Green Street

3/17/15

                This week, our outing was slightly closer to home. We ventured down to campus town and walked down Green Street, as we discussed the many changed that have occurred on one of the most popular spots on campus. Filled with bars, food, and shopping, Green Street seems almost essential to student survival, so it’s weird to think that it hasn’t always been the student friendly place it is today.

                What started off Green Street’s transformation was the flooding issue that the area had. The Boneyard creek had the nasty habit of overflowing and flooding the surrounding neighborhood. This started the interest in the area.

                A group of students and a faculty member began to take notice of the Green street area and began coming up with ways to improve it. They realized that this space had much more potential that could be used to improve students’ lives on campus. So they began to lobby for making Green Street a place for students; less of a transitional place and more of a place to exist.

                Slowly, Green St became a place people were actually willing to go. The awnings got smaller, the streets narrower, and the sidewalks wider. Soon, people began erecting apartments to house students, as they realized that they could charge much more in rent for a lot less.

                This is the perfect example of a space changing to suit its environment. Green Street could have become a place intended for vehicular travel, but it was instead taken in the opposite direction, and transformed into a place for pedestrian student life. Green Street became the place we know today: a place to eat, drink, and have a good time. 

Downtown Champaign

3/10/15

                This past Tuesday, we went to downtown Champaign. Much of downtown Champaign focuses on its difference from Campus town. Here, people who wish to get away from the college partying can relax, shop, eat, and drink at their leisure. Non-college bars and pubs are what helped the downtown area flourish in the first place.

                The whole downtown area was built upwind from the railroad. This was done so the town could live without having to endure the odor and pollutants of industry. These smells would, intend, be sent downwind, towards Urbana.

                One of the buildings we passed on our walk was the former post office. This building was an impressive, strong looking building. It was wide and relatively short, making it seem very robust. This building was meant to symbol the federal presence in the town. It showed a stronghold of the government, while being a very central, public place. It has a set of large, steep steps to the door, where once, people could congregate.

                We eventually wandered to West Side Park, a large park in the center of downtown Champaign. Surrounding this park are many churches, the library, and a school. Here, the very rural concept of having many aspects of life intertwining come into play. The churches, many of which lie on Church Street, signify a healthy spirit. The park signifies a healthy body. And the library and school signify a healthy mind. All of them can be found together because, to many people, they all are parts of everyday life.