Meet your neighbors: Lisa

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Lisa, 35
Logan Square, Chicago

What project did you do?
Our wedding. We got married last summer in our backyard, and held the reception on the street in front of our building as part of a block party.

Why did you start your project?
We wanted a simple wedding (i.e. on the cheap), and one that involved our family and friends, many of whom happen to also be our neighbors. Our friends and family did the food, and even some special batches of wedding beer, as their gifts to us. We both always wanted to be married outdoors, and were not interested in the waste -- both monetary and otherwise – of more traditional weddings. So when I started hunting for sites in the winter, my husband Todd came up with the idea of applying for a block party permit to hold our reception in the street. We are both slackers, too, so it was half out of necessity, since we had waited to long to actually rent any place in Chicago where we'd want to have our reception --even the public park buildings book up quickly.


How long did it take you?
Our block has had a popular summer block party for many years before we moved here, so we knew from our neighbors that we had to apply via the alderman's office at least a month or so in advance so that we'd have time to collect a majority of signatures supporting the street closure for the day. But the idea was cemented some time in the early spring of '06, and our wedding was that June. I think I downloaded the permit and faxed it in when it was complete, so it only took a few hours of actually collecting the signatures. The ceremony and reception planning only took us a few months total, as I was pregnant and didn't want to devote much more energy than that.

What were the major challenges you encountered during your project?
I took a little convincing by Todd in the beginning, because I was worried about the weather, and alienating some of our car-dependant neighbors. Our block happens to have a critical mass of folks who are car-light or car-free, however, and are very nice and neighborly, so it wasn't much of a problem convincing the majority that it was a good idea.

The annual block party is usually held later in summer, though, so we did have to convince a few people that this earlier block party wouldn't preclude us from having a later one as well! The more the better, we thought. We did tell them the block party would include our reception, so we didn't spring it on anyone, and encouraged everyone to come out and join us. We planned extra food and booze in case they all did.

The weather did turn out to be more spring than summer, with temperatures in the 40s that night, and so it was good that we had rented a tent and put up lights, otherwise people would probably have bailed fairly early on. I had a few aunts and cousins raiding closet for jackets and gloves, but overall they loved it and were exposed to a real slice of urban life.

Todd had agreed to be in charge of getting the signatures, so my biggest challenge was probably reminding him to go out with a couple of friends and get them so we'd get the permit filed in time. As I said before... slackers.

What did you enjoy most about your project?
The "take back the streets" aspect. As a car-free family, we pay for our neighbors to use the street for parking and tolerate other drivers using it as a high-speed shortcut every other day of the year, so it only seems fair that we also have access to it for the uses we prefer on occasion.

It turns out that it was just fun! After the lovely ceremony and some great appetizers for invited guests in the back yard, we moved everyone out front to the street for the larger reception. First we took a little bike ride around the neighborhood on our new tandem (a wedding gift from several friends) with anyone who wanted to join us. It was mostly just our already-bikey friends; unfortunately I didn't succeed in getting my Mom or other relatives on the extra bikes. When we returned to the party, we had grills going, two great DJs (one of whom was my brother-in-law), a live band and good beer. Eventually even my 80-year-old grandmother was dancing in the street!
What would you have done differently if you could do it all over again?
First, held it later in the summer. Because of the chilly air, not many of our neighbors came out so it kind of ended up feeling like a private party anyway. Though we did get some passers-by and friendly crashers who drank some beer, danced, and totally dug. I guess in many other cultures weddings are much more public affairs, which I think is great. Second, I'd have had the tables and chairs set up in the street in advance, so that our older guests perching on our neighbors porches (though they didn't seem to mind) while we rushed to set things up after the wedding.

Third, we would have used non-hickory smoke charcoal for the grills! The smoke ended up becoming a bit much, and did perturb one of our neighbors. I also should have had others instead of my Dad and brother manning the grills, though I think it helped my Dad feel useful.

What's your advice for other people who want to do the same project?
Consider the weather, and try to get your neighbors involved beyond just agreeing to the street closure. Ask for help with various details, which is a good idea with any wedding anyway.

What's your next project?
One of my neighbor-friends is beginning to work with the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation on the possibility of our street becoming a "Home Zone" and I really want to help make that happen. As new parents, we are much more conscious of what it will take for us to want to stay and raise our child in the city instead of fleeing to a suburb or smaller town. We both grew up in suburbs and have no desire to return. As I mentioned, our block gets a fair amount of high-speed cut through traffic that is just unnecessary. We're betting even our neighbors with cars, particularly the ones with kids, wouldn't mind a safer more pleasant street for hanging out. Many of us have nice backyards, but even they can contribute to social isolation. If they street was safer, maybe they wouldn't want to come and go from their garages by car so much.


What would you like to see Neighbors Project accomplish?
It seems many newer, younger urban residents are trying to import a suburban model of life into the city, complete with gated subdivisions and two-car garages, while driving across town to a gym or playgroup twice a week. But we're part of a growing push toward improving urban civility and livability without suburbanizing the city. I'm not interested in my kid growing up in the various bubbles of cars, indoor playgrounds, or larger living rooms.

I think the Neighbors Project can promote efforts that get people out of their bubbles and into the green spots, or their own streets, long enough to notice the air, water and general surroundings we're creating for each other and maybe want to improve them. That shouldn't be urban or suburban, or partisan, but human.