The population loss encountered by most Chicago communities during the 2000 decade was attributed in part to the high number of bankruptcy homes and foreclosed properties in the region. During the 10-year period, 57 of the metro area's 77 communities experienced population decline, according to a 2010 U.S. census report.
The report revealed that the areas hardest hit by dwindling populations were the South and West, where a huge number of African Americans live. These people, the report stated, left the area as crime escalates and more homes fall into foreclosure home auctions. Another reason cited was the decline in the quality of schools in both sides and the economic squalor prevalent in the neighborhoods.
One example cited was Englewood, a neighborhood located on the South Side of Chicago, where a huge number of properties had been sold at Illinois home auctions. Almost 25% of the area's population, equivalent to around 9,500 residents, was reportedly lost by the area over a period of 10 years. Another 10,000 have also abandoned the neighboring community of West Englewood.
According to housing market analysts, the population decline happened gradually during the first half of the decade, but the recession and the housing market crisis that occurred later accelerated the loss. In the last two or three years of the decade, the number of foreclosed houses and bankruptcy homes that have been abandoned and left empty increased dramatically, leading more people to leave the area to avoid the sight of boarded up dwellings.
Residents revealed that the rise in the number of abandoned properties, most of them homes at auctions, drove away even those who still have their homes and have avoided the foreclosure crisis. They stated that these homeowners cannot abide living in a neighborhood surrounded by empty houses. The number of immigrants in the city has also declined over the decade as Hispanics and other groups left their neighborhoods.
The areas of Pilsen, Little Village and Logan Square, generally known as immigrant neighborhoods, have reportedly lost 8,000 to 12,000 residents during the course of the decade. Residents stated that, if the number of abandoned foreclosed dwellings and bankruptcy homes rises again this year, more people will likely leave the metro area.
John Cutts has been educated in the finer points of the foreclosure market over 5 years.
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