real virtues. But there are also real quality-of-life sacrifices involved in living in a city neighborhood where there is so little walking-distance commerce, and so many barriers to developing more of it. Those sacrifices aren't made necessary by the (deserved) pride our students take in their commitment to intellectual pursuits. "
I agree with Levy that being at the University of Chicago is worth sacrificing quality of life. But I remain hopeful that one day quality of life may move closer to quality of education. Man cannot live on rare books alone.
Hyde Park isn't bleak and miserable. U of C students ARE too bookish. Being bookish makes everything seem bleak and miserable.
ReplyDeleteI read the Levy post. It seems like he's trolling just to get off on disseminating his bookish knowledge of Hyde Park history. Perhaps he needs to actually explore the community (or at least read the Chamber of Commerce listings) before he complains about everything it's lacking. I'll admit I'm just trolling for Jacob Levy-like posts to get off on disseminating my own extensive experience of Hyde Park.
Zoning restrictions certainly play a large part in the development of Hyde Park commerce, but as Levy makes very clear from his ignorant spat on what IS and ISN'T available in Hyde Park, zoning isn't even close to being the limiting factor.
For example, Tony's Sports used to run two largish stores (by HP standards). One on 53rd (still there) and one on 51st St. The 51st St. store closed. Prime opportunity here for El Gapo or El Gringo to move right on in. What happened? Did Phi Beta Gamma Corp. come storming in to this prime Hyde Park Real Estate? Nope. A 'Beauty' shop opened up. Granted, this place sells all kinds of stuff and expanded from another location in Hyde Park.
But what this place says, and what the location of this place says, is that Hyde Park ISN'T as WHITE as the 30% of the population thinks it is.
The store is across the street from Kenwood High School , where mostly black kids seem to always be moving in and out (or loitering) of (365 days of the year). The 'beauty' shop caters to an especially dominant demographic in Hyde Park, i.e. a non-white majority.
Maybe you could call this "ghetto" (adj.), but I think it simply reflects the real face of Hyde Park's culture and community. The university is a cultural minority despite its impressive overall control and intellectual superiority. You're not going to succeed by selling what YOU happen to think is the culturally accepted product. Go find some market research (for example, from Research Pros, a HP institution). I might be wrong, but I don't think so.
You could list in great depth the very long list of businesses in Hyde Park that cater to non-"WHITE" tastes. One sign that Hyde Park is starting to lighten up though, is that the African-American poster/art shop on 53rd St. closed down after many years at that location. Again, here is a prime real estate opportunity available. Maybe we'll see a Gap move in here, but I don't think so.
One major obstacle to the development of a well-run, "well-stocked", quality food store is the Co-Op. Their management, while slowly improving, doesn't seem to do things quite as well as a lot of the excellent non-corporate food markets in the city, and because they have the benefit of taking up space in prime locations, it's hard to come in and knock them out. Perhaps the 53rd st. location will soon find a competent buyer. At the same time, there is Hyde Park Produce, which is reputable, and there's a farmer's market in Harper Court every summer.
My favorite food store: Family Fruit Market on Cicero and Irving Park, where everything is incredibly fresh and tasty with a nice selection of cheeses and meats, everything's cheap, and the staff largely consists of teenage Polish supermodels. Even behind the deli counter.
What is it with Trader Joe's and Whole Foods? sheesh. Jacob Levy needs to get out more and learn to cook. Trader Joe's is the place for the microwave gourmet.
With regards to his other complaints, I point him to some reasons why Hyde Park cannot satisfy his every whim and desire other than the obvious fact that no neighborhood can accomodate every kind of business.
poster store = internet, poster plus on mich., museums. what other poster stores are there in this city?
banana republic = internet, downtown. there aren't that many BR's in non-suburban Chicago either so expecting one in HP isn't realistic. again, this is fairly "white" expectation.
bed & bath = internet or equivalent competitor. there's a great pot and pan place on 53rd st. next to the park, otherwise, get your stuff from overstock.com or just take a bus downtown where you have about a million choices. why invite the traffic into our nice neighborhood?
whole foods = good luck getting rid of the co-op.
gaming stores = game stop or spot or whatever on 47th & Lake Park
comic book stores = ??? when did comic book stores become a staple of the college community??? I think the UofC taste in comics is generally high-brow enough that any desire for Chris Ware et. al can be satisfied by the UofC (i.e Barnes & Noble) Bookstore or any of the other fine emporia.
as you point out, one "sort-of-indian food" place that many indians i know actually like, so it can't be that bad. though i think it's way overpriced.
and besides, when did 'indian food' become a staple of a neighborhood? everyone else in the city goes to devon st. just like hyde parkies have to do.
birkenstock dealer = Wesley's shoe corral, next to the allegedly first-rate restaurant (he shouldn't denigrate something if he hasn't tried it, which is strange coming from a UofC person). Maybe he just doesn't like French food.
Honestly, what are they teaching are University of Chicago professors these days? How to Whine 101? You all need to step out the door, open up your eyes, and make some valid observations before jumping to all these conclusions. Books make you go blind you know.
I recently transplanted to Hyde Park from the north side and while I enjoy the area a great deal, it's mostly due to it's architectural integrity and it's proximity to the lake. I have to agree that it lacks very much in the retail/entertainment/restaurant department. I for one, don't want to have to drive 15-20 minutes to shop and be entertained and I also want to support my community by spending my money in Hyde Park.. not Lincoln Park. I would very much welcome a greater variety of stores in the area, as well as more interesting eating and drinking establishments. I'm sorry, but if you don't think the design of spaces, as well as the integrity of it's product isn't important for a community then you've obviously never left Hyde Park and experienced some of the more popular areas of the city. People leave their houses in order to be entertained and the more variety of retail/restaurant/bar possibilities the more people will want to interact with their own community and their neighbors. I seriously doubt that Hyde Park will become a crowd infested traffic nightmare if we happen to open a few more interesting destinations. North Siders simply don't have that much energy. It's the Hyde Parkers who suffer when the community is unable to sustain itself economically and end up leaving to spend their time and money elsewhere. Personally I would be estatic to see a Trader Joe's open up here. It would open up another world for the UofC students who might not have enough time.. or a car for that matter.. to drive to the north side for good quick ready made meals. And who wants to take the train downtown to buy anything?? It's not exactly "on the way" which is all I ask for in my community.
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