Chicago

Neighborhoods

Chicago is partitioned by the city into four main sections: Downtown (which contains the Loop), the North Side, the South Side, and the West Side. In the late 1920s sociologists at the University of Chicago subdivided the city into 77 distinct community areas. The boundaries of these areas are more clearly defined than those of the over 210 neighborhoods throughout the city, allowing for better year-by-year comparisons.

The Loop contains downtown's commercial, cultural, and financial institutions.

The North Side is the most densely populated residential section of the city and the River North neighborhood features the nation's largest concentration of contemporary art galleries outside of Manhattan. As a Polonia center, due to Chicago having the largest population of Poles outside of Warsaw, the city celebrates every Labor Day weekend at the Taste of Polonia Festival in Jefferson Park[30].

The South Side is also home to one of the city's largest parades, the annual African American Bud Billiken Day parade and is the former home of the South Side Irish Parade. It is home to two of Chicago's largest public parks. Jackson Park, which hosted the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893, is currently the site of the Museum of Science and Industry. Washington Park, which is connected to Jackson Park by the Midway Plaisance, is currently being considered as the primary site of the Olympic Stadium for the 2016 Summer Olympics if Chicago wins the bid.

The West Side holds the Garfield Park Conservatory, one of the largest collections of tropical plants of any U.S. city. Cultural attractions include Humboldt Park's Puerto Rican Day festival, and the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen.