Chinatown

Chinatown was awesome. plain and simple, awesome. The "new center" was purely commercial, like an outdoor mall. The shops were two stories tall, facing Chinatown Square, or one of the inner corridors. The area was very lively, with lots of people. Towards the river, there is a new urbanist style development with townhouses and condos. After that, the large Ping Tom Memorial Park hugs the river. South of all of this, the old Chinatown appears. Graceful old building such as the Pui Tak Center adorn the streets of the older part of Chinatown, as well as standard late 19th century brick buildings. The area is extremely Chinese, with many storefronts in all or mostly Chinese, not English. (I'm not sure whether it's Mandarin Chinese or Cantonese predominately spoken in the Chicago Chinatown.) The future of Chinatown is uncertain. Its proximity to the Loop may force many of its inhabitants to move elsewhere, and it will be hard to grow outwards, as the Chicago River, the Dan Ryan Expressway, and the Stevenson Expressway bound it into its current shape. A wonderful and extremely active ethnic neighborhood!  

South Loop

The South Loop is an up and coming neighborhood. New condos now line its streets from Harrison to 23rd. though once economically depressed, it now lures many young people and families here with the promise of Loop proximity, a great neighborhood, and (originally) cheap housing. Now, Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts line the streets. South Loop never was a mixed income neighborhood, it was always at an extreme end of the spectrum. One cool thing about the area, though, is the many Divvy stations throughout the area. Divvy, Chicago's bike share, is rapidly growing throughout Chicago. The South Loop also has a wide range of architectural styles, ranging from late 19th century brick buildings to 1960's concrete high rises to the glass and steel condos of today. It is extremely family friendly, with many parks in the area. It also has a wide range of densities, from urban houses to large high rises. Though not currently mixed income, CHA (Chicago Housing Authority) plans to build a large mixed income community in the area by 2015. A currently nice neighborhood, with potential to be so much more.     

Near North

Near North is an extremely upscale neighborhood north of the Loop. Closer to the river, glass and steel condos dominate. farther out, older brick buildings become the norm. Many fine restaurants are present throughout the area. There are many good public transit connections, and almost all buildings are mixed use. Streets have wide sidewalks, and the whole area is very high density. The one problem with the area is that it is not at all mixed income, with extreme rich being the economic norm of the residents. There is nothing wrong with being rich, but there is something wrong with a not economically diverse neighborhood, at the rich or poor end. A nice neighborhood, very mixed use, but it could use some economic diversity.

West Rogers Park

West Rogers Park has changed a lot in a year. Since last year, the neighborhood has really gotten much nicer! New stores line Western Avenue, and things look less run down. The current inhabitants are still the same, which is nice. The same beautiful homes and apartments line its streets, and new bus shelters adorn the intersections. The Sari City area along Devon Avenue is slowly expanding down Western Avenue, and there is an increased Desi presence, and some new ethnic groceries are in the area. The area is medium-low density, with some apartments on side streets, but most mixed use buildings are clustered on Western Avenue and Devon Avenue. Although nothing about the neighborhood other than Devon Avenue is all that special, it is still a very charming neighborhood.

Rittenhouse Square

Rittenhouse Square is a beautiful neighborhood southwest of Center City in Philadelphia. The neighborhood is extremely beautiful and quite wealthy as well. It has a large cultural scene, and an established core of fine restaurants and hotels. The square itself was extremely pleasant, with large, leafy trees to shade pedestrians. There was an art show in the square at the time, featuring student's work at the center of the square. Though it was not very hot, the trees in the square would be a welcome respite from the summer hat during the heat of the day. The architecture of the neighborhood was beautiful, consisting of a few brick high-rises, but four to six story mixed use apartment buildings were the architectural norm. The restaurants that I dined at all had very good food, showing why the area was much visited for its fine dining. The very wealthy neighborhoods gradually morphed into slightly less wealthy neighborhoods farther from the square towards the Schuylkill River and the southern edge of the city, but still very pretty. If you visit Philly, I would go so far as to recommend this neighborhood over the Liberty Bell!