Communities by Sides

Chicago

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.

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	Cabrini–Green The Gold Coast Goose Island Magnificent Mile Old Town River North River West Streeterville
32	Loop	Near East Side West Loop Gate
33	Near South Side	Dearborn Park Printer's Row South Loop Prairie Avenue Historic District

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.

North Side

Number	Community area	Neighborhoods
05	North Center	Horner Park Roscoe Village
06	Lake View	Lake View East Graceland West South East Ravenswood Wrigleyville
07	Lincoln Park	West DePaul Old Town Triangle Park West Ranch Triangle Sheffield Neighbors Wrightwood Neighbors
21	Avondale	Belmont Gardens Chicago's Polish Village Kosciuszko Park
22	Logan Square	Belmont Gardens Bucktown Kosciuszko Park Palmer Square

Far North side

Number	Community area	Neighborhoods
01	Rogers Park
02	West Ridge	Arcadia Terrace Peterson Park West Rogers Park
03	Uptown	Buena Park Margate Park Sheridan Park
04	Lincoln Square	Ravenswood Ravenswood Gardens Rockwell Crossing
09	Edison Park
10	Norwood Park	Big Oaks Old Norwood Park Oriole Park Union Ridge
11	Jefferson Park	Gladstone Park
12	Forest Glen	Edgebrook Old Edgebrook South Edgebrook Sauganash Wildwood
13	North Park	Brynford Park Hollywood Park River's Edge Sauganash Woods
14	Albany Park	Mayfair North Mayfair Ravenswood Manor
76	O'Hare	Schorsch Forest View
77	Edgewater	Andersonville Edgewater Glen Edgewater Beach Magnolia Glen Lakewood/Balmoral

Northwest side

Number	Community area	Neighborhoods
15	Portage Park	Belmont Central Władysławowo Six Corners
16	Irving Park	Avondale Gardens Independence Park Kilbourn Park Little Cassubia Old Irving Park Merchant Park The Villa
17	Dunning	Belmont Heights Belmont Terrace Irving Woods Schorsch Village
18	Montclare
19	Belmont Cragin	Belmont Central Hanson Park
20	Hermosa	Belmont Gardens Kelvyn Park

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	East Village Noble Square Polish Downtown Pulaski Park Smith Park Ukrainian Village Wicker Park
25	Austin	Galewood The Island
26	West Garfield Park
27	East Garfield Park	Fifth City
28	Near West Side	Greektown Little Italy Tri-Taylor
29	North Lawndale	Lawndale Homan Square Douglas Park
30	South Lawndale	Little Village
31	Lower West Side	Heart of Chicago Heart of Italy Pilsen

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	Chinatown Wentworth Gardens Bridgeport, Chicago
35	Douglas	Groveland Park Lake Meadows the Gap Prairie Shores South Commons
36	Oakland
37	Fuller Park
38	Grand Boulevard	Bronzeville
39	Kenwood
40	Washington Park
41	Hyde Park	East Hyde Park
42	Woodlawn	West Woodlawn
43	South Shore	Jackson Park Highlands
60	Bridgeport
69	Greater Grand Crossing	Grand Crossing Parkway Gardens Park Manor

Southwest side

Number	Community area	Neighborhoods
56	Garfield Ridge	LeClaire Courts Sleepy Hollow Vittum Park
57	Archer Heights
58	Brighton Park
59	McKinley Park
61	New City	Back of the Yards Canaryville
62	West Elsdon
63	Gage Park
64	Clearing	Chrysler Village
65	West Lawn	Ford City West Lawn
66	Chicago Lawn	Lithuanian Plaza Marquette Park
67	West Englewood
68	Englewood

Far Southeast side

Number	Community area	Neighborhoods
44	Chatham	East Chatham West Chatham West Chesterfield
45	Avalon Park	Avalon Park Marynook Stony Island Park
46	South Chicago	The Bush
47	Burnside
48	Calumet Heights	Pill Hill
49	Roseland	Fernwood Rosemoor
50	Pullman	Cottage Grove Heights London Towne
51	South Deering	Jeffrey Manor Trumbull Park
52	East Side
53	West Pullman
54	Riverdale	Altgeld Gardens Eden Green Golden Gate
55	Hegewisch

Far Southwest side

Number	Community area	Neighborhoods
70	Ashburn	Beverly View Mary Crest Parkview Scottsdale Wrightwood
71	Auburn Gresham
72	Beverly
73	Washington Heights	Brainerd Longwood Manor Princeton Park
74	Mount Greenwood	Mount Greenwood Heights Talley's Corner
75	Morgan Park	Beverly Woods Kennedy Park West Morgan Park