Quote:
Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis
Chicago is a city with many different faces. You can see what ever you look for.
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Yes, but the common trait of all American cities. As others mentioned too. Chicago managed to have blight less seen by at least visitors for sure.
But a trait of this city was even back to its rebuilding after its Great Fire was:
- frontage more standard in its neighborhoods off main streets.
early building requirements to zoning,
- common alleys chosen as standard and utilized for its power-grid..... improved its aesthetics even early-on for the 20th century.
Visionaries fought and gained political power to re-build and then preserve Chicago's lakefront for public recreation. Boosting aesthetics even thru its core.... the river was not so lucky. But today, it has gotten the vision and original plan of adding public spaces and the river looks clean and fish returned.
As for true blight .... not to confused as grit, as some seem to. The city clearly had a tumultuous 60s thru the 70s. Rioting to lost vigor with White-Flight. Luckily the city did have its Northwest side and Southwest side to add new neighborhoods 50s thru mid-60s.
I remember seeing on a couple occasions these worst areas yet in the early 80s. Yes they took on a bombed out appearance in the worst.
But especially thru the 90s to today though.... the city spent much to remove this worst blight and return it to grassy lots again.... (FOR A FUTURE TIME IT IS AGAIN DESIRED AND REBUILT)
These WILL in the future become part of the renewed city. May be decades ..... but the Sunbelt won't on top forever. s it too gains rising cost to ever increasing infrastructure needs in cost.
In clearing out this blight..... with (by far) these neighborhoods housing being separated homes. Aesthetics improved greatly and the city maintains its streets and sweeper-cleanings. It also keeps frontage getting maintained. This also improves aesthetics and no ugly power-line poles in fronts.
So today ..... many of these hoods off the main streets (as mentioned) look amazingly good many tomes more then not. There will be exceptions as someone could pull up if hunting for them in street-view
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gantz
I don't know man. Southside Chicago is still very rough. While not gritty, since Chicago demolishes its abandoned homes, a lot of southside is looking like Detroit-lite, with major gaps where abandoned houses used to be, literally on every block.
You'd be very hard pressed to find a whole neighborhood looking like this anywhere in NYC:
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7686...7i16384!8i8192
And Chicago images are taken in the summer, this block looks even worse once it gets cold and dark. |
I agree that Chicago is less gritty in much of its housing for the reasons stated. NYC is more fully getting gentrified. But it embraces its grit left intact too. That look is as a badge of honor there it seems too. IMHO
What I saw first was though .... in the above street-view is;
- a maintained main street (not a retail corridor) that was CLEAN and good condition with painted clear markings. First look was not grittiness in that.
- yes gated retail business (still in business) and next door not.
- yes boarded up some lower floor windows and other buildings.
- empty lots .... aplenty, where lost housing was removed by the city .... and seemed maintained (one had a bit of debris blown there it seemed?) overall NOT BAD IN AESTHETICS of a HOOD TO ME.
Moving the street-view FORWARD. You come upon this SHOP OWNER THAT SET-UP SHOP ONTO THE SIDEWALK.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7691...7i16384!8i8192
STILL PRETTY CLEAN TO ME.
I've seen much WORST in the EASTERN CITIES BY ME here in small cities to largest .....
I took the street-view to the right .... down the block.
- past large plots of empty lots where housing once was. Sad.
.... but is removal was a better call then to leave it past the point of repairs.
- I then turned left into the neighborhood I saw hosing again.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7689...7i16384!8i8192
Again, heck I've seen worst in my old hometown .....
Went to the left of the original street-view given. Turned left into the neighborhoods.
- I see BEAUTIFUL EMPTY LOTS WITH SOARING TREES. Sadly, just not on the right side of town today ..... BUT IN THE FUTURE. It may be again sought after .....
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7685...7i16384!8i8192
Then some Cottage homes again.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7683...7i16384!8i8192
Bit further .... big SOARING TREES .
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7672...7i16384!8i8192
Again....
I rather see worst blight removed. Too many row-housing cities here in the east .... left theirs standing awaiting possible gentrification. But removing rows doesn't always improve aesthetics.
Lot of empty lots even on the main street.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7686...7i16384!8i8192
Winters make all the green brown as that poster pointed out to see the block in winter ..... the nature of the North and much of the south. But no street-sweeper service either till spring.
In looking at OTHER NEARBY BLOCKS .... NOT BAD for a notorious hood at all.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7677...7i16384!8i8192
Someone has to be maintaining these lots?
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7672...7i16384!8i8192
Most just look like a SMALL TOWN SOMEWHERE ..... a lot of Chicago 1900 era "Worker Cottage Homes" its blue-color folk built before the "bungalow-belt" era began.
These hoods .... are like 10-miles from the core too.
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