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Cronon talks about Chicago and its future in different ways. In his prologue, Cronon explains his first encounter with the city of Chicago, he compares his quiet homeland of Wisconsin with the cloudy skies and populated community of Chicago. He goes into a strong argument about the city’s “Natural” or “Unnatural” state of being, he mentions a few historians who also talk about their first encounter with the city, one of them “fearing” the city for how “man made” and “unnatural” it has become to “loving” the city for what it is and the full potential it has. I really like how Cronon defines the natural and the unnatural in his texts, he compares both of these terms and finally comes to a conclusion that the city is both “natural” and “unnatural” Why? because humans turn the natural into unnatural with our inventions and ambitions.
Chapter 1 is a very interesting chapter in where Cronon talks about the very beginnings of Chicago, the modern city and metropolis of the nation. I was very surprise to learn about the start of Chicago, from glacier formations to the early dates of Indian trades. Cronon gives a very detailed background of Chicago’s first citizens and how, with time, the city starts to become more popular, which attracted many business man who saw potential in the city’s trading system. As the city grows larger, Cronon talks about the speculators’ theory on cities and how they were major keys to the Great west. Speculator’s or “Boosters” are academic thinkers that discuss the progress of Chicago, these boosters talk about the expansion of Chicago and how this city can be compare to the Empire of Rome because of its trade and potential. Cronon then explains the environmental mechanism behind cities, how the cities are created and the usual patterns around them, like, large fields of crops with a main point of trade. Cranon gives a really good description on how the city was born and I enjoyed his views and discussion on how the city can be “Natural”, “Unnatural” or both.
