West Side, Chicago

The West Side is one of the three major sections of the city of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, along with the North Side and the South Side. The West Side consists of communities that are of historical, cultural, and ideological importance to the history and development of Chicago. On the flag of Chicago,[1] the West Side is represented by the central white stripe.

The Chicago West Side has gone through many transitions in its ethnic and socioeconomic makeup due to its historic role as a gateway for immigrants and migrants as well as its role for funneling poorer African-American residents away from the wealthier lakeside neighborhoods and central business district.[2] Today, the West Side consists of large communities of widely middle class, working class, low-income, and poverty-stricken African American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican residents; some small communities of blue-collar, lower middle class and middle class white residents of historically Polish, Italian, Czech, and Greek, descent; and newer communities of middle-class, upper-middle class, and wealthy white residents created by gentrification.[3] Major shifts continue to happen due to forces such as rapid gentrification, selective corporate investments, and unequal distribution of city resources.[4][5]

There are a range of services available on the West Side, especially educational, cultural, and medical institutions. The University of Illinois at Chicago is on the West Side, as is the United Center, home to the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks. One of the nation's largest urban medical districts, the Illinois Medical District, is on the West Side.[6] Three of Chicago's largest parks, along with much of the city's boulevard system, are in this part of the city: Humboldt Park, Garfield Park, and Douglas Park. The West Side is very accessible by the interstate and public transportation via the Chicago Transit Authority's many bus routes, the Chicago 'L', the Metra commuter rail, and the Eisenhower Expressway. Additionally, Cook County Jail, the United States' largest single site jail, and a secretive interrogation facility maintained by the Chicago Police Department, are both on the West Side.[7] [[Category:A]]