Census Tract

For my census tract, I typed in my area code. My area code is 60645. I am around a predominately Jewish community and also near an African American community. The statistics on the census tract shows that with a population of around 44,000, more than half (27,000) are Caucasian. About 5,000 are African American and 7,000 are Latino. I was mostly shocked by the number of Asians in the area, which is nearly 7,000. For the 4 1/2 years I've been living here, I see mostly Caucasians, but rarely wold I see Asians.
Another interesting fact is that about 16,500 are foreign born. If I had to take a guess, I would guess around 10,000 to be foreign born. This fact shows that immigration has made a huge affect on the population

The Metro Chicago Immigration Factbook

I chose to talk about the immigration issue in Chicago. They had charts and graphs that showed a steady increase of immigrants moving to Chicago since the 1980s. The decline of immigration to Chicago started back in early 1900sprobably due to the Great Depression. What I found interesting in this article is the talk about "port of entry." I've never heard of the term so I decided to look further into it. It is the neighborhood or region of the city where immigration is more common than other places. Apparently, Edgewater is the leading neighborhood in immigration in 2000. I live in West Rogers Park but come by Edgewater a lot. I really never notice an immigrant population in this neighborhood. The statistics say it's around 3,000 immigrants that live there since 2000. Other neighborhoods that follow it is Albany Park , Union Square, and West Ridge. Overall, it's interesting to find these port of entries in Chicago because it can definitely tell you where dense or sparse concentrations of immigrants are present.

My Photos

If I had to photograph pictures of Chicago, I would focus on the aspects that Chicago is less known for and what tourists would less know about. Many non-Chicagoans are familiar or know of Chicago's skyline and sport teams but not of the neighborhoods itself. The neighborhoods in Chicago are what gives Chicago that authentic feeling of a "melting pot"; where all the races of the world collide. Unfortunately Chicago is also one of the most race segregated cities in America. Truely, that melting pot, in a sense, isn't a melting pot at all. Still some of the photos I would take shall glorify what Chicago is all about; their culturally enhanced neighborhoods. I would take photos of Devon street, where many Middle Eastern cultures, ranging from Pakistani to Indian, come together to establish storefronts and community enhancements. Another neighborhood of mixed culture but yet same race, is Argyle. This small strip is predominately a Vietnamese and Chinese cultured area with a variety of storefronts and community programs. Both these areas represents why Chicago is so diverse as a city.
Another aspect of Chicago I would like to capture is its public housing. There are many public housing areas in Chicago but most of them are on the Southside. I know of one that is placed right on Diversey and Damen. When I first saw the "Diversey Projects," I thought it was an odd place to have housing projects there because the surrounding neighborhoods were different. I would take pictures of this to show the inconsistent borders of Chicago relating to economic housing.
Also, I would take pictures of the surrounding suburbs because they too, are a part of Chicago. It shows the history of Chicago after World War 2, where many Caucasians left the city (especially veterans) to settle in cheap houses around the city. This was known as "white flight." Also my pictures of these suburbs will show how some suburbs are mixing races.

Chicago's weather

Chicago's weather is ridiculous. You can safely say that Chicago doesn't have seasons. A good example of weather fluctuations in Chicago is the Marathon today. Almost 250 people were sent to the hospital and one pronounced dead due to heat related issues. I remember last year during the Chicago Marathon, it was a chilly October day and I had to close my dorm window. Another time, I forgot which April, actually two Aprils, when it snowed... It was April!!! Birds should be chirping, tulips should be growing, and that snow should have been rain! And of course, when it's cold, it gets bone chilling cold, and when it gets hot, it get scorching hot. It might sound like I'm complaining, but everyone who has lived in Chicago for a while can relate with me.