Does Chicago have a sense of community? (Lincoln, Paris: transplants, crime)

[Citygal06]

For those of you that live in Chicago or the surrounding suburbs, would you say that Chicago has a sense of community?

[MovingForward59]

No. That sense of community started dying years ago. Only recently has it been on the front page of every news organization. This is coming from a lifelong Illinoisan who is leaving woodridge in the next year.

[Sunbiz1]

[quote=MovingForward59;59028434]No. That sense of community started dying years ago.

9/11 was the beginning of mistrusting other cultures in every major city.
Just prior to this, Chicago was united culturally; much credit for this goes to the Bulls and Michael Jordan.
The 90's was also the last decade music united us, and it reflected in many mixed cultural festivals and concerts.
We also had block parties back then(even in the burbs), which also have become almost non-existent; regardless of covid.

[Gemini1963]

This year has been really hard, but overall, especially given how big the place is, I'd say yes. Events like the Cubs parade, wreathing of the Art Institute lions on Thanksgiving weekend, concerts at the Grant Park Music Festival, Christkindlmarket, come to mind - when you're with hundreds or thousands of other Chicagoans, joking around and loving it. But there are other times, too, like when a good snowstorm is on the way or underway, or on the lakefront after a long winter. It can crop up at unexpected times, like when there's a good musician at an L station that everyone's enjoying as they get on or off their trains.

So, I'd say yes.

[TBideon]

Not really. Lots of transplants in the north side, crime and disinvestment in the south and west. Neighborhoods are not really neighborhoodly anymore.

[Gemini1963]

Originally Posted by TBideon

Not really. Lots of transplants in the north side, crime and disinvestment in the south and west. Neighborhoods are not really neighborhoodly anymore.

I can't really speak to the north side part, but there is still a sense of community neighborliness in Beverly, and from what I read on the Auburn neighborhood's Nextdoor site, there is still a strong sense of community there, too. That does not mean we / they love everything that's happening these days, but the sense of community is there.

[Master Jay]

Speaking FOR the north side (as a frequent visitor from Milwaukee) I see Edison Park as one of the biggest areas of a sense of community. A lot has to do with the fact that most are home owners, and work for the city. The same could be be said for areas like Norwood Park and Forest Glen.

[personone]

Originally Posted by Citygal06

For those of you that live in Chicago or the surrounding suburbs, would you say that Chicago has a sense of community?

Absolutely! More so than any city I've ever lived in. Especially if you live in a "traditional" Chicago neighborhood. In my neighborhood in Lincoln Park, I have a Trader Joe's, Marianno's, Gym, Neighborhood bars and restaurants, the Park, Church/Parish, etc. I run into the same people all the time who have the same schedule as me, see the same people riding the bus and waiting for the L (pre-COVID when I was going into the office), Sports and Social Teams, etc. In the summer time, every neighborhood and community has their own festivals.

I hope that Chicago doesn't lose this feel. I worry given the economic destruction and physical destruction from rioting/looting.

There are very few cities where this sense of neighborhood and community exists like it does in Chicago.

[CCrest182]

Originally Posted by Citygal06

For those of you that live in Chicago or the surrounding suburbs, would you say that Chicago has a sense of community?

There are definitely some small pocket communities in the suburbs and a few distinct areas of the city (southwest side, northwest side), but overall in the areas most people move to, not really.

The smaller, inner rings suburbs tend to be where you'll find community the most. As someone else said, the older-school neighborhoods in the city too.

[MarianRavenwood]

Neighborhoods have a sense of community, sure. But I don't think there's any city in the world, with a population of more than a million, that can claim to have a cohesive city-wide sense of community. It's just impossible to feel neighborliness with a population that large.