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The 2006 Meeting of The AAG, March 7-11 2006, Chicago, IL
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Chicago: Mapping's Metropolis It is perhaps no surprise that Chicago, as the preeminent American industrial city of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, rose to early prominence in the map production and publishing industry. The 2006 AAG Annual Meeting provides an ideal opportunity to explore this geographic history and to also become more familiar with the city's place in the twenty-first century geographic technology industry. Chicago and Its Inland Sea World-class cities have landmarks of iconic stature: think of the city and the image leaps to mind. Chicago has many such images, but few surpass its magnificent frontage on Lake Michigan--a complex of parks, promontories, boulevards, and museums stretching for miles along the shoreline. The 2006 Annual Meeting of the AAG is being held in Chicago, March 7-11, and we hope that during your stay you will set aside time to explore these distinctive geographical features of the region. Chicago: Immigrant Metropolis Over a century-and-a-half ago, Chicago emerged out of the marshy coast of the great inland sea like an ungainly colossus. As the steady waves of humanity pressed upon its shores, the city's population rose in dramatic spurts to become the teeming immigrant metropolis of the midcontinent. Each wave of immigrants has left its distinctive marks on Chicago that has long enjoyed the nickname "City of Neighborhoods." Those who travel to Chicago for the AAG Annual Meeting, March 7-11, 2006, will follow in the footsteps of those immigrants, and will encounter a city that boasts 130 foreign-language media outlets and an emergency service system that can respond to phone calls in twenty-seven languages. A Decade of Urban Change: AAG Returns to Chicago The AAG is pleased to be holding its next annual meeting March 7-11, 2006, in the world-class city of Chicago. The AAG last met in Chicago in 1995, and in the newsletter issues leading up to the 2006 meeting, the Local Arrangements Committee (co-chaired by Mark Bouman of Chicago State University and Jon Kilpinen of Valparaiso University) will provide articles that highlight some of the more dramatic changes in Chicago since then. This article provides an overview of six areas of dramatic change, each of which will be presented in greater detail in coming issues. Green Chicago Can Chicago be one of America’s “greenest” cities? To those whose image of the city involves the glint of morning sun on a forest of skyscrapers, the turbocharged mid-day diesel roar at yet another grade crossing, the torrent of cars pooling behind an afternoon “gaper’s block” on the Dan Ryan Expressway, or the nocturnal sniff and glimpse of hell in the mills and refineries of the Calumet district, it seems hardly possible that the answer could be yes. But visitors to Chicago can barely miss the signs that the city is committed to an image makeover. Geographers will have a number of opportunities to enjoy the fruits of what the city has tried to do as well as to inquire into the nature of the reality behind the image. One thing that has not changed about Chicago is that even in its bid to be more “green,” questions of power and politics lurk at every turn. Chicago’s Geographies: A 21st Century Metropolis In preparation for its return to Chicago for the 2006 Annual Meeting, the AAG is compiling a book of original essays about Chicago written by geographers. The book, Chicago’s Geographies: A 21st Century Metropolis, will be made available for sale in advance and on-site at the meeting.
Recreating Chicago’s Railroads Chicago is commonly thought of as the transportation hub of the nation, thanks in large part to the convergence of freight rail lines here. Historically, Chicago was the place where eastern and western railroads met. With the consolidation of the rail industry in recent decades, it is now served by six of the seven “Class I” or major North American railroads: the western BNSF and Union Pacific, the eastern CSX and Norfolk Southern, and the Canadian CN and CP. The Kansas City Southern is the only Class I that does not serve Chicago.
Please direct all queries to: Association of American Geographers 1710 16th Street NW,br> Washington, DC 20009 Voice: (202) 234-1450 Fax: (202) 234-2744 E-mail: meeting@aag.org
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