Quote:
Originally Posted by Crawford
But yeah, in the Eastern U.S., especially in cities with large poor black populations, abandonment is often a pretty good sign that you're in a high crime neighborhood. A completely abandoned area might not be too horrible bc everyone left, but an urban place with vacant lots here and there is likely pretty shooty.
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Yeah, that checks out for Chicago.
And really, how many cities have actual 100% abandoned areas (that were originally residential; I'm not talking about the large de-industrialized wastelands you can find in all rustbelt cities)?
Englewood has suffered the worst population loss out of Chicago's 77 community areas, going from a peak of 97,595 in 1960 down to 24,369 in 2020 (
-75.0%). It's quite blighted throughout, with vacant lots all over the place, but as of 2020, there were still 24,369 people living there at an average density of 8,100 ppsm, which is nowhere remotely close to "totally abandoned", and it's one of the most violent places in the developed world.
Here's a typical scene along Halsted, the main north-south street of the neighborhood. Vacant buildings and empty lots galore, as one would expect of a neighborhood that has lost 3/4 of its people.
6736 S Halsted St
https://maps.app.goo.gl/XdnqfiHkgbYLNdGs8