1. Chicago “Five Themes of Geography” “Site and Situation”
Mr. Stepek

2. LOCATION
Absolute or “Exact” location
Relative location
42°N, 88°W
Describes where in reference to someplace else.
Chicago lies between two watersheds
Chicago is on the southern tip of Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes
Chicago is located in the middle of the United States
Insert a picture of an animal and or plant found in your country.

3. Mississippi and Great Lakes Watersheds
Chicago was originally “desirable” as a portage site between two watersheds for travelers by canoe.
“Portage Park”

4. Chicago’s role was as coordinator of north-south and east-west flows
lumber traveled from north to south

5. Chicago’s role was as coordinator of north-south and east-west flows
hardware had to be directed from east to west

6. Situation clue = “Player with Railroads” “Nation’s Freight Handler”

7. Early Railroad hub

10. Situation = Chicago is a major transportation hub

11. Situation clue = “Stacker of Wheat”

12. Situation clue = “Hog Butcher to the World”

13. LOCATION
Absolute or “Exact” location
Relative location
42°N, 88°W
Describes where in reference to someplace else.
Chicago lies between two watersheds
Chicago is on the southern tip of Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes
Chicago is centrally located within the U.S.
Chicago is on the eastern edge of the agricultural heartland
Insert a picture of an animal and or plant found in your country.

16. Situation = Major center of commodity exchanges

17. LOCATION
Absolute or “Exact” location
Relative location
42°N, 88°W
Describes where in reference to someplace else.
Chicago lies between two watersheds
Chicago is on the southern tip of Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes
Chicago is centrally located within the U.S.
Chicago is on the eastern edge of the agricultural heartland
Chicago is located near abundant coal fields.
Chicago is located close to the Iron Range of Minnesota (1st)
Insert a picture of an animal and or plant found in your country.

18. Chicago = “the City that Works”, “the City of Big Shoulders”, “Tool Maker”
Situation = Chicago was a center of heavy industry!

20. Region: commonalities between places
3 ways to discuss region
Formal or uniform
Illinois, city of Chicago, wards, townships, CPS, etc.
homogeneous laws, taxation, policy, etc.
prairie, watershed
homogeneous environment
Functional or nodal
transportation hub (RRs, Air travel)
commodity exchanges with global hinterland (area of service)
regional center of finance, higher order services
Perceptual or vernacular
“Rust Belt” = decaying industrial base

21. Place: how can a location be described?
Physical
climate and vegetation
temperate
prairie/forest
terrain/landform
flat
lake shore
built terrain
Urban density gradient
skyscrapers
Bungalows
grid-pattern
centralized transit system

23. Place: how can a location be described?
People
demographics
2.7 million (Chicago)
9 million + (Metro area)
3rd largest in U.S.
32% non-Hispanic White, 33% Black, 29% Hispanic, 6% Asian
population/cultural stats
multiethnic
immigrants looking for industrial jobs
Economic stats
Situation = Diversified economic base
Not a “one-trick” pony (see Detroit)
Commodities, Industry, Tourism, Finance, Technology
If a country, Chicagoland would have the 21st largest economy
$531b is equivalent to Switzerland or Poland or Belgium’s GDP

24. Interaction: the relationship between humans and their environment.
Modification
Adaptation
How do humans  their environment to better suit themselves, examples:
How do humans  to better fit into their environment.
Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal
Helps industry thrive (industrial center situation)
Chicago city planning
Burnham Plan = open lakefront
Grant Park/Streeterville landfill
Cities “front yard”, the “bean”
Museums, McCormick Place, Navy Pier
Chicago River flow reversed
Drinking water and clean beaches
Situation = Tourism! Chicago is beautiful/clean

25. Movement Industry attracts people to Chicago “Titans of Industry”
George Pullman = railcars, model worker society
McCormick reaper
Sears catalog
Germans
Labor movement, 8-hour work day, anarchism, socialism
Haymarket riot = May Day

27. Movement Industry attracts people to Chicago “Titans of Industry”
George Pullman = railcars, model worker society
McCormick reaper
Sears catalog
Germans
Labor movement, 8-hour work day, anarchism, socialism
Haymarket riot = May Day
African-Americans
Great Migration
African- Americans from South move North
Attracted to industrial jobs

29. Movement Industry attracts people to Chicago “Titans of Industry”
George Pullman = railcars, model worker society
McCormick reaper
Sears catalog
Germans
Labor movement, 8-hour work day, anarchism, socialism
Haymarket riot = May Day
African-Americans
Great Migration
African- Americans from South move North
Attracted to industrial jobs
Chicago gets African-Americans from Mississippi Delta region
makes Chicago the “Blues” capital of world