Exciting Area around Campus

unalove
Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:11:25 +0000

I would think the university would LOVE to yuppify the area. However, development is met with a lot of resistance in the neighborhood, and many people like the way it is.

My theory as to the difference between Penn and Chicago would be the differences in consumer cultures among students. I was curious as to whether West Philly has an Urban Outfitters-- it does-- and I’m sure the density of Penn/Drexel students willing to spend brought it there. My impression is that Chicago students don’t care about the Urban Outfitters enough to demand its presence.

But there are infinitely many variables that make Chicago’s situation and others schools’ situations different.

As far as homeless people and comments go-- I have to watch women get catcalled every time I’ve walked to work (not in Hyde Park). For those of you who are not accustomed to living in cities, it might be something a little bit scary at first, but every city I’ve ever been in has had at least some homeless wandering around even the richest areas. The characters I’ve seen around Hyde Park are harmless.