This page will lead you to sources that can help you find information about Chicago neighborhoods in general and about some specific South Side neighborhoods.
The Chicago Public Library Neighborhood Map
Citizen, South End
The Chicago Tribune, Homes Section, web site gives the following information on 77 Chicago-area communities: a community profile essay as well as information on housing, local government, demographics, crime, education, parks, libraries, places of worship, health care, and child care. You can also search their story archive since 1/1/85 for stories about the selected neighborhood. Much of the information in the community profiles is drawn from census reports.
DePaul University has a web page, entitled Chicago Neighborhoods, that includes links to information about the history, demographics, and current affairs of Chicago neighborhoods.
"Global Communities: Chicago's Immigrants and Refugees" is a project of the Chicago Historical Society designed to study the shifting populations traveling through Chicago. The current focus is on Chicago's Mexican, Southeast Asian, Polish, and Asian Indian populations.
Pacyga,
Dominic. Chicago, City of Neighborhoods: Histories and Tours. Chicago:
Loyola UP, 1986. F548.18.P33
Southeast Independent Bulletin
The United States Census Bureau does a census every ten years. The data on the latest (2000) census is just coming out. Go to this site to get the latest numbers and watch for the data on the above sites to be updated.
The University of Illinois has a web site entitled Chicago Community and Culture that includes links to neighborhood, demographic and cultural information about the city.
"Bronzeville Digital Stories" is a collection of interviews with residents of Bronzeville about the community as it is and as it was.
"Bronzeville, Engine of Progress" contains information about and a tour of Bronzeville.
"The Bronzeville IPRO" "is a student run interdisciplinary project" devoted to the development and marketing of the Bronzeville area. This web site includes a review of the history of Bronzeville, an assessment of the businesses and needs of the community, and a plan for marketing the community to businesses.
"A Day in the Life of Bronzeville"
"Rebuilding Bronzeville through Collaborative Action" includes a position paper written by the Southside Partnership in February, 1999 on "Challenges & Opportunities for South Side Partnership."
Travis, Dempsey J. The Victory Monument: The Beacon of Chicago’s
Bronzeville. Chicago: Urban Research Press, 1999.
"Virtual Walking Tour of Bronzeville"
The
University of Chicago vs. The Community of Bronzeville in the Battle for the Checkerboard Lounge.
Chicago is known as the home of the Blues. So why are two communities in Chicago fighting for custody of one of the historic blues lounges located in this city? The University of Chicago and the community of Bronzeville have been debating back and forth over the location of a local blues club, the Checkerboard Lounge, which was originally located in the Bronzeville neighborhood. The Bronzeville community wants the Checkerboard to remain in their
community because it is a part of their history and culture. This lounge can also provide economic relief for the Bronzeville neighborhood.
The University of Chicago wants the Checkerboard in their neighborhood of Hyde Park in hopes of restoring blues/jazz to their community.
Written by Dameka Brown, Spring
2004.
Citizen, Chatham-Southeast
Citizen, Hyde
Park
Duneier,
Mitchell.
Slim’s Table: Race, Respectability, and Masculinity. Chicago: U of C
Press, 1992. F548.9.N4D86
-- This sociological study of African-American male culture is based upon the
author's research as a participant-observer in a group of men who gathered
regularly at Hyde Park's Valois diner.
"Hyde Park Community Living" is a guide to the Hyde Park community produced by the University of Chicago.
Hyde Park Herald is the local paper for the Hyde Park-Kenwood community.
The
University of Chicago vs. The Community of Bronzeville in the Battle for the Checkerboard Lounge.
Chicago is known as the home of the Blues. So why are two communities in Chicago fighting for custody of one of the historic blues lounges located in this city? The University of Chicago and the community of Bronzeville have been debating back and forth over the location of a local blues club, the Checkerboard Lounge, which was originally located in the Bronzeville neighborhood. The Bronzeville community wants the Checkerboard to remain in their
community because it is a part of their history and culture. This lounge can also provide economic relief for the Bronzeville neighborhood.
The University of Chicago wants the Checkerboard in their neighborhood of Hyde Park in hopes of restoring blues/jazz to their community.
Written by Dameka Brown, Spring
2004.
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Maxwell Street -- A Long Battle for Territory. Most of us are proud of the communities we live in. But no community has battled as long for stability as the people of the Pilsen community. People in the Pilsen community are going to bat once again with UIC over territory. They are afraid of what may happen as a result of a new wave of gentrification. They want to keep their affordable housing, refurbish their businesses, receive jobs promised to them and preserve their culture. Written by Yona Jordan, Spring 2000.
CAPS in Morgan Park.
I was born and raised in the nice and quiet community of Morgan Park. It used to be a very pleasant community to live in and raise children. Growing up, I remember when I could leave my bike outside over night, and when I woke up it would be in the same place. My mother speaks all the time about how she could leave the doors unlocked, not only at home, but in her car also. Basically, you could go just about anywhere and not worry about anyone bothering you. In 1990, all of the pleasant living changed when drugs and crime started to take over the community. Just about every community in Chicago has its ups and downs, but I never anticipated my community
would change as fast as it did. Morgan Park is faced with problems such as loitering, speeding and police not responding to emergency calls in a timely manner. I feel the problems in my community are not being taken care
of because the cops and the citizens aren’t working together as effectively as they should be.
Written by Raymond Wilson, Spring
2004.
The Racism Never Ends.
"There isn’t any racism in Chicago H.S. For Agricultural Sciences
[CHSAS]" (Gilligan, principal). "There is racism in Mt. Greenwood and segregation in CHSAS"
(Saldanya, librarian). The principal does not believe that segregation in Chicago
H.S. For Ag Science exists, but the librarian at the school disagrees. The librarian is right, there is racism in this high school. The principal is in denial about the segregation because he
doesn’t see the students interacting at school like the librarian does. Segregation and racism are issues in Mt. Greenwood; therefore they are problems in
CHSAS.
Written by Morgan
Andrews, Spring
2004.
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The Furnaces That Never Stopped. The steel industry, one of the most powerful branches in the American economy in the last hundred years, suffered a major collapse at the end of 1990’s and beginning of the new century. Major factors, such as NAFTA regulation abuses, dumping, and improper management of the steel plants throughout the United States, left tens of thousands of people unemployed and retirees of the steel industry with their health and pension benefits in uncertainty. What were the circumstances under which the steel industry, once the most stable and profitable of the primary product industries, became today a field of permanent changes and instability? Is there a solution to a national problem without precedence? LTV Steel, one of the largest steel companies in the central US, is a good example of survival linked to the South Side of Chicago and NW Indiana. Recently, thousands of employees of the East Chicago LTV Steel plant experienced changes they would have never thought possible before. Written by Catalin Constantin, Spring 2004.
South
Chicago: The Rise and Fall of a Community. U.S. Steel South Works
grew quickly. It helped the economy of a small community, but good things do
not last forever. U.S. Steel South Works was a strong and large running mill,
when it went down so did the community of South Chicago. Businesses and
residents suffered. Quality department stores closed along with some small
businesses, leaving empty, abandoned buildings. Families lost homes, banks
repossessed cars and some families broke up because husbands turned to
alcohol. It is important that the people of South Chicago today know how the
community grew to be too dependent on the mill. Hopefully, something like this
will not ever happen again. Written by Sandra Oehman, Spring 2000.
Behind
the Brick Walls. Contrasting the management of two high-rises, Lake Meadows and Stateway
Gardens, it is clear that the management of Stateway as well as of other Chicago
Housing Authority (CHA) units could lead only to demolition. More families will soon be displaced by CHA demolition plans. Stateway declined to the point of demolition due to the poor practices of the CHA. Unfortunately this is not an insolated incident. Demolition of three Robert Taylor housing units has already been completed. The plan to demolish Stateway is merely the early stage of a mass redevelopment
plan. Despite their history of negligence, CHA continues on as it ventures into yet another project. CHA continues to receive aid from government and city programs. While CHA is able to regroup from negligence, victims of CHA’s errors still scramble to survive homelessness.
Written by Dominica Giles, Fall 2001.
The
View from The Ground is an on-line
chronicle of the dismantling of the Stateway Gardens Public Housing Project:
"The View From the Ground
is an occasional
publication of the Invisible Institute—a set of relationships and ongoing
conversations grounded at the Stateway Gardens public housing development on
Chicago's South Side. In the tradition of human rights monitoring, our aim is to
deepen public discourse by providing reliable information about conditions on
the ground.
An
Ongoing Struggle in Trumbull Park.In 1977, my family moved into Trumbull Park housing development. We had to endure a lot of name-calling, being
spat on, and having stones thrown at us. As a black family, we may not have asked for the problems that we had to encounter, but we learned to turn the other cheek. Soon, the children had started to play together.
By the early 80’s, the racism had declined. Residents had begun to accept their fellow neighbors as neighbors. When some one had a cookout in their backyard, no matter who you were, an open invitation was extended to your family.
However, after living in Trumbull Park for 20 years, in 1997, I moved my mother out. With the constant drive-bys and gang fights, I feared she was not safe any longer. Although my mother did not want to move because it took her so long to get into Trumbull Park, I had to make her realize that Trumbull Park was not the same quiet community that she had moved into.
Written by Janet Green, Fall 2001.
Who
Will Suffer from the Rebirth of Woodlawn? Today Woodlawn is a big construction site. Property is a hot commodity in Woodlawn. Buildings that were once abandoned are now condominiums. Those who have owned property for over thirty years are being offered a nice penny to sell. Those who do not sell are finding that the taxes have risen to unbearable cost. The entire city is under reconstruction, supplying limited areas in which to move, unless in senior public housing. How will these seniors adjust to a new living area? Where will they relocate in the city? This community has been their home for most of their lives. With their income, they would have to live in areas like Englewood or Ford Heights. These townships, infested with gangs and drugs, would not replace home sweet home. How will the seniors ever feel safe to walk in these communities? Many of the residents of Woodlawn are looking for these answers.
Written by LaRai Williams-Barrett, Fall 2001.