Most "city-like" suburb? (Including NWI) (Chicago, Naperville: apartments, construction)

[ToriaT]

Hopefully it is much safer.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by EddieOlSkool

So you're saying Berwyn and Cicero don't feel city like??? Also have you been to Whiting or Hammond? Virtually indistinguishable from the South Side and unless you know the area well you might never know you left the city. Heck if you ask me the transition to Hammond from the city is less drastic than the one to Evanston.

Ok....I agree they are urban but I am talking about young and hip and walkable and "cool". Cicero is not "there" yet. Like somewhere that would give Lincoln Park or Lakeview a run, albeit on a smaller scale.

In fact it still has high crime like much of the west side! My cousin grew up on the west side and it sickened me to see his home just 3 years ago. Wonder what it looks like now!

[MillennialUrbanist]

Originally Posted by Peter1948

Ok....I agree they are urban but I am talking about young and hip and walkable and "cool". Cicero is not "there" yet. Like somewhere that would give Lincoln Park or Lakeview a run, albeit on a smaller scale.

That would be "gentrified", rather than "urban" per se. My definition of urban must include the following criteria:
* Businesses line the sides of major streets, not sit in a sea of parking lots.
* A sizable percentage of residential buildings are multifamily dwellings.
* Most, if not all, streets run in a right-angle grid. (Riverside, IL is an oddball exception to this.)
* Walk score is 70 (out of 100) or higher.
* You can look or act weird, and nobody really cares.
* Streets have streetlights.
* There is heavy pedestrian activity.
* Public transportation runs late, often, or both.
* Ambient noise level is relatively high during the day, and audible at night.
* (helpful) There is at least one train station.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Peter1948

Ok....I agree they are urban but I am talking about young and hip and walkable and "cool". Cicero is not "there" yet. Like somewhere that would give Lincoln Park or Lakeview a run, albeit on a smaller scale.

In fact it still has high crime like much of the west side! My cousin grew up on the west side and it sickened me to see his home just 3 years ago. Wonder what it looks like now!

The question was suburbs that are city-like, not what you or I deem is cool.

[ToriaT]

Yes the questions was which was city like not which one was cool. And Cicero has no where near the crime rate of the west side that it borders on. I would definitely go to Cicero and do, I would not go to the west side except for a travel up Austin Avenue in a car to the Eisenhower.

[Steve&Adam]

Originally Posted by Peter1948

Ok....I agree they are urban but I am talking about young and hip and walkable and "cool". Cicero is not "there" yet. Like somewhere that would give Lincoln Park or Lakeview a run, albeit on a smaller scale.

I keep forgetting that on this forum "urban" is a synonym for cool neighborhoods full of trendy bistros and coffee shops and bars and fun things for 20-somethings to do, with nary a chain store or restaurant in sight.

[aga412]

Originally Posted by Peter1948

No way Naperhell or Schaumburg are anything city like

No suburb in Chicago can come even close to Evanston as far as feeling city like, and also being connected to the best in the city.

Oak Park is certainly up and coming and is building more density. Oak Park is more desirable than honestly about half the city limits of Chicago itself. I come home to Chicago often for a big city fix and to visit relatives but I was pleasantly surprised by a recent visit to Oak Park. I mainly stick to the north side so it was a nice change. The natural place to gentrify would be the near south side, but with rampant crime, it really hs not made it much past south loop unless you consider "islands" like Hyde Park.

If you're going to call it Naperhell, at least call Schaumburg Scumburg.

I'd add Park Ridge.

[MillennialUrbanist]

Originally Posted by aga412

If you're going to call it Naperhell, at least call Schaumburg Scumburg.

I've heard Naperville being called "Raperville" in the past. [No] thanks to club Zero Gravity from the days of yore (1993--2015). It was the only under-21 club in a 50-mile radius. Some people pre-drank before going. Others snuck in worse things. 'Nuff said.

Unlike the clean-cut but mundane venues (all 21+) in Downtown or the Route 59 corridor, Zero Gravity put Naperville on the map!

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by reppin_the_847

A random neighborhood street in Skokie or Lincolnwood doesn't look that different from its equivalent in Chicago's Sauganash or Edgebrook neighborhoods, lol.

Skokie, Lincolnwood, and for that matter, west Wilmette, are merely an extension of the North Side neighborhoods to their south....I agree with how you explained this.

[Chicagoland60426]

Stone Park, Berwyn, and Cicero have the highest population density in the suburbs with each one being over 14k ppsm. Evanston has the most urban CBD, with a large swath( it's Northwest side) is "suburban" viewing it from streetview. Evanston's density (slightly under 10k ppsm) is a significant drop off from Rogers Park's 30k ppsm and every other city neighborhood along the red line Northside and purple line. Oak Park is the more urban of the two in general and its box/rectangle shaped boundaries does not allow for suburban sprawl at all.




Note: Population density is not the end to be all indicator what qualifies as suburban. I mentioned that Stone Park is among the suburbs with the highest density, but its housing stock and layout doesn't look more urban than Skokie. On the other hand, Cicero and Berwyn has identical housing stock and layout to nearby neighborhoods in the city, which I think gives it an edge in urban feel compared to Evanston and Oak Park.