It’s no secret that Chicagoland residents value their public spaces. When MPC asked for photos or videos of well-loved public spaces during its "What Makes Your Place Great?" contest this summer, more than 50 submissions poured in from all corners of the region.
Now, one of those spaces is gaining national attention. A video about Drake Garden in Albany Park that was submitted by Kallan Benjamin, Jewel Otten, and Mary Kay Freese, was recently picked up by Streetfilms, an arm of the popular online community known as the Livable Streets Initiative. As the video branch of the Livable Streets Initiative, Streetfilms produces videos about innovative ways cities around the world are reclaiming their streets and enhancing their public spaces. Videos on Streetfilms regularly reach a worldwide audience of thousands of people.
Streetfilms is featuring the Drake Garden video as part of its new Community Videos section, which will showcase videos produced and submitted by anyone with an interest in healthy, walkable streets and quality public spaces. Launched on Nov. 9, 2009, the Community Videos section will feature six to eight videos at a time for up to a month each.
The Drake Garden video is part of the inaugural class of videos in the Community Videos section. This inspiring three-minute video describes, through the words of the people who use the space, how this small garden in Albany Park helps makes the neighborhood a community.
To see the Drake Garden video on Streetfilms, visit www.streetfilms.org and scroll to the grey box at the bottom of the page.
While you’re at it, check out all of the submissions to MPC’s What Makes Your Place Great? Contest by visiting www.placemakingchicago.com, or read a short article about the "What Makes Your Place Great?" Roundtable MPC hosted on Oct. 28 that featured the four contest winners.