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For decades, the South Side has been Chicago’s own dirty secret, an entire half of the city swept under the rug, one hundred blocks often amputated from tourist maps, cut out of existence. Throughout the Guardian clip, South Side community leaders and parents of murdered children repeat the same sentiment: these things happen all the time, but nobody does anything about it. Nobody’s listening. Nobody seems to care.
Chicago 101: Blogger explains origins of segregation in the city
yesterdaysweirdness.wordpress.com - 13 weeks ago - 457 views
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Criminal segregation? Might one explanation be that some people choose to live where they do? Another explanation might be that affordable housing attracts some. Thirdly, similar lifestyles allow neighbors to develop a sense of community.
My circle of acquaintance includes those who live throughout the City of Chicago & if afforded an opportunity to move to a better known zip code might well elect to remain in the neighborhood which they call home.
everyone who ever wants to say anything about crime in chicago should read this, then take that as a springboard to read more. history lessons would do this city's discourse around race a huge service.
I agree. The perspective about how things were even worse before the housing projects came along in the 50's isn't something you hear too often.
What did you like most in it?
i just think it's important for folks to realize that segregation and resource deprivation was intentional and designed by city officials and other powerful interests. Chicago's segregation stems from a legacy of racist policy, and we need to appreciate that this history is still very much relevant.
But when you put it like that, when you say the city's planning and foundations had racism in them, how can much be done beyond educating people? Aren't the cards kind of stacked against you in this city?
Definitely they are, but that's no reason not to fight.
No reason to throw in the towel and mope. I think some of these mixed income developments are going to work out and become big successes. Some will fail of course, but each new iteration on how to approach urban poverty seems to get a few more things right.
Shall we reach a conclusion & then search for substantiation?
Not to derail or detract from the post, but the city north of Irving Park or Montrose and anything west of about Western is usually left off the tourist maps, too. While the South Side is definitely ignored quite a bit in Chicago, I'd argue that the West Side is ignored even more. It's hard to find any news from much of the periphery of the city.
Exactly. What's so odd about focusing on the center of town when mapping Chicago for tourists...its where all the tourist stuff is.
That said, the coverage patterns of major media in Chicago definitely skew North and Northwesterly. How many south side burger joints is Kevin Pang eating at?
Until Bucktown and Wicker Park became trendy destinations, official Chicago tourist maps used to stop at Halsted Street.
For that matter, there's something wrong with equating the "South Side" only with violent neighborhoods that whites never see. Bridgeport? Beverly? Hegewisch? Bronzeville gets more attention than any of them.
The Northwest Side is even more ignored. When was the last time you saw coverage of Norwood Park or Jefferson Park? I give credit to the Chicago Dept. of Tourism for trying to stretch the borders somewhat these days, but they currently have an online app that locates Superdawg in Albany Park! (I notified them and they are supposed to be fixing it, but the fact that it happened just shows the vast ignorance there is about outlying parts of the city.)
In response to a notice directing city dwellers to a downtown site and suburbanites to one in Oak Park, I once asked a county official whether residents of Dunning could go to the location nearest them. She didn't know where Dunning was. When I told her, she said, "You consider that part of the city?"
And speaking of violent neighborhoods... Quick: What's the northernmost border of Chicago? If you said Howard Street, you're wrong.
Hmm... Sounds familiar.... :)
The impossibility of knowing where things start and end in Chicago is one of its charms, as someone who lives here.
What is the northern border of Chicagon anyway?
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