Many of these immigrants were part of the working-class and found employment in construction and other industries. The latter actually named the neighborhood Pilsen after a town in their home country.
In the 1840s Pilsen was an enclave that was refuge to German and Irish immigrants, and in the late 1800s to Bohemians from the current day Czech Republic. Pilsen, a community in the Lower west part of Chicago, IL is best known for the large cultural influence of Mexican-Americans and other Latin American ethnic groups these groups call this 2.8 square mile area their home however, this hasn’t always been their home. In order to understand gentrification in Pilsen, and the sociology behind it, it is important to first begin with its history. Pilsen’s Humble BeginningsĬzech Sokol Parade, August 29th, 1909. However, it is important to note that this article is not an in-depth research project that has been done over the course of many years like many other research projects it is instead an accumulation of ethnographic research done through a ten week sociology seminar at Northwestern University and was compiled by visiting Pilsen a couple of times throughout this ten week seminar and applying material learned. This study focuses on a neighborhood in the Lower West Side of Chicago known as Pilsen, and the current gentrification process that is occurring. This article aims to examine the interaction amongst differing ethnic groups and how cultural objects from distinct cultures come into play, and how the receivers and creators interact with these objects on a daily basis during the gentrification process.
The restructuring of communities is not a simple task, and usually requires an extensive amount of time and multiple groups of individuals to come into contact with each other. While gentrification does cause many ethnic minorities such as African-Americans and Latinos to become displaced from their communities, the act of gentrification does not occur over-night. The question that is often asked is: What is gentrification? Urban designer and city planner in the San Francisco Bay area Benjamin Grant says that, “Gentrification is a general term for the arrival of wealthier people in an existing urban district, a related increase in rents and property values, and changes in the district’s character and culture” (Grant 2003). Gentrification is a topic that is currently being discussed much more often in the modern world, not just by individuals who live in areas that experience gentrification, but also by the academic and scholarly world. Nuevo Leon restaurant to the left, with a new restaurant and an older medicine store to the right
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