The Suburbs and the Gentrification of Chicago. (Evanston, Oak Park: crime, mortgage)

[Chicagoland60426]

Originally Posted by ParkerP

Doesn't South Holland have some kind of ordinance that keeps lower income people to a minimum or something? They have section 8 folks and you don't hear a peep out of this neighborhood as far as violent crime goes.

90% of residents in South Holland are home owners. South Holland is traditionally a religious/conservative community. On Sundays, more than half of the stores(even gas stations) are closed for the day and there are no liquor stores within the village limits. South Holland has very few apartment buildings, so it doesn't appeal to renters.

[ParkerP]

Originally Posted by Chicagoland60426

90% of residents in South Holland are home owners. South Holland is traditionally a religious/conservative community. On Sundays, more than half of the stores(even gas stations) are closed for the day and there are no liquor stores within the village limits. South Holland has very few apartment buildings, so it doesn't appeal to renters.

Ah, ok I knew it was something, lol. I always remembered it being a quite peaceful place even as a kid growing up (almost 30 now), I never heard bad things about that area. Its great that they have been able to maintain over the years.

[Humboldt1]

I continue to be amazed at how well South Holland has held up as its neighbors have gone downhill. I hope they are able to maintain this.

[rubber duck]

As said already, South Holland has done well due to its lack of apartments, and thus, keeping out a lot of the riff raff that goes along with it. It's a stable black middle class town with a few pricey areas.

Lansing is doing the same thing. A "crime free housing" program is place for rental properties and it's made a difference, as well as the PD clamping down on a few problem areas, resulting in the the call volume for the PD declining over the last couple of years. Although I wouldn't yet call it "up and coming", it's been stabilizing. If you talked to me a couple years ago I had a completely different opinion of Lansing, and wouldn't give it more than 10 years before it became an extension of Cal City.

[deechee]

Originally Posted by ajolotl

I don't think I know anyone whose childhood neighborhood is intact. Mine was swallowed up by blight 25 years ago. It's just part of life. Not ideal, but you move on.

If you're worried about a lack of riffraff in the city, please join me on my daily drive on the back roads from Beverly to Hyde Park. It will put things in a more balanced perspective.

Mine is still exactly the way it was when I was growing up. No lie.

[whitecollarboy]

Originally Posted by urza216

This is an issue of concern to me too. I would like to see a thread going. It seems that with all the gentrification going on, poor people (especially poor minorities) are being forced out of the city. The city is getting richer and the suburbs are getting poorer. City neighborhoods are getting "revitalized" while the suburbs are increasingly decadent.

Chicago likes its tourism. Clusterf**cks of poor people are an eyesore for tourists. Being surrounded by blacks and/or Hispanics is also an eyesore for many white tourists from places like Iowa, Maine and West Virginia. Something had to be done.. Many things have been done.

Step one - Do everything you can to make downtown Chicago as white as possible while still maintaining a relative amount of diversity.
Step two - Do everything you can to get as many low income residents as possible out of the city.
Step three - Have large suburban areas where these displaced poor people can live instead.




It seems to me that Homewood has remained solidely middle class to upper middle class. Nearby comminites haven't necessarily but Homewood has. Have the property values actually gone down or are you just predicting that they will soon?

I'm not predicting. Homewood is still very much intact but the surrounding suburbs are slowly starting to see the changes. Because, of this we are a little concerned. However, Homewood is a very stable community and has been so for a very long time.

[whitecollarboy]

Originally Posted by mas23

thats right, i meant african americans.

The African Americans who have stable income are def moving back into the city esp. Bronzville.

[Lookout Kid]

It is possible for a town to remain desirable when adjacent to undesirable areas. Oak Park, River Forest, and even to a degree Elmhurst fit this bill. As do the nicer parts of Evanston.

[whitecollarboy]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

It is possible for a town to remain desirable when adjacent to undesirable areas. Oak Park, River Forest, and even to a degree Elmhurst fit this bill. As do the nicer parts of Evanston.

Evanston is special though.

Because, they have the great cemetery that separates them from Rogers Park. And, even Rogers Park is undergoing a huge transformation due to Loyola University of Chicago attempting to become Jesuit Ivy.
South west Evanston can be a bit rough but that's predominately African American. Typical right? Anywhere they are of color the neighborhood must be bad. LOL. Chicago and everything around is such a racial coded mess.

[Chicagoland60426]

Originally Posted by whitecollarboy

Evanston is special though.

Because, they have the great cemetery that separates them from Rogers Park. And, even Rogers Park is undergoing a huge transformation due to Loyola University of Chicago attempting to become Jesuit Ivy.
South west Evanston can be a bit rough but that's predominately African American. Typical right? Anywhere they are of color the neighborhood must be bad. LOL. Chicago and everything around is such a racial coded mess.

I wonder how bad Rogers Park really is though? Because Rogers Park only average around 1-3 murders per year. According to redeye, The last reported homicide in Rogers Park was 3 months ago and it was an arson(non gang related too).
Community Areas - Rogers Park - Tracking homicides in Chicago - RedEye | ChicagoNow