African-Americans are the same as most. They want a bigger house, better schools, a better quality of life than they can get in the city.
– State Rep. Will Burns, on the decline of Chicago’s African-American population since 2000. The number of black (non-Hispanic) residents dropped by almost 10 percent from 2000 to 2008, a fact Burns attributes to “gentrification of traditionally black areas like the South Loop and Bronzeville” and displacement following the demolition of the Robert Taylor Homes and other projects.
The exodus shouldn’t register in the city’s overall population count once the 2010 Census figures are in, however, thanks largely to a continuing influx of new Hispanic residents.
(Hat tip to Gapers Block for the link.)
Of course they’re leaving. Once solid middle class neighborhoods like chatham and south shore have been over flooded with voucher people. Policticians continuously overburdened south side areas with these people while the CHA builds mixed income housing (that isn’t selling).
YOuse guys should probably add the Chicago News Cooperative link for the NY Times to your daily scanning for real estate related news.
As for black folks leaving Chicago that’s been apparent for awhile.
If you extrapolate the numbers in the story out to ten years the loss will be about 150,000 people. I suspect the actual loss will be closer to 175,000 and perhaps as high as 200,000.
Whole neighborhoods on the south and west sides are quickly losing massive numbers of people. Generally they are the middle and working class folks a city needs to thrive.
Huge areas of Chicago now resemble Detroit and parts of Detroit more resemble Dresden after World War Two than a working city.
The good thing is urban farming will thrive!
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRr………………
IrishPirate,
But you won’t be able to eat anything grown on those farms – too many contaminants.
Joe,
I am no expert on farming of any variety.
Seriously, “urban farming” is an oxymoron.
Sorta like:
amicable divorce
thinking NIMBY
honorable alderman
President Palin
Need I go on.
It’s a sad thing when tens of thousands of vacant lots dot large areas of a great city.