The bad news is that Chicago, despite its 100s of neighborhoods and residents’ obsession with them, has a surprisingly small number of active neighborhood blogs and websites.
The good news is that the few that do exist fall into the “must read” category if you’re interested in the neighborhoods they cover. Here are my top 5 picks, in alphabetical order:
Chicago Pipeline Roscoe View Journal Sloopin The Sixth Ward Uptown Update
If there’s a site that you feel should have been on my list, tell us why in a comment, bearing in mind that my primary criteria included a) a specific neighborhood focus, b) frequent updates and c) largely original content.
For anyone who’s interested in Chicago’s neighborhoods I’d also strongly recommend EveryBlock.
Hi
Forgive me but there are many avenues to take to learn about the neighborhoods in the City of Chicago. Someone can learn by subscribing (like) to various neighborhood Facebook pages and to newsletters from Chicago ward offices or mine called the
LakeView Historical on Facebook and / or LakeView Historical Chronicles
Thanks!
garry
I’m grateful my blog is on the top 5 list. Personally Worlee’s Concerned Citizens of Chatham should be up there as well, but I understand that there must be a wide range of blogs from around the city up there.
Levois,
I’ve taken the liberty of adding a link to Worlee’s blog in your comment.
I found him to be a great guide to Chatham, and readers can see a lot more of the guided tour he gave me in this playlist at YouTube.
Hey, it’s great that you like Roscoe View Journal. But how about CenterSquareJournal.com and EdgevilleBuzz.com? Or our new A&E site for Lakeview, Lakeviewing.com?
Mike,
I only have five slots in my top five!
Relevant items from RV Journal and Center Square Journal are picked up from their feeds and frequently featured on our Chicago Real Estate News page. The feed for Edgeville Buzz is not functioning, or we’d include that too.
We only cover real estate and neighborhood news that affects real estate and Lakeviewing isn’t a fit. As someone who’s also in media, I’m sure you appreciate the need for a site to have a clear focus.
I have been writing for our neighborhood blog, Galewood.net, for the past year and we have written over 250 posts on the neighborhood and adjacent areas. It’s relatively easy to write about an event or program but more challenging creating an original news piece. Some of the blogs you listed are doing a great job in this area. We have to write our own news because the big city papers don’t and our neighborhoods are worth writing about! Keep up the good work!
Yo.. Hi, Joe! Thank you so much for including us!
alisa
phil phlash
jon graef
joe struck
cece carroll
eva bergant- real estate column
and many others that help out