Our Community

The south side is the community where I live in Chicago. The basic things that I know about my neighborhood are the same one's that are the most heard all over Chicago. That the south side is infested with crime and with gangs that are to blame for the crime happening in the south side. That the families living there are mostly poorly resourced families that have to work all the time to have a piece of bread to their mouths. However, there is a lot more to the south side than I've heard about and even though Wikipedia also only gives a brief description about this community, it's a lot more information than the one I had about it. It is kind of an upsetting fact to admit since even though I wasn't born in the south side of Chicago, I have lived in this community since I was 4 years old. However, back in the 1990's, Chicago was somehow different than it is now, when I moved into this neighborhood it used to be a lot less dangerous than it is now. There would be no curfew's or people afraid to walk the streets at night because they were afraid to get attacked by gangs or any crazy people out there. It used to be a cleaner neighborhood too, less fights, and more freedom for the kids. Now, because of everything going on with these gangs, kids are not as free as before. Everyone has a curfew and it's not as easy to be outside as it was before. Wikipedia also states how the south side is mostly known for their gangs and their crimes. However, it specifies that it is not only made up of poor neighborhoods but of a working class, middle class, and upper-middle class. It also tells how the south side has some cultural and social offerings like professional sports teams, landmark buildings, museums, educational, and medical institutions, besides the CTA that also forms part of our community. Wikipedia talks about how the south side was founded and about its history and how it used to have a racial segregation. These are actually very interesting facts that I had never really paid any attention to about my neighborhood.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Side,_Chicago