Watching the Asphalt Grow: How One Community Experienced and was Impacted by Educational Reform Policies

In response to a rapidly changing educational system and public discourse pushing for school choice and accountability, the City of Chicago announced sweeping changes to its educational system. Renaissance 2010 called for a restructuring of schools and the creation of a new school, effectively dismantling the longstanding traditions which position schools as community institutions. During these changes, several iterations of school closures saw massive changes in communities, and in some cases the dissolution of neighborhoods. This research focuses on one instance where schools, which operate as the skeletal system of the neighborhood, were dismantled, shuffled, and relocated, creating a ripple effect in the community.