Life-Patterns on the Periphery : a Humanities Base for Development Imperatives and Their Application in the Chicago City- Region
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Michigan Technological University Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open Reports 2012 Life-patterns on the periphery : a humanities base for development imperatives and their application in the Chicago city- region Kevin Hodur Michigan Technological University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etds Part of the Rhetoric and Composition Commons Copyright 2012 Kevin Hodur Recommended Citation Hodur, Kevin, "Life-patterns on the periphery : a humanities base for development imperatives and their application in the Chicago city-region", Dissertation, Michigan Technological University, 2012. https://doi.org/10.37099/mtu.dc.etds/87 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/etds Part of the Rhetoric and Composition Commons LIFE-PATTERNS ON THE PERIPHERY: A HUMANITIES BASE FOR DEVELOPMENT IMPERATIVES AND THEIR APPLICATION IN THE CHICAGO CITY-REGION by Kevin Hodur A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Rhetoric and Technical Communication) MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2012 2012 Kevin Hodur This dissertation, “Life-Patterns on the Periphery: A Humanities Base for Development Imperatives and their Application in the Chicago City-Region,” is hereby approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN RHETORIC AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION. Department of Humanities Signatures: Dissertation Advisor ___________________________________ Dr. Ann Brady Department Chair ___________________________________ Dr. Ronald Strickland Date ___________________________________ 3 Contents Preface ......................................................................................................................................... 5 Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Chapter One ............................................................................................................................. 11 Terms & Concepts to be Used ...................................................................................................... 13 Literature Review: I – Philosophy and a Foundation in the Humanities ............................ 20 Literature Review: II – Defining and Expanding the Imperatives........................................ 38 Chapter Two ............................................................................................................................. 87 Rationale ............................................................................................................................................. 89 Scope ................................................................................................................................................... 90 Site ........................................................................................................................................................ 91 Methods .............................................................................................................................................. 99 Methodology .................................................................................................................................... 101 Chapter Three – Interstate 80 ............................................................................................ 108 Thornton ........................................................................................................................................... 111 Bremen – Tinley Park .................................................................................................................... 122 New Lenox - Joliet .......................................................................................................................... 138 Morris – Ottawa – Utica ................................................................................................................ 154 Chapter Four – Interstate 88 .............................................................................................. 169 Oak Brook – Downers Grove ....................................................................................................... 171 Naperville-Lisle ............................................................................................................................... 185 Aurora-Batavia ................................................................................................................................. 203 Dekalb ............................................................................................................................................... 233 Chapter Five – Recommendations for Remediation .................................................... 248 Interstate 80 ...................................................................................................................................... 257 Thornton Study Region ............................................................................................................................ 257 Bremen Study Region ............................................................................................................................... 265 New Lenox – Joliet Study region ........................................................................................................... 274 Morris-Ottawa-Utica Study Region ....................................................................................................... 288 Interstate 88 ...................................................................................................................................... 300 Oak Brook-Downers Grove Study Region ......................................................................................... 300 Lisle-Naperville Study Region ................................................................................................................ 310 Aurora-Batavia Study Region.................................................................................................................. 317 Dekalb Study Region ................................................................................................................................ 329 Universal Solutions ......................................................................................................................... 341 City-Region Governance and Rogerian Discourse as Site Development Arbitration .............. 342 Biophilic Design as Ecological Imperative and City-Region Necessity ....................................... 353 Chapter Six ............................................................................................................................. 361 Discussion ........................................................................................................................................ 361 Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................... 365 4 Coda ........................................................................................................................................ 374 Work Cited ............................................................................................................................. 377 5 Preface An Image of a Global City-Region There is a very obvious break between the old idea of the city and the new idea of the city-region, one that presents itself to anyone driving south on Interstate 94 from Milwaukee. After crossing the border at Kenosha, Wisconsin, already there is a kind of low-density development, primarily along the Interstate, but branching in other directions as well. A few miles later, drivers are presented with a choice: Interstate 94, through the heart of Chicago, or Interstate 294, skirting the city entirely and passing through much of the suburban city-region. This is symbolic of the process of city-region development over the last century, with the core city now surrounded by a ring of lower- density development, one that spurns the grid-style structure of residential neighbourhoods and mixed-use development that places citizen needs within a close proximity. Instead of seeing these older communities – the ones we would see continuing in the left-hand lanes on Interstate 94, this project focuses on the lower-density, limited-access residential neighbourhoods and strip mall and big box-style commercial-retail developments of the contemporary suburb, communities that are in ample supply within the Chicago city-region, and notable along the drive south on Interstate 294. This route takes drivers past interchanges with multiple Interstate highways – 190, 290, 55, 88, 80 – to say 6 nothing of the countless other major thoroughfares that form interchanges and weave together the Chicago city-region transportation infrastructure. It is the last two of these Interstates, however – 80 and 88 – that form the basis for this project. As relatively parallel east-west routes, they provide an excellent opportunity for contrast, between each other and amongst the communities along each ribbon of concrete and asphalt. Here we can study not just quantity of automobiles in use or types of zoning, but also the life patterns of citizens, witnessing their daily needs, how they shape the landscape around them, but also