Photo of Cabrini-Green being demolished
After doing a little searching around for stories of gentrification I came across this photo and an article about Cabrini-Green. Anyone who has previously heard that name most likely knows it as Chicago’s most infamous housing project. Known for it’s crime and gang activity. Well, what you might not know is that that Cabrini-Green no longer exist. In it’s place are expensive condos and townhomes, and some affordable housing. The Chicago Reporter did a great article about the change in Cabrini-Green which I’d encouraging you to read. Here are some statistics from it about the Cabrini-Green neighborhood:
- Residential property sales within two blocks of the developments reached a combined total of more than $2 billion
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Most of the real-estate activity, nearly $1.6 billion, occurred since 2000, the year the CHA launched its plan
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Property values in these neighborhoods have escalated quickly, in some cases, doubling within weeks
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While nearly 74 percent of residents in the neighborhoods were black in 2000, nearly 66 percent of new homeowners have been white since then
- About 25 percent of the neighborhoods’ households earned more than $50,000 a year in 1999, compared with 82 percent of those who’ve bought homes there since.