Where are the coolest neighborhoods in the U.S.? And are any of them located in Chicago?
Real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield set out to locate those neighborhoods with its “Cool Streets Report,” and four Chicago areas – Wicker Park, Fulton District, Logan Square, and Bucktown/Damen Avenue – made the cut.
Surveying hundreds of real estate professionals throughout the country, Cushman & Wakefield rated neighborhoods with several factors, including: the area’s Millennial population; its level of college education; its walkability; its diversity; and the food, music, and arts scene.
Most importantly, the survey also rated the neighborhoods on a scale of coolness – Wicker Park and and Bucktown/Damen Avenue are both “still cool, but going mainstream,” while Fulton District is “up and coming, the next big thing,” and Logan Square is in a state of “prime hipness.”
Here is a detailed chart on the survey’s rankings for Chicago’s neighborhoods; note that amenities are rated on a scale of one to four, with four being the highest.
Neighborhood Features | Wicker Park | Fulton District | Logan Square | Bucktown/Damen Avenue |
---|---|---|---|---|
Total Population | 214757 | 225515 | 255132 | 257193 |
Average Household Income | $102,698 | $122,561 | $84,529 | $109,494 |
% College Educated | 73.1% | 88% | 60.5% | 77.2% |
% Millennials | 39.5% | 43.1% | 34.3% | 42.7% |
% Renters | 58% | 51.9% | 58% | 58.4% |
Walkability | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Bicycle Friendly | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Public Transit | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
Diversity | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Access to Higher Ed | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Restaurants | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Nightlife | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Music Venues | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
Art Scene | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
Vintage/Thrift | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
Photo Credit: Thshriver, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Milwaukee_Avenue_District_5.JPG
Don’t agree. They’re all hipster neghborhoods, with pretty high crime and gangs. Not very family friendly. I think you forgot about Linciln Square, North Center, Andersonville and Rogers Park
Cushman & Wakefield “rated” these neighborhoods leaving out certain important facts. First, these areas are still “high-crime areas” and second, at least 2 of the four are still occupied and controlled by well known Gangs. Those factual “stats” should be added to the “chart for survey rankings” for “cool streets” as well.