In each issue of Nitty Gritty News we select a particular neighborhood in Chicago and highlight its unique contribution to the city as a whole.  In this section we include a profile of a community oriented organization or institution, which is geared toward improving the lives of area residents. Also included in this section is a review of a neighborhood restaurant called Smart Date, where we showcase some of the citys finest local eateries.  Instead of the trendy upscale restaurants featured in many publications, Smart Date focuses on places where two people can enjoy a meal for under $30.  By highlighting community institutions and area businesses, Nitty Gritty News seeks to promote neighborhood revitalization as well as the rich cultural diversity that exists in Chicago.  This section also includes data from the latest census and neighborhood demographics such as median household income, percentage of population with high school diploma/college degree and percentage of all families living below poverty.   In essence our Community Spotlight section is where readers can turn to learn more about a particular neighborhood in the city.                             

AUSTIN

Located six miles west of the Loop on the far west side, Austin is the citys largest community area both demographically and spatially. The area is made up of predominately African-Americans with a growing number of Hispanics on the northeastern edge of the community. The area encompasses the 29^th Ward Ald. Ike Carothers, the 21^st Ward Ald. Ed Smith and the 37^th Ward Ald. Emma Mitts.   After years of neglect many positive signs are beginning to point toward a turnaround for the Austin area. The recent housing boom has helped the area in its revitalization efforts. Smaller commercial areas are also starting to sprout. The intersection at Cicero and North Ave. has seen a major turnaround with the construction of the new Washington Square Mall. Also the new Austin Wellness Center, a satellite of Cook County Hospital, is under construction at Chicago Ave. and Cicero.  Despite strong opposition by many community and labor organizations, the city council recently voted to allow zoning changes that will enable Wal-Mart, the nations largest retailer, to open its first store in Chicago in the Austin neighborhood. The retail giant is expected to create 300 much needed jobs in a community that suffered the loss of 1,200 manufacturing jobs when Brachs Candies decided to close its manufacturing plant in Austin and relocate to Mexico and Argentina. Austin is noted as an area having one of the highest concentrations of ex-felons in the city. Groups such as F.A.I.T.H. Inc., a grassroots community organization, seek to address the problems encountered by ex-prisoners attempting to make the transition back into Chicago neighborhoods.  

BRONZEVILLE

The area known as Bronzeville is a self-acclaimed South Side enclave located within the Grand Boulevard community area. Its boundaries run loosely from 39^th to 51^st St., between Michigan Ave. and Cottage Grove. Despite the efforts of whites, African-Americans began moving into the area in large numbers during the years of World War I as the citys need for more industrial workers increased.  In the 1930s as the famed Harlem Renaissance of the Black Cultural achievement was winding down, a new surge of African-American creativity, activism and scholarship began to flow in the area that came to be known as Bronzeville. The area was once the center of Chicagos African-American economic and social life. Many historians consider Bronzeville as the most significant landmark of the African-American urban history.  Presently the city has committed to working with the community to preserve and develop Bronzeville. Fortunately, many of the most significant buildings in the area have survived. Collectively these buildings are worthy of recognition and preservation as monuments to the determination of the African-American pioneers who built them.

Founded in 1971, Centers for New Horizons is a human service, community development network that has worked to transform the Bronzeville community into a viable mixed income community. Its mission is to help develop the capacities of families to become self-reliant, to improve the quality of life, and to participate in the rebuilding of their community through employment, housing, recreation and cultural activities. 

UPTOWN   

The community of Uptown is located on the far north side along Lake Michigan, just south of the Edgewater neighborhood and north of Lakeview. The area lies between Lake Michigan and Damen Ave., between Montrose Dr. and Foster Ave. to the north. The community has maintained its distinctive character taken on after World War II, as 76% of the housing units are rental units while 24% are owner occupied. Uptown is comprised of three completely separate neighborhoods with completely separate interest. Many of the vacant lots and dilapidated buildings have been torn down or completely renovated providing housing for many of the areas low-income residents. Uptowns lakefront area is comprised of many high- rent, high-rise buildings populated by mostly upper middle class wage earners. The western edge of the community is made up of single-family homeowners. The challenge is to make all three areas work for the overall good of the community.  Uptown is one of the most ethnically diverse communities in all of Chicago and is home to large number of immigrants. Argyle Street has come to be known as a mini Chinatown and also houses many other Southeast Asian businesses. The area between Sheridan Rd. and Broadway is also home to many African, Central American and Eastern European immigrants and refugees. The mission of Chinese Mutual Aid Association (CMAA) is to serve the needs, promote the interest, and enhance the well-being of the Chinese and other immigrants and refugees throughout Chicagoland, while helping to foster their participation in American society. Throughout the area, immigrants and refuges are touched both directly and indirectly by CMAA through its development of joint ventures and its emphasis on uniting immigrants from all backgrounds.  

HUMBOLDT PARK

Humboldt Park is also located on the citys Northwest side. The area is sandwiched between the communities of West Town and Austin and lies just south of Logan Square. It includes parts of the 1^st, 27^th and 35^th Wards. The community is almost evenly populated by Hispanics (48%) and African-Americans (47.4%). Signs of change can be visibly seen throughout the neighborhood, as the area along Division St., east of Western Ave. has become a popular, trendy area for young urban professionals (yuppies). As the redevelopment continues in the area, many long time residents are being forced out as housing prices continue to soar.  The once desolate area is now occupied with coffee shops and sushi bars catering to younger professionals. Other areas are still plagued by poverty and its related social factors including gangs and drugs. Census 2000 revealed that nearly 30% of all families in the area live below the poverty level. The affordable housing issue is of great concern in the area as the new Harold Washington Unity Cooperative, an 87-unit affordable housing project was recently completed in the 3100 block of West Huron.   Casa Central was established in 1954 by a multi-denominational group of churches to provide social services for people of all ages and to assist a growing population of Hispanics in adjusting to life in Chicagos inner city. It has now become the largest Hispanic social service agency in the Midwest.  In 1992 the West Humboldt Park Family and Community Development Council (WHP) was formed with its mission of becoming a catalyst for family, community and economic development in the West Humboldt Park area. WHP concentrates its efforts between the areas of Lake St. and North Ave., between Kedzie and Cicero, one of the most depressed areas in the city. The area is essentially identical to the 11^th police district, which has the highest homicide rate in the city at 75 per year and boasts an unemployment rate that is twice the citywide average. Also the area has one of the lowest labor force participation rates in the country at 51%.

PILSEN