Underground Cities: An Alternative Transportation System

As the readings call for alternatives in transportation sustainability, and our walkability initiative with Bloomington, I got interested in what a pedway system can do in a major city. And if it is at all functional and should be utilized in smaller cities.

Deep beneath the hustle and bustle, buried feet below the city of Chicago lies a hidden system of tunnels nestled just below your feet. With harsh winters and winds that bite at your face, the idea of a pedway below the city only makes sense. However, no one really knows about it. As a Chicago native I had never heard about this pedway system till recently this year. I was irate that after four years of undergrad and traipsing through the city with my whole body nearly frozen like a popsicle I would have loved to use a pedway system. And as my time here at SPEA draws to a close I start to wonder if it will be useful to me in the coming future.

With more than 40 city blocks connecting one another to train stations, retail stores, hotels, skyscrapers, and the merchandise market the system would appear to be seamlessly formed. However, most natives don't know about it. There are apparently signs around the city to mark the hidden entrances but I have yet myself to ever see one.

However, unbeknownst to me at the time, I have myself walked through a tunnel taking the "L" in Chicago and transferring lines. Although the elevated train system is kind of old and not the safest it is highly efficient and gets you around the city rather quickly at a pretty reasonable price. But back to the pedway. Transferring from the Blue Line to the Red Line in Chicago requires you to walk down a dingy, tiled, weirdly lit, and smelly tunnel to get to the next line. Turns out that is the typical pedway that is rather new.

The pedway wasn't that bad when I was with my boyfriend late at night and lots of others commuters, but if you asked me to walk around the city by myself through these tunnels you would have to have me armored with a baton, taser, and pepper spray. But the typical tunnel for the pedway isn't as lovely as the one above. It is a bit scarier.

If Chicago could get its act together and make its pedway system safer, cleaner, and better advertised I know many people would take advantage of it on torrential rain and basically through the entirety of the winter. Chicago has harsh weather and its people are always looking for a way to avoid trudging to work in subzero temperatures, with whipping wind, and mounds of snow to battle just to get a few blocks down in the city. There is much opportunity for growth and as the city moves towards being even greener, I anticipate they may start to utilize this system more if it is remodeled. But do I think Bloomington would ever need a pedway system, most likely not. If we didn't have such a good bus system I might say it would be good to integrate somewhere into the IU campus. However, our busses tend to get you where you need rather quickly so a pedway would be unnecessary. But in Chicago, it would be AMAZING!!! Well if they cleaned it up a bit and maybe if I got a taser.

-Stephanie

Penny Pinching

I recently talked about the importance of reusing before happening to recycle items of mine. And this is where it all began. I have a coffee table that I got at Ikea last year. It is not well put together, entirely made of particle board, and basically all I could afford. But as the year went on I started to realize I used the table more as a footstool than anything else. However, it was entirely uncomfortable but my only option. After a few hours of reading a textbook with my feet on the coffee table I realized how much I had hurt my ankles. I had a huge indentation that was red and sore. So of course my first reaction is to start googling ottomans. And to my surprise they are pretty pricey. Even the ones from Walmart will run you around $100, which is a lot seeing as to how that is two weeks of groceries of groceries for me and I don't want to buy more furniture. After googling many blogs and youtube videos I found a bunch that taught you how to reupholster furniture. I then further found some more on how to turn a coffee table into an ottoman.

5 Days 5 Ways

Home With Mandy

Jenny Komenda Interiors

From there I downloaded a few coupons and took some measurements of my table, grabbed my keys and headed to JoAnn Fabrics. There I bought Green Foam for comfort, thick white batting, a staple gun, and some thick canvass fabric that I found in the scrap section. In the end I ended up spending around $32 only. And if you add in the original price of the table ($19) I ended up with an ottoman for $50! That is dirt cheap, not to mention eco friendly, and I got to pick the fabric that matches my decor. About an hour later, and the major brute force done by my boyfriend since I didn't buy the best staple gun, I had a cozy, comfy ottoman.

 So cozy that it got pinched!

THE FACE OF GUILT!

Rights have been established and yes her paws are crossed

Penny commandeered my ottoman within minutes of actually having it. She never once climbed on my coffee table, but the moment I put a piece of cozy fabric she went all Christopher Columbus on me and staked her claim on it. As I tried to shoo her off, a war of resources broke out. Her little canines started to flair, she bent in a crouching position, and started to growl. She refused to move. She wasn't going to go down without a fight. After about ten minutes of her running around from the couch to the ottoman and back and forth I gave up. Basically I lost to an 8lb dog. Every time I thought I got her off she would just hop back on and knock off the nice little tray with all the tv remotes and books off of it.

Guarding her territory during the battle

Now not only do I not have an ottoman, but I don't have a coffee table anymore. Instead I have a puppy pedestal that she sits on since I moved it for her towards the window. When I had the blinds open she would lay on it and soak up the sun on her belly, so I gave in and just gave it to her. 

Before

After

As the days grow colder I don't feel so bad for giving it to her. She needs sunlight and happiness in her life. So it got me thinking. What other things out there can you repurpose into pet furniture.
And I found a bunch of nifty things.

Desk Cat Station

Upside Down Table

Dog Food Risers

Repurposed End Table

Suitcase Dog Bed

As you can see there are many option for repurposing for your pet, most of which are intended unlike my little mishap. But it goes to show you the adaptability of animals and green home innovation. There are always options for making your pet comfortable, and not all of them have to be store bought.

Friends Fur Ever,

Stephanie & Penny

-$22.01 +$32.00 (which I am using as positive because I ended up with an awesome ottoman/puppy bed)
=$9.99

Update!
The puppy relief station didn't work. She ate the corner off... Maybe it will start to work in the winter when she misses grass? Hopefully!