Uptown

Here is a pretty comprehensive article on the history of Chicago's Uptown neighborhood.  This area was my stomping-grounds as a kid, and I'm sure that its long-established spirit of solidarity with the poor, of recognizing that some stand to lose in the gentrification and prosperity game, must have influenced much of who I am and how I see the world.  Right now, as my family and I feel very rootless in our temporary digs in northern Virginia, it is refreshing to recall what it was for me to be so rooted in a local geography as I was growing up in Chicago.  I hope we can soon reestablish some semblance of personal concern and investment in our local surroundings.