COMMUNITY ACTIVISM IN OAK PARK: COMPETING AGENDAS ...

neighborhood. But although they are not active participants in community politics, they
choose to live in an ethnically-diverse neighborhood and are aware of the social issues
that affect their neighborhood.
For instance, my downstairs neighbor Chris shared a two bedroom apartment with
his wife and ten-month year-old daughter. Chris had a Master’s degree in biology and
taught college preparatory math and science classes at the local Catholic high school. His
wife, Sara, had a Master’s degree in psychology and was a practicing psychologist at a
hospital outside of the neighborhood. Chris and Sara were in their early 40s and had
lived in their residence in Oak Park for about three years. They enjoyed the location of
their home. Chris worked in the neighborhood and enjoyed the low rent and interesting
environment of Oak Park. The couple listened to trip-hop music, enjoyed traveling, and
were great cooks and decorators. They fit the definition of a progressive couple, but they
did not attend Neighborhood Association meetings or participate in any other community
events. In fact, Chris mentioned they had few friends in the neighborhood. And although
they had friends who visited often, they lived in other areas of the city. Most of the
couple’s recreational and leisure time was spent doing activities outside of the
neighborhood because they felt the neighborhood was unsafe and lacked entertainment
options.
I met Chris when I was moving my furniture into my new apartment, located just
above his own residence. He came out and introduced himself. He then matter-of-factly
gave me a brief summary about the neighborhood and my new neighbors in Oak Park.
Hi I’m Chris. I’m like the manager of this complex and take care of
the place for our landlady. Welcome to your new apartment. Are
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