Engaging Chicago's Diverse Communities in the Chicago

Engaging Chicago’s Diverse Communities in the Chicago Climate Action Plan

COMMUNITY #5: WEST RIDGE’S SOUTH ASIAN COMMUNITY

Research Report

Submitted by: Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo), a Division of Science at The Field Museum

To: The City of Chicago Department of Environment

City of Chicago Richard M. Daley, Mayor Department of Environment table of contents with ourpartners: a DivisionofScienceatTheField Museum Environment, Culture,andConservation(ECCo), Research wasconductedby: City ofChicagoDepartmentEnvironment. This researchwascommissionedbythe TRADITIONS 16 ACTION 11 8 6 4 1 May 2011 HeritageMuseum Indo-American Center Indo-American Chicago CulturalAlliance City ofChicagoDepartment ofEnvironment PRACTICES, VALUES, AND ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY SPRINGBOARDS FORCLIMATE COMMUNITY CONCERNS: ADDRESSING IT CHANGE ANDINTERESTIN AWARENESS OFCLIMATE AND RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING STAKEHOLDERS, PARTNERSHIPS, COMMUNITY OVERVIEW PROJECT OVERVIEW

http://fieldmuseum.org/climateaction Asset Maps,andreportsaboutothercommunities: Visit ourWeb sitetodownloadtheCommunityandRegional 21 20 DISSEMINATION 19 ORGANIZATIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY 24 23 22 LIST OFPARTICIPATING OUR TEAM REGIONAL ASSETMAP COMMUNITY ASSETMAP CONCLUSION COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CREATIVE MODELSFOR COMMUNICATION AND Sponsored by

project overview

Engaging Chicago Communities in the Chicago Climate Action Plan—Community #5: The South Asian Community of West Ridge is RESEARCH AREA the fifth community study commissioned by the City of Chicago Department of Environment (DOE) to identify strategies for effectively engaging diverse communities throughout the city in the implementation of the Chicago Climate Action Plan (CCAP). This report presents the results from one site of a two- sited mini study that also included the Mexican community of Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. West Ridge Our first two studies had a geographic focus, one on South Chicago––a working class, racially diverse area on Chicago’s far South Side––and the other on North Kenwood-Oakland/Bronzeville, an economically diverse, African- American area of the city situated just three miles south of Chicago’s downtown. The third study was the first to focus on an ethnic group––Chicago’s Polish community––and was concentrated in three Chicago regions with large Polish populations. The West Ridge and Pilsen studies are the first to be delineated by both neighborhood geography and ethnicity, and they are also the first to Located just off of Devon Avenue where the Indian-Pakistani business district incorporate community-led storytelling as a data gathering technique. defines the character of the area, the Indo-American Heritage Museum is a relatively new organization that was formed by board members of the Indo- All of our studies are participatory action research projects that have been American Center (IAC), a center that serves hundreds of South Asian clients conducted by a team including The Field Museum anthropologists, staff from daily through classes in ESL, civics, computers, immigration assistance, as well the Chicago Department of Environment, and leaders of community-based as senior and youth programs. The Indo-American Heritage Museum offers organizations in the research communities. In this study, our research was cultural programs that promote understanding of the diversity, history, and designed and conducted collaboratively, in English, Urdu and Hindi, by a team culture of Indian Americans in the Chicago area. IAHM is currently located including anthropologists from The Field Museum’s division of Environment, at the Indo-American Center on California and Devon, where they offer Culture, and Conservation (ECCo), the Chicago Cultural Alliance (CCA), educational programs and display a modest collection that represents life in and leaders from the Indo-American Heritage Museum (IAHM), a cultural members’ homelands and their Chicago diaspora. IAHM’s programs include organization in West Ridge. While the anthropologist from CCA collected cultural performances, inter-ethnic dialogues, tours of Devon Avenue, and qualitative data through traditional ethnographic methods, the anthropologists workshops about the Indian American immigration story for educators and the from The Field Museum trained leaders from IAHM in story collecting general public. While they expand their space and build their collection, IAHM techniques and worked with them to facilitate focus groups throughout the has launched a “virtual museum” where website visitors can explore Chicago’s study. Indo-American culture and community members can share personal stories on selected themes.

Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report 1 PROJECT OVERVIEW

This research project combined traditional ethnographic methods, such as and strengthening organizing skills will help our community partners to create interviewing and participant observation, with the innovative technique of programs and services which better address community concerns including community-led story collecting. Through workshops, sharing research tools, environmental issues and climate change. and personal mentoring ethnographers at The Field Museum worked closely with staff members at Indo-American Heritage Museum to develop their skills as Field research for this project lasted four months, from May through August story collectors. This collaborative approach allowed us to pair complementary 2010. During this time, The Field Museum researchers and community methods of gathering data. While the project ethnographer was working to partners conducted interviews, gathered stories, and held focus groups to complete a rapid inventory of both the West Ridge and Pilsen neighborhoods, better understand research participants’ beliefs and practices related to the our community partners were busy collecting stories from their clients and peers. environment and climate change. Because these study communities are Touching base regularly along the way, the ethnographer and local leaders defined by participants’ ethnic identity as well as their geographic location, we supported one another’s work through the exchange of contacts, leads, ideas, recruited participants who fall into one of three main categories. Our primary and tools. For the duration of the fieldwork season, both the ethnographer focus was South Asian residents of the West Ridge neighborhood. Secondarily, and local partners used a variety of creative tools developed by ECCo to learn we spoke with a number of Chicago-area South Asians who work, shop, or about how residents relate to the environment and climate change, such as use services in West Ridge but who reside elsewhere. Thirdly, we spoke with using objects and photos to prompt discussion. neighbors, workers, and community leaders who live or work in West Ridge, but who are not of South Asian origin. This recruitment strategy recognizes that Incorporating the methods of story collecting has enhanced both the research our target populations do not live in any single urban area, but are socially product and the resources and knowledge of our community partners. Story integrated into Chicago’s multi-cultural metropolitan region. It also allows us collecting techniques enriched the study by contributing narrative stories to gain perspectives from local residents and leaders that helped to deepen our to semi-structured interview data gathered by the ethnographer. This has awareness of neighborhood dynamics. provided a more nuanced and holistic understanding of community dynamics and has broadened the contribution of community members and leaders One of our goals in studying ethnic communities is to better understand the in the research process. In addition, learning and applying story collecting ways in which cultural values and traditions in communities of origin might techniques strengthened the social capital of our community partners, who facilitate or hamper participation in climate action strategies in Chicago. said that gathering stories has improved their understanding of community Another goal is to understand how ethnic heritage intersects with community concerns and resources. Modhurima Mukherjee of IAHM told us that she has a activities and creates patterns of interaction that reach from Devon Avenue to deeper understanding of the community as a result of her experience collecting Delhi. As a result of having both an ethnic and a geographic focus, this study stories. Just as importantly, she says, the merchants and residents whom she also highlights the social networks that connect urban immigrants with Chicago talked with are now more aware of the resources and events offered by IAHM. communities. Ultimately, the experience of collecting stories, identifying community assets, The majority of this research was ethnographic, with the goal of gaining an understanding of people’s behaviors and attitudes by studying them in the context of their everyday lives. Like most research, ethnographic research aims to identify patterns and linkages between issues; but it is also based on the notion that people are experts on their own lives and, as such, aims to highlight local knowledge and practices as the building blocks for creating more sustainable communities.

2 Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report PROJECT OVERVIEW

In total, we directly engaged approximately 135 people through interviews, focus groups, surveys, and story collecting that included residents, business owners, civil leaders, and leaders of community organizations. Our research included:

• 23 semi-structured interviews;

• 3 focus groups with a total of 64 participants;

• 72 surveys;

• Over 50 stories collected; and,

• Participant-observation at 9 community events and meetings that involved approximately 250 people.

Due to the high concentration of immigrants among the adult population of West Ridge and because of the organizational networks that we used for recruitment, an overwhelming majority of our study participants were first generation immigrants. All were adults and many were clients of the Indo- American Center.

The goals of this study were to:

1. Document attitudes and knowledge related to climate change;

2. Identify climate-friendly practices and values;

3. Describe community concerns that link environment to quality of life;

4. Identify key organizations that can act as catalysts for larger scale adoption of climate action strategies; Engaging the Community Our partners at the Indo-American 5. Highlight creative models of engagement that can be adopted for climate Heritage Museum participated in community meetings, focus groups, and action; interviews to gather stories from a wide variety of West Ridge residents and business owners. In these pictures, West Ridge residents share stories 6. Determine effective communication strategies for disseminating information. about themselves, their culture, and their concerns, as well as their aspirations to create a sustainable community.

2 Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report 3 community overview

West Ridge on Chicago’s far North Side has a rich tradition as an income and living conditions. Nearly ten percent of West Ridge residents live in immigrant community. Historically known for its large Jewish population, West households with an annual income under $10,000, while the top ten percent of Ridge has become home to many different ethnic groups over the past half households earn over $100,000 annually. Within the South Asian community century. Nearly half of its current residents are foreign-born, making it one of more broadly, there is a bifurcation in regards to socioeconomic status, where the city’s most ethnically diverse neighborhoods. As we heard from residents of more affluent South Asians tend to be longer-term U.S. residents, who often West Ridge, this diversity is a great asset that attracts customers to the area’s live in Chicago’s suburbs. Conversely, working-class and poor South Asians vibrant commercial corridors and enhances its cultural life. Yet, residents also are more likely to be new immigrants and to live in apartments near the Devon say that ethnic diversity presents challenges; community members with divergent corridor and on the margins of the neighborhood. origins, customs, and habits must learn how to work together toward common These socio-economic factors influence what residents are able to do regarding community goals. the environment, with wealthier residents having more control over the decisions The area is home to Devon Avenue, one of the city’s most popular commercial that shape their home environments. While some low-income West Ridge corridors. The Devon corridor, also known as “The International Marketplace,” residents still find ways to invest in eco-friendly practices such as gardening, is lined with ethnic retail shops, grocery stores, and vegetarian restaurants. It is recycling, and composting, they often live in apartment buildings with strict the commercial and symbolic center of Chicagoland’s South Asian population, regulations on these practices. In contrast, residents who own their own homes with a concentration of businesses and organizations that cater to members of have greater financial and regulatory freedom to bridge the built and natural Chicago’s Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi communities. The neighborhood environments. also features strong commercial corridors along Touhy and Western Avenues. Along with its ethnic diversity, West Ridge is also very diverse socio- WAVES OF SOUTH ASIAN economically. While West Ridge is popularly identified as a relatively prosperous, middle-class neighborhood, residents have a wide range of IMMIGRATION TO CHICAGO

1946-1965: mid-1980s-present: One local business India allotted 100 visas annually; rise in low-skilled and unauthorized Indian population of Chicago grew migration; rapid suburbanization owner told us that to approximately 350 by 1960 she has invested a great deal of time and effort into beautifying 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

her restaurant. She has pre-1946: 1965- mid-1980s: installed flower boxes no significant immigration of restrictions on Asian immigration lifted; South Asians due to restrictive dramatic increase in South Asian immigration, and planters in front and hopes that quotas (called “Asian facilitated by family reunification visas and H-1 Exclusions”) and “racially visas for skilled workers; worked in medicine, this will motivate neighboring merchants to invest in the ineligibility” for citizenship infrastructure, and research appearance of their storefronts as well.

4 Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report COMMUNITY OVERVIEW

While constricted due to building and association One community organizer told us that the policies, one man described several ways that he has mobility of her elderly clients is constrained been able to live a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle. by a lack of transportation options that His routine includes drying clothes next to the windows link the suburbs and the city. She said instead of spending money at the laundromat. He also that one of her clients, who is 76 years recycles old and unused items instead of throwing them old, broke down and sobbed when he away. informed her that his son had bought a house in the suburbs. The distance would make it impossible for the man to socialize with his friends near Devon.

There is a large senior population of South Asians in West Ridge. As established South Asian professionals send for their elderly parents under family reunification visas, the proportion of newly arrived seniors in the South Asian community is large and growing. Many of the services provided by area civic organizations are geared toward helping these new arrivals adjust to life in the United States, and they offer classes in civics, English, and computers, as well as space where seniors can be part of a social and cultural community. The ec ommendation: stories of these elders reveal that age also influences local residents’ ability to R initiate or maintain eco-friendly practices. West Ridge also has a large youth COMMUNITY OVERVIEW population among South Asians, as middle-age residents are likely to have children under the age of eighteen. Develop initiatives that help West Ridge elders to build community while engaging in eco-friendly activities. Create and support spaces that can link the ethnic diversity of the West Ridge area to green efforts, such as recycling, walking, gardening, and beautification.

Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report 5 stakeholders, PARTNERSHIPS, AND RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING

For many South Asian immigrants the City of Chicago served as The shops along Devon Avenue are identified as particularly important for a temporary home where they could get settled enough to establish work Chicago-area South Asians, many of whom regularly travel from the suburbs to and support their families. After spending years or decades in the city, a Devon to shop for food and clothing, and to get news and entertainment from large number of affluent South Asians immigrants have chosen to migrate the various video shops, bookstores, and restaurants. Devon is not just for South to surrounding suburbs. This has resulted in dispersed community resources Asians, however; ethnic restaurants attract diners from all over Chicago who throughout Chicago’s city and suburbs. Social service resources for new are looking to enjoy Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, and vegetarian cuisine. This immigrants tend to be concentrated near working-class residences in the city, region-wide investment in Devon helps to sustain West Ridge residents, which while large temples and heritage centers have followed more affluent South includes patrons, business owners, and workers. Asians to suburban locations. More affluent South Asians donate time and resources to many of the civic and service organizations that cater to newer West Ridge is home to much more than just commercial businesses. It is also waves of immigrants concentrated near Devon. Relatedly, while Indian stores a hub of civic organizations that service new South Asian and Middle Eastern and places of worship are increasingly common in Chicago’s suburbs, Devon immigrants through ESL classes, computer classes, job training, assistance Avenue remains a primary commercial hub of South Asian goods and services. with immigration status adjustment, and media and information in Hindi and In all, the South Asian community of greater Chicago is connected by social Urdu, among other languages. Because of the large elderly population in the and professional networks, an extensive civic sector, and a thriving business South Asian community, organizations such as the Indo-American Center and district along Devon Avenue. Metropolitan Asian Family Services also provide health care, free lunches, and social events that cater to seniors. The Indo-American Center also has a youth program that takes advantage of local assets, such as the West Ridge YMCA and neighborhood parks, to engage South Asian children in outdoor activities.

In addition to these service providers, South Asian residents in West Ridge have cultivated extensive social networks that supply crucial resources for their financial security and emotional well-being. Hometown associations, such as the Punjabi Cultural Society and Gujarati Samaj Chicago, bring together first and second generation South Asians from particular Indian states to participate in cultural events such as dinners, dances, and festivals. Organizations for South Asian students and alumni have formed on the nearby campus of Loyola University and downtown’s University of Illinois at Chicago and provide not only social support, but educational resources as well. Social networks also provide a means for South Asian residents to participate in Devon’s business community, as interest-free or informal business loans are made by established business people to select network members, enabling them to open small businesses and to maintain Devon’s ethnic enclaves.

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Religious beliefs and practices among South Asians are as diverse as the South Asian community itself, and West Ridge is home to several centers of worship that serve Chicago’s South Asian population. Though the largest Hindu temples are located in Chicago suburbs, there is a Hare Krishna temple, a Sikh temple, an Indo-Pak Methodist Church, and several mosques located in or around Devon Avenue. Our study participants also noted that, while many South Asians visit temples to celebrate religious holidays, most frequently they worship in private or with family and friends at home. Religious worship is thus also social interaction that bolsters the informal networks that are critical for the well-being of Chicago’s South Asians.

Rec ommendation: STAKEHOLDERS, PARTNERSHIPS, AND RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING

Work with area organizations including hometown associations, civic organizations, centers of worship and Devon’s business community for developing a West Ridge climate action plan. Encourage leaders in all of these arenas to model eco-friendly living for others in the community, and create networking opportunities that highlight what local green leaders are already doing.

6 Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report 7 awareness OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND interest IN ADDRESSING IT

Many of our study participants were aware of climate change and rising sea levels, waste, and water contamination have already had serious expressed an interest in addressing it. We found a broad range of beliefs impacts on both the health and economic activities of people who live in South regarding climate change and the environment, with many participants Asia. Older participants often linked climate change to the scarcity of local reminiscing about living “naturally” in India but also concerned about what they resources like clean water, rather than to global environmental changes. As one consider to be more immediate problems in the United States. Younger study participant observed, “In India [climate change] is a big concern, but here it is participants routinely expressed a higher degree of awareness and interest in less of a concern because it’s so much better here in terms of clean water and climate action programs than their elderly counterparts, who frequently said the environment.” Another noted that people use rain barrels in India, but since that climate change was not among their most pressing concerns. Nevertheless, there is no apparent water shortage in Chicago, there is no perception of a older study participants were enthusiastic in recounting stories about need for water conservation here. This story reveals a deeper trend: many South environmentally-friendly lifestyles and practices in India. Asians in West Ridge see the threat that Climate Change poses to India, but not to the Chicago area. For these residents, perceptions of resource abundance in Chicago can make conservation efforts seem superfluous. One immigrant from a coastal town in India told us that many people in his home community survive by fishing. He There was broad recognition among our study participants that climate change worries about the impact that depleted fish stores will is caused by human activities. However, participants diverged on the question of have on his hometown economy and said that his family who is responsible for taking action to address it. While the majority of younger members in India are growing interviewees asserted that all global residents share in the responsibility to be concerned about rising sea environmentally responsible, many of our older participants identified industry levels and changes in the weather. and government as the major polluters and felt that individual responses to climate change are largely insignificant.

One young staff person at a local community center said that she tried to pilot a program to reduce paper waste, but she encountered obstacles from her organization. Her manager When discussing the environment, participants frequently spoke of believed that initiating a recycling program would environmental issues in India, with far less attention to environmental incur extra cost to their organization. Thus, concerns in the Chicago region. Many remembered their childhoods in India she now separates the paper in her office and and expressed concern about how changing weather patterns are affecting takes it to a recycling center across the street. traditional life ways. For example, participants worried that changes such as

8 Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report AWARENESS AND INTEREST

WHAT THREE WORDS COME TO MIND WHEN YOU HEAR “CLIMATE CHANGE”?

Participants were asked this question during our interviews. In this word cloud, words that were most often mentioned appear larger. This reveals significant patterns:

1. RISING TEMPERATURES: Respondents frequently associated climate change with changes in the composition of the earth, as triggered by warmer temperatures. Concerns about these shifts are represented in the high occurrences of “Global Warming,” “Sea Levels,” and “Glaciers” in participants’ responses. Also prominent were responses like “rising,” “hot,” and “melting.”

2. HUMAN AGENCY: It is clear that many participants believe that humans can have an impact on Climate Change. Words like “Recycling,” “Education,” and “Structural Policy” reflect respondents awareness of the positive actions people can take in the face of climate destabilization. Additionally, participants pointed to a “lack of government support.”

3. FUTURE DANGERS: Respondents frequently drew a link between climate change and the potential dangers it holds for our future. They regularly invoked the following words, “famine,” “starvation,” “children,” “doomsday scenario,” and “animal habitat extinctions.”

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RANKING THE CCAP STRATEGIES

Research participants were asked to rank each of these CCAP strategies according to their level of interest:

improved 19transportation 22waste reduction Rec ommendations: AWARENESS OF CLIMATE CHANGE 15 energy AND INTEREST IN ADDRESSING IT efficiency 14 adaptation 1. Work with local leaders to make Climate Change feel local among to the South Asian community, promoting its potential impacts on the Chicago area. Take advantage of popular awareness regarding resource scarcity and conservation practices in South Asia, and work with organizations along Devon to promote opportunities for taking climate actions. Respondents ranked waste reduction and improved 2. Identify young community members through the Indo- transportation highest, which makes sense for a high-traffic areas American Center, YMCA, and other local agencies. Connect with high levels of consumption. Adaptation ranked last, reflecting a poor them to climate educators and organizers who could help understanding of the concept and/or the higher cost that participants fear them to see themselves as climate action leaders. that adaptation strategies would incur.

10 Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report 11 community concerns SPRINGBOARDS FOR CLIMATE ACTION

Our research identified a number of important community concerns in the South Asian community of West Ridge that could serve as springboards for community involvement in climate action. The concerns that we highlight in this section include: 1. Immigration ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 2. Economic development Our participants see the ability to have successful businesses that provide jobs • Small Business Viability as key to community stability overall, from creating steady work to alleviating • Housing crime and the problem of abandoned buildings. Study participants linked their financial concerns with a variety of more specific preoccupations, such • Jobs as crowded and abandoned housing, underemployment of new immigrants, as well as economic development along West Ridge’s commercial corridors . 3. Heritage/identity These corridors – along Devon, Touhy, and Western Avenues – are all important sources of revenue for the neighborhood. Residents expressed concern about 4. Health economic decline of small businesses along these corridors, concerned with the 5. Use of public space impact that the current economic recession is having on the financial health of West Ridge. Several interviewees were also very concerned about disinvestment in the community on the part of local politicians.

SMALL BUSINESS VIABILITY

In particular, participants are concerned that Devon’s poor appearance, traffic congestion, and lack of parking will drive customers elsewhere, as South Asian stores become more prevalent in the suburbs. Business owners and residents IMMIGRATION offered many suggestions for beautifying Devon and making it more accessible, including the addition of more parking, trees and green spaces, planters, more Immigration was a serious concern of many of our study participants, attractive street lamps, and “plazas” where shoppers can sit in comfort. Though particularly those who live and work near Devon Avenue. Undocumented congestion is already a problem, interviewees also offered ideas for further status and English-language difficulties were cited as serious barriers to upward increasing visitors to Devon. Several suggested capitalizing on the area’s ethnic mobility and social well-being for many new South Asian immigrants in West diversity and creating an “Indian Village” akin to Chicago’s Chinatown or Ridge. Immigration is a theme that was mentioned by study participants in Greektown, with a formal gateway and pedestrian paths. Such a beautification relation to all of the following concerns. plan would draw “tourists” from outside the neighborhood and emphasize the

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South Asian assets of the Devon corridor. Participants would also like to see more diverse offerings among the shops on Devon, citing a lack of variety as a source of unhealthy business competition and high business turnover.

HOUSING

West Ridge is known for its comfortable homes on tree-lined residential streets, HERITAGE/IDENTITY and is sometimes referred to as a “suburb within the city.” Yet, West Ridge residents who live near the Devon corridor often live in crowded apartment The ethnic diversity of West Ridge is considered both an asset and a challenge, complexes, far away from the parks and trees that make the community so depending in part on who is offering their opinion. While the diversity of attractive. Crowded housing complexes were disdained by several of our study shops and restaurants is one of the main attractions of Devon’s “International participants, who identified them as hubs of crime and poverty, while others Marketplace,” neighborhood residents are still learning to relate to one another noted that these buildings offer affordable housing for low-income families across divergent beliefs and practices. Other participants noted that longer-term in the area. Several participants also complained that developers had begun demographic change in the community presents a challenge for older or more converting neighborhood apartment buildings to condominium units, but established West Ridge residents. One interviewee said, “People don’t recognize abandoned the projects when the housing market contracted in 2008, leaving this neighborhood. It used to be an Irish neighborhood, then Eastern European behind a glut of unfinished and deserted buildings. Jews came, now South Asians, most of the Anglos have moved out. There is some tension about these changes in the neighborhood, and there has been JOBS gentrification for the last four to five years.”

Underemployment and low wages for workers along the Devon corridor was Several participants expressed concern about the loss of Indian heritage and a source of concern for many of our study participants. Many new immigrants identity among second-generation Indians in Chicago. Participants worried that from South Asia face serious barriers to upward mobility when they arrive their children are losing their Indian heritage as they assimilate to American in Chicago, including limited English proficiency, low or obsolete job skills, culture. “In India, the young people cover their skin more and do not spend so unauthorized status, and advanced age. Many of these new immigrants become much time on the street,” one mother said, explaining her concern over a loss engaged in informal labor practices within Devon’s ethnic enclaves, where of modesty and tradition among the second generation. Yet, young participants they earn low wages and have little job security. Even when new immigrants explain that social organizations and events for young South Asians, such as held skilled or semi-skilled jobs in India, these skills are not always easily “Desi Nights” at Chicago restaurants and clubs, help second generation youth adaptable to the job market in Chicago. To help with the integration needs of deal with their “in between” status as both Americans and Asians. Programs new South Asian immigrants, the Indo-American Center offers literacy classes, and events sponsored by the IAHM highlight Indian culture and heritage and computer classes, and job training programs. Moving forward, it will be vital promote linkages among South Asian community members in the wider for local businesses and agencies to create green training and employment Chicago area. opportunities, ideally in ways that strengthen local businesses relationship to the environment. Many study participants mentioned that the relative affluence of South Asian immigrants compared to other immigrant groups has contributed to a “model minority” stereotype of South Asians as upwardly mobile, educated, and well-to-do. While this reputation can be a source of pride, many participants

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described it a “burden” as well. In particular, widespread perceptions of South Asians as upwardly mobile contribute to a reticence to acknowledge and invest resources in a growing population of poor and undocumented South Asian immigrants. Interviewees who work closely with immigrants who live and work near Devon told us that a greater awareness of the problems and obstacles facing new South Asian immigrants is critical to a more nuanced understanding HEALTH of the South Asian community as a whole. Health was one of the most important concerns cited by study participants. Interviewees noted that conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure occur at very high frequencies among South Asian immigrants. While genetic factors play a role in the onset of these diseases, participants also said A group of three women told us that their families that high-fat diets, an aging population, and sedentary lifestyles contribute practiced numerous environmentally-friendly activities to community health concerns. While the vegetarian diet of many Hindu in India, such as raising chickens and air drying participants provides a healthful dietary foundation, some interviewees clothes. They have found it difficult to continue these noted that deep frying vegetarian dishes exacerbate heart disease among practices in Chicago due to space constraints and South Asians. Among new and poor immigrants, health problems are often strict policies in the buildings where they live. They exacerbated by a lack of access to medical coverage and affordable health further fear that their neighbors would perceive them care. One interviewee told us that an acquaintance returned to India to have as uneducated and incapable of behaving in American surgery because the cost of the procedure here was prohibitively expensive. society if they resumed these practices. Without this Participants also noted that there are serious mental health concerns in the fear of judgment they were all interested in returning to community––particularly among the elderly. A move from South Asia to the these traditional activities. United States is frequently associated with a loss in social status, isolation, and boredom for elderly immigrants. This problem is particularly acute for seniors who live with their adult children who are working full-time, leaving them alone for long hours during the day. One participant explained, “There is a lot of senior dependency which leads to mental health issues; these have to do with the kinds of opportunities that are available here and with moving down in status. Seniors often have a sense of isolation and boredom when they come here.” Elderly South Asians who live near Devon can take advantage of programs offered by the Indo-American Center and Metropolitan Family Health Services, where they receive free lunches and participate in social events. The free lunch program at IAC alone services between fifty and eighty seniors daily. Suburban seniors have limited access to these centers, leading many interviewees to emphasize the importance of having affordable and convenient public transportation that links the suburbs and the city.

There are several neighborhood organizations that provide free health care his parking lot are emptied very rarely, and, as a consequence, there are often services for the South Asian community. For example, the Indo-American bags spilling over with clothing littering the lot. “It is a nuisance,” he said, Center and Metropolitan Family Services regularly bring in doctors who screen adding that, rather than being an asset, the donation bins actually contribute to their clients for various conditions. Asian Family Services on Peterson Avenue the dirty appearance of Devon. provides medical care for low-income West Ridge residents, about eighty percent of whom lack health insurance and about twenty percent of whom are While many participants expressed appreciation for area parks such as Indian of South Asian origin. These organizations are thus vital sources for information Boundary Park and Rogers Park, they also commented that illicit activities in the and assistance with health issues for the entire South Asian community and its parks––and drug dealing in particular in Warren Park––make them unusable in elderly population in particular. While study participants touted the benefits of the evenings. Some participants also felt that park equipment, such as courts accessible health care, our participants also noted that rapid diagnoses without and playgrounds, suffer from a lack of upkeep. Still, many of our participants any long-term follow-up do not always lead to improvements in their clients’ use the parks regularly for exercise and recreation, and the youth program health. coordinator at IAC frequently takes the children to the park during the summer, where they can play games and engage in physical activities.

One man reminisced about his beautiful farmhouse in USE OF PUBLIC SPACE India, where he had a variety of flowers and cereals. He says he misses that here, and he laments that space- constraints and age-related ailments have prevented him Study participants who work and shop along Devon frequently commented on form taking up gardening in Chicago. its appearance, and in particular expressed concern about garbage and litter along the street and sidewalks, a lack of shade and trees, and parking problems and traffic congestion. Nevertheless, many of our study participants also noted the popularity of the Devon corridor among Chicago-area South Asians who enjoy browsing, shopping, and socializing there. Several interviewees pointed out that the benches along Devon were particularly popular spots for sitting and socializing, but also said that shade trees would enhance the benches’ usability.

Many participants felt that there were adequate garbage cans along Devon for trash disposal, and many expressed appreciation for the solar compactors that have been recently installed. However, several also said that Devon’s trash cans do not get emptied frequently enough and are often overflowing with garbage. Similarly, one business owner said that bins for clothing donations located in

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Rec ommendations: COMMUNITY CONCERNS SPRINGBOARDS FOR CLIMATE ACTION

1. Invest in green spaces projects along Devon Avenue that bring nature to the corridor.

2. Provide incentives to empty lot owners, especially along Western Avenue where many car dealerships have closed down, to lease private property to community organizations for beautification and gardening.

3. Support local organizations that:

• Implement programs that encourage outdoor activities, such as walking and using the nearby parks.

• Provide educational support to families, especially to seniors related to healthy eating and exercising, and eco-friendly practices like water conservation, repairing and reusing equipment, and energy reduction.

4. Work with hometown and civic organizations and businesses to:

• Increase awareness and knowledge of green options for energy conservation practices, including reducing Styrofoam, using energy efficient appliances, and repairing instead of replacing broken items.

• Promote vegetarianism and the myriad of restaurants along Devon Avenue that specialize in vegetarian dishes.

5. Appeal to traditional values regarding conservation and living “naturally” and help develop parallel practices that can be undertaken in Chicago. Offer inter-generational programming between seniors and youth, where traditional cultural knowledge is exchanged with fresh perspectives on contemporary needs and the environment.

14 Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report 15 environmentally- friendly PRACTICES, VALUES, AND TRADITIONS

Study participants engage in a variety of environmentally-friendly One woman described how she could use a solar practices. Participants often linked environmentally-friendly habits to broader cooker to prepare large meals for her family, cultural and geographical contexts, including their experiences living in a more and to heat water for baths. Back in India this “natural” way and adapting to resource scarcity in India. Additionally, many was an essential technology for her, allowing her study participants are motivated by the cost savings certain practices confer. to turn her roof into a functional stove on hot days. However, other participants expressed reluctance to engage in certain practices, It also helped her to conserve energy and time. Because such as hanging clothes out to dry or raising chickens, that might affect the of differences in temperature and space, she has not ways they are perceived by their neighbors. Finally, the concentration of continued this practice in Chicago. resources along Devon lends itself to certain environmentally-friendly practices, such as walking, eating vegetarian food, and buying locally, that are particularly popular among the South Asian community. Among our study participants, resource access and distribution was often discussed as a political issue and not necessarily an environmental one. Interviewees drew a strong relationship between environmentally-friendly For example, the poor in India frequently lack access to clean water but the practices and lifestyles in South Asia. They emphasized: wealthy do not, leading many of our study participants to identify resource • vegetarianism, scarcity as a result of inequality or poverty. In the United States, this translates into consumption practices that tend to reflect class position. This may help • water conservation, to explain why several interviewees said that they would hesitate to do certain • cooking methods (pressure cooker, solar cooker, etc), and practices, such as hang clothing out to dry or use second-hand items, because of associated stigma. • repairing, reusing, or repurposing equipment.

Vegetarianism is hallmark of the Indian diet, and Devon is home to many VEGETARIAN RESTAURANTS ALONG DEVON AVE. restaurants that feature meat-free cuisine. This diet is free of the carbon footprint associated with the livestock industry, and is among West Ridge’s most popular environmentally-friendly practices. Our study participants noted that local concerns surrounding pollution, scarcity, and water contamination in India led many of them to adopt environmentally-friendly practices that they would like to continue in Chicago. Vegetarian Restaurant Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurant

16 Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report 17 ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY PRACTICES, VALUES, AND TRADITIONS

Our research revealed the following community patterns, in relationship to the practices listed in the box: An elderly community member said that he used 1. The most popular practices combine several advantages: they are cost- to recycle regularly while effective, convenient to do, and widely socially acceptable among the South living in India. When he did Asian community. These include: walking as transit, buying local, using so, he was rewarded with curtains/drapes, and using energy-efficient light bulbs. payments from nearby garbage 2. Other practices that rank high among our West Ridge study participants are collectors and recyclers. Since moving linked to conservation habits that deal with resource scarcity in Asia, such to the United States, he has not discovered as water conservation and turning off appliances. any recycling programs that compare to India’s system. 3. Using energy-efficient appliances and retrofitting homes appear near the middle of the list, indicating that the initial capital investment required for these practices may be a barrier to some. Also, this positioning may reflect In major Indian cities like Deli there are countless scrap dealers where you can a need for greater awareness regarding the economic benefits of energy- sell household items like plastic and glass. Without the same incentive system saving devices, as many of our participants stated in interviews. here, this gentleman has felt little motivation to go out of his way to recycle. Other community members shared similar stories. A woman from Pakistan 4. The least popular practices are the most difficult and expensive to shared that she used to store her bottles and newspapers separately in order to undertake: green roofs, building green, and using renewable energy. sell them to a scrap dealer. Several community members suggested that scrap dealers who purchase recyclable materials should be encouraged, as they are in India and Pakistan. They agreed this would be a strong motivating factor for South Asian immigrants to recycle, as recycling confers economic benefits in One study participant told us that she believes that their homelands. people in the U.S. have a “throw away” mentality that exacerbates waste production. An elderly man agreed and, Participants drew a strong connection between energy conservation and pointing to his watch, said that it is easier to buy things frugality, lamenting U.S. consumption practices that make wastefulness new in the United States than it is to have them repaired. normative and resource conservation difficult and expensive. For example, several participants remarked that it is often easier to replace broken equipment than to have it repaired. While many of our interviewees said that they do not have enough information about the cost savings related to energy efficient practices, others said that they planned to take advantage of government rebates and tax credits toward the purchase of energy efficient appliances in their homes.

BARRIERS TO ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY PRACTICES

ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY Our research revealed a number of barriers that study participants face in PRACTICES IN WEST RIDGE’S SOUTH attempting to engage environmentally-friendly practices. These include: ASIAN COMMUNITY • Financial constraints, particularly for practices with up-front costs; Environmentally-friendly practices are listed below in order from most to least reported by residents and representatives of businesses, schools, and community organizations. Many • Cultural norms that make certain practices, such as hanging clothes out reflect inherent community values that may be building blocks for further involving residents to dry or bicycling, unappealing or difficult. Some study participants said in CCAP implementation. they did not think these practices would become popular with middle-class 1. Using Curtains/Drapes to Control Temperature 2. Turning Off Lights, Appliance, TV South Asians even if they were made more convenient. 3. Using Energy Efficient Light Bulbs 4. Opening Windows • Inconvenience, especially associated with recycling; 5. Walking as Transit 6. Buying Local • Preoccupations with concerns that are more apparent or immediate; and 7. Outdoor Relaxation/Recreation 8. Conserving Water • Lack of information related to environmentally-friendly practices, especially 9. Riding Public Transportation in languages other than English. 10. Recycling 11. Repairing Instead of Replacing

MOST 12. Using Manual Instead of Power Tools 13. Exchanging or Sharing Used Items with Family/Friends/Neighbors 14. Using Energy Efficient Appliance, Devices 15. Car Pooling ec ommendations: 16. Bringing Your Own Shopping Bag R ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY 17. Buying Organic 18. Living Close to Open/Natural Space PRACTICES, VALUES, AND 19. Hanging Clothes to Dry TRADITIONS 20. Reusing/Re-purposing 21. Beautifying the Community 1. Create an educational campaign that validates traditional 22. Gardening: community, school, home 23. Biking as Transit practices that can be challenging to maintain in an urban 24. Retrofitting Homes/Buildings environment, such as water conservation, frugality, reusing 25. Capturing or Diverting Rain Water 26. Using Renewable Energy and repurposing, and spending time outdoors. 27. Green Roofs 28. Preserving Historic Buildings/Places 2. Encourage the greening of the Devon Corridor, building 29. Raising Chickens upon the area’s tradition of eco-friendly food preparation. 30. Restoring Native Habitats Highlight the potential environmental benefits of a vegetarian 31. Building Green diet, finding public ways to explain its ecological benefits,

LEAST 32. Other (Vegetarian ) 33. Driving and maintaining a speed of 55 mph and bolstering the efforts of local vegetarian restaurants.

18 Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report 19 communication AND DISSEMINATION

South Asians in West Ridge have access to a variety of sources of Many South Asians rely on their informal social networks, including family information. Many of these sources do not focus on climate change per se, but members and friends, for communication about local events and transnational offer news and information related to the environment. Still, many of our study community concerns. Devon Avenue itself is also a rich source of information, participants felt like they were lacking information on climate change and the as South Asians socialize with each other here on benches and in restaurants environment and, in particular, about the economic benefits of climate action and stores, and browse notices in retail shops along Devon. programs.

There are a number of newspapers––such as the India Times and Indian Tribune––that are geared toward the South Asian community, free of cost, and widely available on Devon. Most of these are published in English to appeal to a wider readership among South Asia’s diverse language speakers, though some are also published in Hindi and Urdu. Videos and movies that are sold ec ommendations: in ubiquitous video and bookstores along Devon are also popular sources of R entertainment and communication among elderly members of the South Asian COMMUNICATION AND community. DISSEMINATION

Service organizations, such as IAC and Metropolitan Family Health Services, as well as cultural organizations and religious institutions are also places 1. Take advantage of the local organizations and businesses where information is disseminated. While much of this information is centered along the Devon corridor to disseminate information around financial and immigration assistance, the cost-savings benefits of throughout the South Asian community, including suburban environmentally-friendly practices could be integrated into center programs. residents who shop on Devon.

2. Provide information related to climate change and climate action programs that is printed in Hindi and Urdu and that is easy to read quickly or scan––such as bulleted text. Create attractive posters that can be displayed in shop windows.

3. Engage local organizations in a conversation on the community’s stake in addressing climate change. Identify ways that the organizations can communicate and engage residents around climate action, emphasizing the potential cost-savings associated with environmentally-friendly practices.

18 Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report 19 creative models FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

MODEL ONE: LINKING FORMAL AND INFORMAL RESOURCES MODEL THREE: ECONOMIC EDUCATION Devon’s business community is linked both by common interests and by social Most of the institutions that serve immigrants, seniors, and low income residents and kinship networks. There are established organizations in place, such as in West Ridge offer information and resources related to financial assistance to the West Ridge Chamber of Commerce, that work to advance the interests of large numbers of South Asians. Many of our study participants who lamented businesses along Devon; there are also more informal resources, such as family a lack of information in the community surrounding the cost-benefits of energy loans, that business owners tap into to improve their businesses. Together, conservation also noted that integrating climate change information into these formal and informal networking have created a well-established system of institutions’ programs is entirely consistent with their missions. The outreach of communication and resource distribution in the Devon business community. these institutions could be utilized to educate community members about the These resources and networks could be mobilized to reduce the carbon economic benefits of environmentally-friendly practices. footprint of the businesses on the corridor.

MODEL TWO: INDIA IN CHICAGO The Devon corridor is a hub for Indian and South Asian heritage practices, ec ommendations: as seen through local festivals, events, clothing, and cuisine. These practices R CREATIVE MODELS FOR are potentially powerful allies of climate change action. As the South Asian COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT community engages in heritage celebrations, there is tremendous potential to promote environmentally-friendly practices like vegetarianism, walking as transit, and eating locally. For many of our interviewees, these practices were 1. Promote the CCAP by stressing the connection between already a source of great pride. climate action and community and individual well-being. Use this connection to develop the “India in Chicago” model, creating a heritage corridor that emphasizes a holistic view of the natural environment and a healthy community.

2. Foster linkages within West Ridge’s business community to help business owners share information and implement collective projects, such as to beautify and “green” the spaces in front of their businesses along major commercial corridors.

3. Mobilize the resources and networks of West Ridge’s business community to reduce the carbon footprint of the businesses along the Devon corridor, to help businesses stop using environmentally-toxic materials such as styrofoam.

20 Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report conclusion

With its thriving business district, the West Ridge neighborhood is a cultural and commercial hub of metropolitan Chicago’s South Asian community. Though socio-economically and ethnically diverse, West Ridge business owners, service providers, and residents broadly agree that climate action strategies could enhance the attractiveness, livability, and financial vitality of their community. By linking their efforts to climate action and the CCAP, West Ridge organizations can address shared concerns and core values—like beautification, health, and safety—as they mobilize West Ridge’s human and cultural resources around climate action projects.

20 Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report 21 Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report community asset map Businesses Public Parks/Natural Areas 3 1. Daata Darbar 1. Indian Boundary Park W BIRCHWOOD AVE 49th Ward W FARGO AVE KEDZIE 2. Money Dart 2. Warren Park W JARVIS AVE Joe Moore W SHERWIN AVE 3. National Republic Bank Vegetarian Restaurant 4. Punjabi Dhabha 1. Arya Bhavan TOUHY 1 5. Raja Vegetarian Fast Food 2. Charmin Fine Dining & Grill ESTES AVE 6. Sahil Boutique 3. Copal Kabob & Steak W LUNT AVE 1 7. Salvation Army Store 4. Dasaprakash 8. Udupi Palace W MORSE AVE 5. Devon Pizza 9. Uru Swati PRATT 6. Ghareeb Nawaz 10. Viceroy of India 7. India Garden W NORTH SHORE AVE Community Organizations 8. Motimoti Mahi Restaurant Albion Ave 2 50th Ward 1. High Ridge YMCA 9. Mysore Woodlands Bernard L. Stone 2. Indo-American Heritage W ARTHUR AVE 5 9 10 Center and Indo-American 10. Sabri Nehari 10 Heritage Museum 6 1 5 7 4 11 1 13 7 6 3 DEVON 5 4 12 11. Sher Punjab Indian 2 9 3 8 2 2 8 3. Metropolitan Asian Family Restaurant W ROSEMONT AVE 4 Services 12. Tahoora LLC W GRANVILLE AVE 4. Muslim Women’s Resource Center 13. Usmania Fine Dining 5. Patel Brothers

PETERSON N AVE OAKLEY

N VIRGINIA AVE N AVE CLAREMONT N HOYNE AVE N RAVENSWOOD AVE N RAVENSWOOD N AVE WOLCOTT 39th Ward N WINCHESTER AVE Margaret Laurino Legend Community Organization Public Parks/Natural Are N MOZART ST N MOZART

N AVE SACRAMENTO Businesses N ARTESIAN AVE N ARTESIAN N ROCKWELL ST N ROCKWELL N WESTERN AVE N AVE FAIRFIELD N AVE CAMPBELL N FRANCISCO AVE N AVE CALIFORNIA Vegetarian Restaurant N WASHTENAW AVE N WASHTENAW 40th Ward N MAPLEWOOD AVE Patrick J O'Conner Chicago Park District

22 Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report 23 regional asset map Businesses 17. Greater Chicago 2. North Park University

15 1. Air India 18. Institute of Puerto Rican 3. Student Activities & Greek Arts & Culture Affair DEVON 3 22 2. Etihad Airlines 19. Irish American Heritage BRYN MAWR 3. Globetrotting Engineering Center ASSETS OUTSIDE OF THIS 30 2 13 MAP 6 14 19 Community Organizations 20. Jane Addams Hull-House 1 Museum IRVING PARK 23 1. American Indian Center Businesses

KEDZIE 21. Jesse White Tumbling Team CICERO HARLEM PULASKI HALSTED CENTRAL WESTERN BELMONT 28 2. Arab American Action 1. Asian American Hotel ASHLAND Network 22. Korean American Resource Owners Association NARRAGANSETT FULLERTON 11 24 and Cultural Center 3. Balzekas Museum of 2. Big Cinemas Golf Glen 5 10 Lithuanian Culture 23. Latvian Folk Art Museum NORTH 21 18 3. Desi Junction Radio 25 2 CHICAGO 32 4. Bronzeville Children’s 24. Peggy Notebaert Nature 33 Museum Museum Community Organizations 16 MADISON 1 26 3 5. Bronzeville/Black 25. Polish Museum of America 1. Bengali Association of 20 ROOSEVELT Chicagoan Historical Greater Chicago 31 8 26. Project on Civic Reflection 7 9 6. Cambodian American 2. Chicago Zoological CERMAK 12 Heritage Museum and 27. Pullman State Historic Site Society--Brookfield 31ST Killing Fields Memorial 31ST 28. Serbian Cultural and Arts 3. Gujarati Samaj Chicago 7. Casa Aztlán Center St. Sava PERSHING 4. Illinois Saint Andrews 17 8. Casa Michoacán 29. Swahili Institute of Chicago Society 47TH 1 9. Changing Worlds 30. Swedish American 5. Italian Cultural Center at 55TH Museum Casa Italia 1 10. Chicago History Museaum 63RD 2 31. The Field Museum 6. Maharashtra Mandal 3 11. Children’s Memorial Restaurant Hospital 32. Ukrainian Institute of 71ST Modern Art 7. Mitchell Museum of the 12. Chinese American American Indian 79TH Museum of Chicago 33. Ukrainian National Museum 8. Punjabi Cultural Society 87TH 13. Chinese Mutual Aid Legend 4 Associon Government Agencies 9. Science of Spirituality 95TH Businesses 103RD GROVE COTTAGE 14. DANK Haus German 1. Toni Preckwinkle-Cook 10. Shree Jalaram Mandir American Cultural Center County Board President Community Organization 29 5 Other Non-profit 111TH 27 15. Ethiopian Community Schools/Universities Organization Schools/Universities Association 119TH 1. Center for International 1. Federation of Indian Government Agecy TORRENCE STONY ISLAND STONY 16. Filipino American Studies (University of Associations 127TH Historical Society of Chicago) West Ridge Chicago 2. Sardar Patel Foundation 138TH

22 Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report 23 OUR TEAM PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS: Our research with Indo-American Heritage Museum involved leaders and residents affiliated with over 30 organizations, which represent a diversity of geographic areas, sectors, and issues. Dr. Jennifer Hirsch, Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo), The Field Museum These include:

Commissioner Suzanne Malec-McKenna, City of Chicago Department of Environment Indo-American Heritage Museum PROJECT MANAGER: Indo-American Center Dr. Rosa Cabrera, Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo), The Field Museum West Ridge YMCA

PROJECT TEAM: Punjabi Cultural Society

Mannan Bandukwala, Indo-American Heritage Museum Gujarati Samaj Chicago

Nafisa Bandukwala, Indo-American Heritage Museum Metropolitan Family Health Services

Dr. Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz, Chicago Cultural Alliance Asian Family Services

Ryan Lugalia-Hollon, Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo), The Field Museum Devon Bank

Lisa See Kim, Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo), The Field Museum Uncommon Ground Restaurant

Modhurima Mukherjee, Indo-American Heritage Museum Indian Garden

Rebeccah Sanders, Chicago Cultural Alliance Hansa Chaharia

Dorothie Shah, Indo-American Heritage Museum

Mimosa Shah, Chicago Cultural Alliance

Renuka Sharma, Indo-American Center

Sarah Sommers, Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo), The Field Museum

INTERNS:

Izabela Grobelna, Alyssa Pfluger, Hannah Porst, Ylanda Wilhite, Juliana Wilhoit

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Chicago Fact Finder: Your Census Information Resource for Chicagoland Communities. Area 2: West Ridge. Institute for Latino Studies, University of Notre Dame, 2005. Web. June 2010.

Holi, Melvin G., and Peter D’Alroy Jones. Ethnic Chicago: A Multicultural Portrait. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1994.

Indo-American Center. Images of America: Asian Indians of Chicago. Arcadia Publishers, 2002.

Kalayil et al. Developing Devon. Self-published manuscript.

University of Illinois at Chicago. The West Ridge Community Survey. Self-publishedmanuscript. * All image rights reserved. Visit fieldmuseum.org/explore/department/ecco for more information.

24 Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report 24 Environment, Culture, and Conservation (ECCo) • The Field Museum • Research Report