Pilsen

Streetsblog’s meet-ups are always a great opportunity to hang out and network with folks who are passionate about sustainable transportation and livable streets.

While many Streetsblog readers are hardy all-season cyclists, we know some folks hate to go out in the cold, so once again we’re holding our monthly meet-up at a convenient, transit-friendly location. In fact, next week’s event will be held smack-dab next to the Pink Lane’s Damen-Cermak station, at The Barrel bar in Pilsen. Here’s the skinny.

Yesterday the Tribune's Mary Wisniewski further explored a topic Streetsblog's John Greenfield covered two weeks ago for the Reader. Virtually all of Chicago's new transit-oriented development projects are upscale buildings in affluent or gentrifying neighborhoods. TOD advocates argue that adding housing in these communities will take pressure off the rental market. But some Logan Square residents say soon-to-open TOD towers in the neighborhood will encourage other landlords to jack up rents.

[The Chicago Reader recently launched a new weekly transportation column written by Streetsblog Chicago editor John Greenfield. This partnership will allow Streetsblog to extend the reach of our livable streets advocacy. We’ll be syndicating a portion of the column on the day it comes out online; you can read the remainder on the Reader’s website or in print. The paper hits the streets on Thursdays.]

Active, creative, and social play has a number of benefits for children, especially those in low-income, urban communities. However, nowadays many kids don’t get enough opportunities for healthy play, according to staffer Janine Kacprzak from the nonprofit KaBOOM. The organization has helped build over 2,500 playgrounds across the country, including hundreds in Chicago, Kacprzak said.

[This article also runs in Checkerboard City, John's column in Newcity magazine, which hits the streets on Wednesday evenings.]

Big thanks to everyone who came out to help us celebrate our first anniversary of writing Streetsblog Chicago last night at Simone's in Pilsen. Steven Vance and I were impressed that dozens of loyal readers braved the cold on a night when the mercury dropped to -1 F. A couple of hardy souls even Divvied with me from Daley Plaza to the bar, which has a docking station right out front, as well an on-street-bike parking corral and custom-made bike racks on the sidewalk.

Steven Vance and I are looking forward to celebrating our landmark-filled first year of writing Streetsblog Chicago this Thursday with a reader meet-up from 6 to 9 p.m. at Simone’s Bar, 960 West 18th in Pilsen -- we hope to see many of you folks there! If you’ve never been to one of these events, they’re a great place to share ideas about sustainable transportation and livable streets, as well as just hang out and have fun.

In a hurry? Read a shorter version of this piece at Grist.org, an environmental news website.