Paving Over Paradise: Urbanization vs. Green Spaces

Cities are rising and populations are blooming, but at what cost?

As a child growing up in Arizona, I would hop my backyard fence and roam free in the desert searching for scorpions, snakes, and saguaros (oh my!). Years later I returned to find the open space of my backyard transformed. Snake burrows paved over, saguaros gone, and buildings stretching into the sky. A place that once felt open and free was buzzed with traffic and concrete. 

Urbanization is a population increase that causes a rural area to become more populated. The Chicago area has grown largely over the years, causing many housing and businesses to develop. With this shift, habitats (de Barros Ruas & Bered, 2022) and green spaces are lost (Zheng et al., 2019). Green spaces have been linked to improving physical and mental health, as well as providing stress relief (Ward Thomas et al., 2016). As urbanization reshapes our cities, memories, lifestyles, and connection to nature, what can we do? 

Reach out to your local government!

Contact the Village of Homer Glen and ask to speak to a representative. Let them know your stance on green spaces and ask them what they are doing to improve ours as well as incorporate green spaces into future developments. There is a Parks & Recreation committee that meets twice a month and all meetings are open to the public. Attend a meeting to assist with grant application recommendations, trail planning, playground equipment recommendations, and more!

Use the spaces available to you!

It is important to utilize the parks and trails that we currently have access to. The more often they are used, the better kept they will be and the more people we will have in our community to advocate for these spaces. Invite a friend or family member on a walk or hike with you. Take your next play date to the park and give them the opportunity to become stewards in their community. Check out our community map to learn more about the green spaces closest to you!