Communities by Sides
The Social Science Research Committee at University of Chicago defined seventy-five community areas during the late 1920s. At the time, these community areas corresponded roughly to neighborhoods within the city. In the 1950s, with the city's annexations for O'Hare International Airport, a seventy-sixth community area was added. Other than the creation of the seventy-seventh community area in 1980 (by separating #77 Edgewater from #3 Uptown), boundaries have never been revised to reflect change but instead have been kept relatively stable to allow comparisons of these areas over time.
Although many community areas contain more than one neighborhood, they may also share the same name, or parts of the name, of some of their individual neighborhoods. Community areas often encompass groups of neighborhoods. In some cases, the character of the community area is independent of that of the individual neighborhoods it comprises.
Contents
Central
The city center area covers a little more than Template:Convert, lying roughly between Division Street (1200 North) on the north, Lake Michigan on the east, 26th Street (2600 South) on the south and Halsted (800 West) on the west. This area is city's commercial hub. The three branches of the Chicago River meet in this area.
The area known as the Loop is a section within downtown, surrounded by elevated tracks of the rapid transit network. Many of downtown's commercial, cultural, and financial institutions are located in the Loop. Today, the Loop is also used to identify the larger downtown area.
River North contains the Magnificent Mile, a concentration of high-end retail. The central area is home to Grant and Millennium Parks, skyscrapers, museums, and shopping; and is the site of the city's largest parades: the annual Christmas, Thanksgiving and Saint Patrick's Day parades. The Chicago Bears play in Soldier Field on the Near South Side.
| Number | Community area | Neighborhoods |
|---|---|---|
| 08 | Near North Side | |
| 32 | Loop | |
| 33 | Near South Side |
North side
The city's North Side (extending north of downtown and the Chicago River) is the most densely populated residential section of the city,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with considerable middle and upper-class residents. It also contains public parkland (such as the huge Lincoln Park) and beaches stretching for miles along Lake Michigan to the city's northern border. It includes Eastern European and other ethnic enclaves. Residential highrises line the eastern side of the North Side along the waterfront. The North Side is noted as the home of the Chicago Cubs, based at Wrigley Field.
| Number | Community area | Neighborhoods |
|---|---|---|
| 05 | North Center | |
| 06 | Lake View | |
| 07 | Lincoln Park | |
| 21 | Avondale | |
| 22 | Logan Square |
| Number | Community area | Neighborhoods |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Rogers Park | |
| 02 | West Ridge | |
| 03 | Uptown | |
| 04 | Lincoln Square | |
| 09 | Edison Park | |
| 10 | Norwood Park | |
| 11 | Jefferson Park | |
| 12 | Forest Glen | |
| 13 | North Park | |
| 14 | Albany Park | |
| 76 | O'Hare | |
| 77 | Edgewater |
| Number | Community area | Neighborhoods |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Portage Park | |
| 16 | Irving Park | |
| 17 | Dunning | |
| 18 | Montclare | |
| 19 | Belmont Cragin | |
| 20 | Hermosa |
West side
The West Side (extending west of downtown) is made up of neighborhoods such as Austin, Lawndale, Garfield Park, West Town, and Humboldt Park among others. Some neighborhoods, particularly Garfield Park and Lawndale, have had long-term socio-economic problems. Other West Side neighborhoods, especially those closer to downtown, have been undergoing gentrification. The United Center, the home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks, and University of Illinois at Chicago are located on the Near West Side.
Major parks on the West Side include Douglas, Garfield, and Humboldt Park. Garfield Park Conservatory houses one of the largest collections of tropical plants of any U.S. city. Attractions on the West Side include the Puerto Rican Day festival, the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen, and Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Studios near the city center.
| Number | Community area | Neighborhoods |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | Humboldt Park | |
| 24 | West Town | |
| 25 | Austin | |
| 26 | West Garfield Park | |
| 27 | East Garfield Park | |
| 28 | Near West Side | |
| 29 | North Lawndale | |
| 30 | South Lawndale | |
| 31 | Lower West Side |
South side
The South Side is the largest section of the city, encompassing roughly 60% of the city's land area, and much was annexed in the late 19th century. The section along the lake is marked with public parkland and beaches. The South Side has a higher ratio of single-family homes and also contains most of the city's remaining industry. Historically it was the location of the stockyards, and its industries attracted hundreds of thousands of European immigrants and African-American migrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. More recent immigrants have come from Mexico and Latin America. Its U.S. Cellular Field, formerly Comiskey Park, is home to the Chicago White Sox.
Along with being the largest section of the city in terms of geography, the South Side is also home to one of the city's largest parades: the annual Bud Billiken Day parade. Held during the second weekend of August, it celebrates children returning to school.
The South Side has two of Chicago's largest public parks. Jackson Park, which hosted the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, is the site of the Museum of Science and Industry. The park stretches along the waterfront, situated between the neighborhoods of Hyde Park and South Shore. Washington Park sits slightly west of Jackson Park and the two are connected by a strip of parkland known as Midway Plaisance, which runs parallel to the University of Chicago.
| Number | Community area | Neighborhoods |
|---|---|---|
| 34 | Armour Square | |
| 35 | Douglas | |
| 36 | Oakland | |
| 37 | Fuller Park | |
| 38 | Grand Boulevard | |
| 39 | Kenwood | |
| 40 | Washington Park | |
| 41 | Hyde Park | |
| 42 | Woodlawn | |
| 43 | South Shore | |
| 60 | Bridgeport | |
| 69 | Greater Grand Crossing |
| Number | Community area | Neighborhoods |
|---|---|---|
| 56 | Garfield Ridge | |
| 57 | Archer Heights | |
| 58 | Brighton Park | |
| 59 | McKinley Park | |
| 61 | New City | |
| 62 | West Elsdon | |
| 63 | Gage Park | |
| 64 | Clearing | |
| 65 | West Lawn | |
| 66 | Chicago Lawn | |
| 67 | West Englewood | |
| 68 | Englewood |
| Number | Community area | Neighborhoods |
|---|---|---|
| 44 | Chatham | |
| 45 | Avalon Park | |
| 46 | South Chicago | |
| 47 | Burnside | |
| 48 | Calumet Heights | |
| 49 | Roseland | |
| 50 | Pullman | |
| 51 | South Deering | |
| 52 | East Side | |
| 53 | West Pullman | |
| 54 | Riverdale | |
| 55 | Hegewisch |
| Number | Community area | Neighborhoods |
|---|---|---|
| 70 | Ashburn | |
| 71 | Auburn Gresham | |
| 72 | Beverly | |
| 73 | Washington Heights | |
| 74 | Mount Greenwood | |
| 75 | Morgan Park |
