What if Chicago was desegregated ? . (Auburn, Kansas: low income, section 8, for sale)

[jonbenson]

What if Chicago was desegregated ?

[Master Jay]

jonbenson, I've been through quite a handful of neighborhoods where I see people of apparently many different backgrounds walking around, dining, having stores and restaurants, etc.

And I have also been to areas that seem predominately of ONE culture/race/heritage.

So, technically there ARE desegregated areas. And legally, a person could move to ANY neighborhood, if you really wanted to and had the funds for it.... True??

[ChicagoMeO]

if every single inch of Chicago were desegregated, it would not reasonably work.


some/many people like to be around their own culture, it feels comfortable to them, perhaps this is where fellow neighbors speak their language, and stores/shoppes offer goods and services that the community would most enjoy. If 100 cultures all got mixed in, there'd have to be a lot of stores.


some communities are separated by cost. A person may not be able to afford a large rent but some could, so therefore, people go to where they can afford. sometimes it appears they are desegregated but that's a co-incidence.


some folks don't want to live near people that they don't share certain things which may be common to other cultures, i.e. one culture might want to have more parties, another culture might want things quieter.


As for me, if i pick a place to live, i do NOT look for diversity as my #1 like. I go for the neighborhood i feel comfortable in. I would feel more comfortable in Lakeview, as compared to Englewood or Austin which is black, yes. but i don't want to go to an unsafe area where more shootings are. If an area has more guns and gangs in it, I too would not want to go there, i.e. K-Town in Chicago. Sorry not sorry but safety first. diversity last, if i had to pick one vs the other. If given the chance, i believe a lot of families would also move out of gun/gang areas.. just read the book "A Raisin in the Sun"

[jonbenson]

Originally Posted by ChicagoMeO

if every single inch of Chicago were desegregated, it would not reasonably work.

What if every building had to have 15% lower rent units and there would be lowered tax to building owners to compensate and to get such an apartment you would have to be a Chicago resident with low income ?

[ChicagoMeO]

Originally Posted by jonbenson

What if every building had to have 15% lower rent units and there would be lowered tax to building owners to compensate and to get such an apartment you would have to be a Chicago resident with low income ?

that's hard for me to answer because I am not an expert in real estate and such like that.


but my opinion, don't they have that already with HUD, Section 8, and vouchers?


if so, you know what happens to a building that allows that, the reputation that Section 8 tenants have, and what happened to the Chicago Housing Projects as an experiment that went sorely wrong after only a few years.


the landlords often have to pay high taxes and they pass it down to the tenants and I'm pretty sure this adds to our rent. Look at Indiana nd Wisconsin rents. $200 - $400 less in the same square footage for what looks like a comparable housing (considering neighborhood, condition of the place, etc)


only if they lower the landlord's expenses and the renters, yeah.


not sure if that answers you.

[MSchemist80]

People often choose to segregate or rather form communities with others of the same group. We see it all the time in threads I am of this group and am looking for a neighborhood with a vibrant community of that group. How are you going to force that to change.

As for income desparity that even more difficult. In low income areas some of the people are low income because of poor luck and misfortune but some are so because they are the bottom tier of homo sapiens. Criminals, lazy, bad decisions and people will do anything possible to avoid such people.

[Robert9]

Originally Posted by jonbenson

What if Chicago was desegregated ?

it would not change a thing. In fact i bet it would make things worse

[NoMansLands]

Originally Posted by jonbenson

What if Chicago was desegregated ?

It is already. Plenty of mixtures of every type imaginable, but in areas where you have to be able to afford it.

Complete lack of diversity in some very poor areas of the city.
How are you going to force it on people who either can't afford to move up, or refuse to move down?

This is a cool map, just zoom in on any area in the contigent US that you are interested in the economics.

https://richblockspoorblocks.com/

[Curly Q. Bobalink]

Originally Posted by jonbenson

What if Chicago was desegregated ?

I agree wholeheartedly. I live in an inner-ring suburb which is primarily mixed between older white people and younger Latino and Asian families. My house is being prepped for sale. Please buy it and give it to whomever you want to live there in order to reach your imagined level of racial equality.

I for one, am completely fed up with living in Way-Too-Blue Metro Chicago and Illinois, I'll be taking my life's savings, SS, pension, and Medicare, and moving to a "red city in a red county in a red state", if I can find one (shouldn't be too hard, Kansas and Nebraska are looking pretty good, as are Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Montana, and South Dakota). Someplace where people respect the 2nd amendment, property rights, the police, and human safety (and where BLM supporters are far and few between). Mostly, to get away from people who think like you do. You'll not miss me one iota, because I'm just a drop in the bucket. But as more and more people start thinking like me, I guarantee you're going to miss us a WHOLE bunch. It took over sixty years, but you've finally driven me out, congratulations. But my guess is you're going to start missing people who worked hard their whole lives, have no criminal record, pay all taxes as asked, and simply wanted to live their lives without bothering anyone else. Good Luck with What Comes Next, maybe Chicago can ask Detroit for a loan.

[BRU67]

Unless we bring back a major manufacturing base this will not happen on a substantial scale. Gentrification has been going on about 35 years now and we can observe some clear patterns.

Gentrifiers will move into Hispanic neighborhoods and create integration, but this will be limited to areas easily accessible to the Loop via public transit, in 30 minutes or less. Growth in the professional sector will help expand it but you can pretty much predict it by just following the L.

African American neighborhoods have remained stubbornly segregated over the course of the last 35 years regardless of convenience, despite the progressive bent of the new affluent residents. The only notable changes have been neighborhoods which saw massive new redevelopment and, in addition, are close to the Loop via train.

The old Cabrini area, the SW part of Near West Side (United Center area up to Western now), South Loop/north Douglas (Bronzeville), the Maxwell Street area, and, more recently, the areas of North Lawndale closer to Cinespace and Lagunitas are the limited examples. This is very distinct from "natural" gentrification.

Many claim East Garfield Park is an example too and maybe it will be. But the demographics have not notably changed over the past couple of decades. So right now that is speculation. There would have to be some kind of massive construction of new homes and infrastructure for it to take off if history is a guide.

I don't think recent events have helped its cause much and I think it's going to take some time for investor confidence to return to the point where the necessary massive cash infusion is likely. Not only has there been the violence but taxes keep going up too. If Chicago's professional sector doesn't recover quickly post COVID, And violence is not brought under control, its prospects will dim considerably and rapidly.

Neighborhoods which are far from downtown and not served by the L will struggle to desegregate no matter what the demographics. They need a big bump in manufacturing and taxes competitive with Northwest Indiana. Downtown professionals are not going to move to South Chicago, Calumet Heights, or Auburn Gresham in any number.

More unique areas with particular attributes like South Shore and West Pullman might have a shot at them but they are hampered by transit access and distance to the Loop, and stubbornly high crime in the case of the former.