Is West Humboldt Park gentrifying, bad or good area to invest?

[Holdencaulfield]

ChitownNative, what is the housing stock like in Avondale? I'm a sucker for turn of the century architecture.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Holdencaulfield

ChitownNative, what is the housing stock like in Avondale? I'm a sucker for turn of the century architecture.

Nothing special. Mostly two-flats and workman cottages.

[ajolotl]

Anywhere in the country, or just Chicago? If we look over the entire country that is the most ridiculous challenge ever. In Chicago it's tougher, depending on what "standard metrics" are. Certainly I'd prefer to live in Kenwood, Bronzeville, north Woodlawn, or Olympia Fields long before Worth, Merionnete Park, or Bridgeview. I can't say that the "standard metrics" would be better.

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

I am still waiting for a real life example to refute his post:

Until someone can reference a real-world example of a neighborhood that's 80% black being as 'desirable' (using standard metrics of 'desirability') as any given neighborhood that's 80% white, reality trumps theory.

[meatpuff]

This thread jumped the shark about 20 posts ago.

Now we're arguing about whether, by and large, white areas are more desirable in the city of Chicago? How would you objectively measure desirability? Real estate values for a first approximation? In that case, duh!!

This is idiotic. This is like a thread with two guys beating us over the head that all Ferraris are better than all Buicks. And people keep poking their heads up to say things like "Yeah, but I just need a car to drive my kids to school. I'm just gonna buy a Buick." And the two guys are like "Yeah, but a Ferrari objectively is a better car! You have to admit a Ferrari would be a better choice." And someone else explains that some people kind of like Buicks, even if the performance is so-so. And the guys are like "You have been duped by the GM marketing machine!! You are just a sheep who listens to whatever the media says! No one has stepped forward with any evidence yet that any Buick can outperform any Ferrari in any performance test or product review. I am brave enough to speak the truth that you won't admit to yourself!!!"

[Humboldt1]

There are "buicks" that can outperform "ferraris". A buick that has been taken care of with fuel in the tank will outperform a ferrari that has no gas.

I don't think anyone is debating that black areas in general are better than white areas in general. But this ignores, all the other things outside of race such as education, finances, etc.

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by Chicagoland60426

Kenwood is small for one thing. Its only 4-5 blocks from north to south and 5 or 6 blocks from east to west. From E. 47th St. to 51st & Hyde Park Blvd and Cottage Grove to Lake Shore Dr. is Kenwood technical boundaries.

Don't worry, if the neighborhood takes off the real estate guys will stretch it all the way to Madison St.

I was reading a CTA history website and there used to be an L line in Kenwood; branched off the Jackson Park.

[PokerPlayer1]

Originally Posted by JoeyPants

The dictionary has a word for people who suspect nature to be the suspect

Racism: 1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

Yeah. A lot of what has come to be termed as "racist" has a pretty compelling basis in reality.

So, there will be instances where people will weep and howl "RACIST!" yet be unable to articulate any sort of fact-based counterpoint to what that "RACIST!" is saying.

As an aside... I've never been big on letting a few people at Websters dictate reality. You do realize that dictionaries aren't handed down in tablet-form by God himself, but rather, are assembled by human beings in little cubicles- human beings who have prejudices and life experiences and ideals of their own? For example, how do you think the word "racist" would be defined if I worked at Merriam-Webster and was in charge of defining that entry?

[PokerPlayer1]

Originally Posted by JoeyPants

Yes, I never been a big fan of the dictionary, it's controlled by the liberal PC Hollywood elite. Excuse me why I get my tin foil hat.

That obviously isn't what I was saying...

Lets say we took 50 different dictionaries from 50 different languages that represented 50 different cultures and look up the equivalent word for "racist" in each one... We also looked up the equivalent word for "car", "banana" and "guitar".

It's pretty certain that the organic meaning of car, banana and guitar would be virtually the same across all languages... however, the definition for "racist" would be quite different depending on what culture was doing the defining. Definitions for politically charged terminology is often an outgrowth of broader social precepts that aren't quite as objective as seeking to define what Apples or Dishwashers are.