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Pilsen
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Near West Side Community | Map
of Pilsen and Near West Side
Map
of Neighborhoods in the Context of Chicago Area | Communities
served by UICNI
Location
| Housing | Income
| Commerce/Industry | Education
& Unemployment
Social Organization | Conclusion
& Results
Location
The Near West Side is located west and northwest of the UIC campus.
UICNI concentrates on a core area bounded by Kinzie Street to the north,
Ashland Avenue to the east, Van Buren Street to the south, and Western
Avenue to the west; as well as the area around the ABLA housing project
south of Roosevelt Road. More than half of the community's predominantly
African-American population lives in poverty within a bleak landscape
dominated by large public housing complexes. Serious problems such as
escalating gang violence and teen pregnancy are compounded by the lack
of basic services other communities may take for granted.
The area's history
goes back to 1851, when Chicago extended its municipal boundaries. By
the early 1920s, the Near West Side was home to more than 200,000 people,
including some of the city's wealthiest residents. The neighborhood
surrounding Union Park was called the "Bois de Boulogne of the
West Side." Successive waves of immigrants brought changes in the
area's ethic composition and began a slow decline. Urban renewal, expressway
building, and housing project development accelerated population decline
and increased poverty among residents. Today, the UICNI population is
around 9,000, nearly all African-American. Alex Kotlowitz's acclaimed
book, There Are No Children Here (Doubleday, 1991), brought national
attention to the grim realities of life for children and families in
Near West Side housing projects.
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Housing
Near West Side is still in the process of recovering from the 1968 uprisings
following the assassination of Martin Luther King. Widespread fires
and destruction left blocks and blocks of vacant land. The community
also encompasses Henry Horner Homes, a large public housing development.
Of its 1,761 housing units, only 899 units are leased; almost half are
boarded up and vacant. These 899 households comprise 27% of all community
households. Near West Side also includes two well-maintained low-rise
Section 8 housing developments, which house 800 families and senior
citizens. Blocks of brick two and three flats are interspersed throughout
the community. Near West Side residents who have remained in the area
are
committed long-time residents: 60% of local homeowners have lived in
the community for ten years or more.
The target area
of the Near West Side that UICNI focuses on experienced a 13.78% drop
in housing units between 1990 and 1998. Although the Near West Side
as a whole has a population that is 64.3% black the target area is 99.4%
black.
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Income
With a substantial concentration of public housing residents, the
vast majority of Near West Side residents live below the federal poverty
level, with a median household income of only $5,484. Henry Horner Homes
is
among the country's 15 poorest areas, with a per capita income of $2,840
in 1989. Almost half of local residents (47.8%) receive public assistance,
as compared to 14.4% of all city residents. Also, 48% of all Near West
Side residents make less than $15,000 a year. Nearly three-fourths of
local families are headed by women. These economic stresses correspond
to high levels of gang activity, crime, and violence: the Near West
Side has the fifth highest crime rate of Chicago's 77 community areas.
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Commerce/Industry
The primary landmark in the community is the United Center, the new
home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks, which replaced the nearby
Chicago Stadium. The United Center stands alone, rising from a vast
desert of surface parking lots two blocks from Henry Horner Homes. Aside
from the United Center, bars and souvenir stores catering to its clientele
and a few grocery stores and auto repair shops, there are very few commercial
establishments in the community. A few factories remain on the northern
edge of the Near West Side, but most industrial land is vacant. The
Near West Side is described as a "black hole" in Kotlowitz's
There Are No Children Here, characterized more by what was lacking:
"There were not banks, only currency exchanges, which charged customers
up to S8.00 for every welfare check cashed. There were not public libraries,
movie theaters, skating rinks, or bowling alleys to entertain the neighborhood's
children."
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Education
& Unemployment
Statistics show that by the time children on the Near West Side reach
high school, many will fail or drop out entirely. At three of the five
local high schools, the vast majority of students score in the lowest
15% standardized tests. Teen pregnancy rates continue to escalate. and
dropout rates range up to 26%. Among adults, 40% have not completed
high school, severely limiting their employment opportunities and ability
to support a family. The official unemployment rate is 40%, but local
community organizationsbelieve it exceeds 60%.
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Social
Organization
The Near West Side's community institutions and organizing efforts are
its greatest asset and continue to enhance the community building process.
In the early 1980s, a group of Henry Horner Homes residents organized
to improve their living conditions. In 1985, local churches formed the
Inter faith Organizing Project to negotiate with Chicago Stadium owners
and later formed the Near West Side Community Development Corporation,
which will build 75 new two-flats over the next few years. Also in 1985,
ten local social service agencies formed a coalition now known as Unity
West to coordinate and improve their services and jointly create solutions
to community problems. Unity West includes the Boys and Girls Club,
Horner Association for Men, Chicago Commons (a multi-service social
agency), and Mile Square Health Center.
Mile Square Health
Center, staffed and operated by UIC, has been one of the University's
major contributions to the community. Mile Square provides comprehensive
primary care for Near West Side residents of all ages, regardless of
their ability to pay, and is closely integrated with ongoing community
activities. Mile Square has become a model for providing healthservices
in a community setting.
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Conclusion
& Results
UICNI has operated since 1995 in developing and facilitating relationships,
organizing collaborative projects, and supporting teaching, research,
and service work in the two neighborhoods. Over this period, the number
of projects with active UICNI support have increased to forty, with
the number of community partners increasing to over 100. Nearly sixty
faculty members and over 100 students have worked on the projects with
communitypartners (see Project Table included and Summary Table below).
UICNI has developed
relationships with several community partners, including: the Resurrection
Project, Renacer West Side Network, Near West Side Community Development
Corporation, 18th Street Development Corporation, West Side Consortium,
Benito Juarez High School, Suder School, the James Jordan Boys and Girls
Club, the Henry Horner Local Advisory Council, to name a few.
Main university
department and center partners include the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center
for Neighborhood Improvement, the City Design Center in the College
of Architecture and the Arts, College of Education, Jane
Addams College of Social Work, UIC Center for Urban Economic Development,
the School of Public Health, the UIC Medical Center, the Great Cities
Institute, and the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs,
to name just a few.
Public agency involvement
includes the City of Chicago's Department of Planning and Development,
Department of Human Services, and Department of Housing; as well as
the Chicago Housing Authority, local
schools, and other bodies. Various other non-profits and private business
agencies are involved in the projects, as described in the body of the
regular reports sent to the HUD Office of University Partnerships.
One of the goals
of UICNI is to spin off successful projects to stand on their own, and
this has become a reality in some case. For example, Esperanza Familiar
in Pilsen, a family needs assessment and counseling agency formed at
The Resurrection Project in Pilsen with substantial UIC help, was
awarded the Sara Lee Foundation Spirit Award of $100,000 for its work.
Other ongoing,
successful projects receiving substantial support outside UICNI and
the HUD grants include: the Affordable Housing Fund; the Great Cities/Great
Careers project with Benito Juarez High School; the Urban Youth Leadership
project; and the Near West Side Commercial development project.
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UIC Neighborhoods Initiative
Great Cities Institute (M/C107)
412 S. Peoria, Suite 400, Chicago, IL 60607-7067
PH: 312.996.8700 FAX: 312.996.8933
email: mailto:gcities@uic.edu |
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