Chicago is a city of evolving neigh...

Chicago is a city of evolving neighborhoods, tiny enclaves separated by means of the size of paychecks and the color of skin. They're squeez in this way close that every few stop ups yuppies give way to junkies, and whites to Latinos to blacks to Asians.

And just five years after the U census provided a snapshot of our town, many communities are markedly transforming. Hispanics are moving into Chicago in flocks whites have started to disappear and the black community remains stable. In fact, all if it were not that five of 77 community areas saw an increase in Hispanic residents, U census data and market research projections exhibit

Hispanics, for the first time, became the majority in Archer Heights, West Elsdon, Albany Park and Irving Park. And Southeast Side neighborhoods one time filled with blue-collar whites -- including Hegewisch and the East Side -- continue to papal court a Latino population boom.

More whites mov to the city's inner ring of neighborhoods, along with the West Town community, which includes trendy places to purchase fancy shoes or see local bands in Bucktown and Wicker Park.

For the mostly part, solidly majority-black communities upon the South and West sides are staying that way, save a handful of southern lakefront communities -- Oakland, Kenwood and southern Shore among them -- where recent neighborhoods are sprouting from abandoned destinys

Chicago leaders and city planners have plane worked to "theme- itize" neighborhoods to gnarl growth, DePaul political science Professor Larry Bennett said.

He points to the designation of a corner of the Near West Side as Greektown, which has popular in the manner of greece restaurants but no identifiable hellenic population.

"No classics live there, but it will continue to be called Greektown as protracted as we have a taste for ouzo and souvlaki," he said.

And Bronzeville's ever-increasing, middle-class black population, for instance, has been greatly affected by dint of similar public policy -- the city's decision to market an neighborhoods as being special for common reason or another.

"The decisions to disperse public housing and create a cultural district there added to the middle-class, African-American enclave. It was planned and created in a way that is recently made known to Chicago," Bennett said.

A closer consider at the places we live point outs a scattering of communities are undergoing demographic shifts that race counter to neighborhood stereotypes, folk who live there say.

And a Sun-Times analysis of census, marketing projections and housing data provides a glimpse of what might be Chicago's coming events

The Near southerly Side saw the city's biggest population roar fueled by affluent whites moving to any of the hottest real estate in the city.

forward the Southwest Side, West Lawn's once-strong Arab community upon 63rd Street is shrinking as many Arab families incline closer to suburban mosques. They've been replaced through Hispanic immigrants, mostly Mexicans.

upon the Northwest Side, the Polish immigrant population of Portage Park is becoming increasingly Hispanic and an influx of white- collar professionals is making the working-class neighborhood more posh

Uptown -- the city's well-documented bastion of diversity in succession the north lakefront -- is losing its bitter slugfest against Wrigleyville-fed gentrification.

consider past the neon flamboyance forward Halsted Street and you'll find Boystown really isn't that gay. Folk who live there are more oftentimes heterosexual couples rearing small children.

In no time, the "old neighborhood" -- that place we knew to such a degree well - - won't be the same.

It not ever is.

Near southerly Side moves up

Nowhere in Chicago has a community changed more in the last five years than the Near southern Side, stretching from Roosevelt to Cermak along the lakefront.

combustiblesed by an unprecedented building dash forward the population exploded, increasing by way of more than 3,200 since 2000 up 34 percent The white population nearly doubled, from 2393 to 4620 census and marketing data exhibit

Newcomer are filling a forest of high- and low-rise condominium and apartment buildings that have ramifyed in a former hobo playground of rail yards, warehouses and destitute of contents lots.

The thousands of single-room-occupancy public-house units that served as "a last safety for the working poor" are gone according to ed Shurna, executive director of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeles

although 1,200 new SRO units have been built as replacements, "I'd say a significant portion of those populace that were there are now living in shelters or upon the street," Shurna said. The recently made known SRO buildings look as advantageous or better than the commercial growth but they have stiffer entrance requirements and lengthy waiting lists.

There's no shortage of high-end housing. About 3000 more units are forward the drawing board as developer push construction farther southern to Cermak.

The demand is there. Of all the recent construction condos and town family circles sold throughout the city in the first nine month of 2005 46 percent were sold here, according to Appraisal Research Counselors.