Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan
^ yeah, the far west side is no joke.
humboldt park, garfield park, austin, and north lawndale represent the roughest part of the city in terms of violent crime.
those 4 community areas represent only 7% of the city's land area, but they account for roughly 1/3 of the city's homicides.
that nexus of poverty, gangs, and crime might represent the single most violent patch of land in the entire developed world on a pound for pound basis.
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I find this really interesting because since Google Maps has become so detailed I've found it fascinating how you can often get a quick insight into general wealth/crime level in a neighbourhood (better for SFH/small multi-family areas) from it's satellite overhead view. Dark green foliage with little gaps in the urban fabric often represents a fairly well-to-do neighbourhood that maintains mature trees and has land/unit prices high enough to prevent empty lots from sitting vacant. The brighter green areas with extreme low density often represent the bombed-out neighbourhoods that expose unkempt grass as derelict buildings are torn down.
By this metric Austin (and parts of Garfield park to a lesser extent) pass the sniff-test far better than the rough parts of the South Side.
Austin. I'd passed over this area before on Google Maps and never thought much of it until I saw your post and dug a little deeper into streetview.
Part of West Garfield. This one is a little more telling, but still nowhere near the same aesthetic of equivalently dangerous areas in other Midwest metros
Compare that to Englewood, where I don't need to go any further to immediately tell it's one of the worst areas in the city.
Just curious to me as to how the notorious West Side neighbourhoods seemed to avoid as much full-on destruction.