Abstract
A focal point of this article is symbols (e.g., flags) and how low-income communities use them to construct ownership over spaces that would have otherwise been inaccessible to them. This conception of contested ownership through symbolism helps us to elaborate the main point of this article: how low-income communities continuously battle gentrification through symbols. The following article employs interviews and a theoretical framework on symbols and collective ethnic identity to understand how they operate in the appropriation of space by applying a case study of Humboldt Park, Chicago, and the Puerto Rican community.
Highlights
I remember the first time that I visited Paseo Boricua which translates to Puerto Rican Promenade.Paseo Boricua is a Puerto Rican commercial district marked by two large flags made of steel
I only had a general idea where to find these giant flags. They were the first thing that appeared on Google when I typed “Puerto Rican neighborhood Chicago”
It it communicates to outsiders that Humboldt Park is a Puerto Rican neighborhood
Summary
I remember the first time that I visited Paseo Boricua which translates to Puerto Rican Promenade. Paseo Boricua is a Puerto Rican commercial district marked by two large flags made of steel. I knew that I was getting closer (getting hot) when I would see Puerto Rican flags in people’s homes, cars, murals, and commercial signs. That first time that I visited Humboldt Park, I did not know that the flags of Paseo Boricua were constructed inin1995 by members the Rican. It it communicates to outsiders that Humboldt Park is a Puerto Rican neighborhood. It communicates they have thethe ability andand the power to develop.
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