• Chicago Guide

  • Introduction to Chicago
  • Things not to miss
  • Arrival
  • Getting around

• Explore Chicago

  • The Loop
  • South Loop and Near South
  • The Near North Side
  • Old Town and Lincoln Park
  • Lakeview neighbourhoods
  • Bucktown, Wicker Park and Ukrainian Village
  • The West Side
  • The South Side
  • Rogers Park and the North Shore
  • Oak Park
  • Outdoor activities

• Accommodation

  • Find accommodation

• Things to do

  • Drinking
  • Eating
  • Shopping
  • Nightlife

Chicago Guide

The South Side

Sprawling from south of the South Loop all the way to the city limits, the South Side of Chicago is a case study in urban contrasts, as it contains the very affluent and those who are struggling the most in the Second City. The area includes the neighbourhoods of Hyde Park, Kenwood and Bronzeville, and you can wander through the hushed, neo-Gothic quadrangles of the University of Chicago, famous for snagging Nobel Prizes. Just a few blocks away from this tweedy academic enclave you can find yourself in some of the most dangerous and run-down districts of the city, where windows are boarded up, garbage is scattered across empty lots, and a sense of hopelessness predominates.

Outside Hyde Park and Kenwood, the South Side is a predominantly African-American neighbourhood: racial tensions run high and many locals feel that the area's been unfairly left to decay while white districts like Lincoln Park have been aggressively smartened up. However, the Bronzeville neighbourhood, a cradle of opportunity from the 1920s to the 1950s, when it was birthplace to legendary jazz musicians, civil rights leaders, and entrepreneurs, contains enough vestiges of its former vibrance to reward a visit.