View of Lake Michigan looking North from the 35th St. beach during a late summer storm. Chicago's South Side has experienced major changes in the past five years, including a multi-million dollar rehabilitation of the Lakefront. Unfortunately, as the city is repackaged the poorest residents are being squeezed out of the city and forced to move to new communities and are not reaping the benefits of gentrification and urban transformation. The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

Pocket Town Kids: Passion, Hope and Connection on Chicago's S. Side- Da Boyz Teenagers and men from the neighborhood pose for a picture on 71st St. just west of the school on 72nd St.

Outside Starkesia Reed's house who was killed in her house by a drive-by shooting. The South Side of Chicago"s once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

Back yard graduation celebration on Ingleside Ave in the Pocket Town Neighborhood. The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

Fans of Yung Jock scream and tussle for attention for the well known rapper as he rode by on the WGCI Radio Station's float in the annual Bud Billiken Parade in 2006. What began as the wish of Chicago Defender's founder Robert S. Abbott to organize the many youth who sold the newspaper, mushroomed into what is now the largest parade in the United States. The first Bud Billiken's Parade and Picnic was held August 11, 1929. The parade route ran from 31st and Michigan Boulevard to Washington Park. In the mid-30's the city rerouted the parade to South Parkway because its Michigan route tied up traffic as it went east into Washington Park. Around 1947, it was rerouted back to Michigan due to street repairs on South Parkway. After the street repairs the Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic returned to South Parkway and has remained there ever since. South Parkway, now named Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, runs through the African American neighborhood on the City's Southside.

Kids on bikes crossing Commercial and 91st St. on Chicago's Southeast Side. The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

A girl and her brothers pose for their picture in the Pocket. Approximately 63% of African-American kids grow up in single parent households. The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

Troy poses for a picture at the corner of 72nd and Woodlawn. I have photographed Troy posing for pictures in several locations of his choosing. He grew up in the neighborhood and has raised his family in the Pocket. The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

Willie Jones Sr. was born in Shably, Mississippi and moved to the neighborhood in the late 1950's. He was an institution in the Pockettown neighborhood. He worked at R.R. Donnelly for 25 years until his retirement in 1988. He was remembered for many things, among them, clearing the whole block with his snow blower every time it snowed. He died on February 6th after a long battle with ALS. The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

Many buildings are being bought, demolished, rehabbed by the Comer Foundation. This site across from the school on 72nd St. will be turned into a parking lot for the teachers so the current lot can be made into a playground for the children. The Comer Foundation is establishing its own building company that is going to use local residents who want to be a part of the change in their own neighborhood. The Foundation is paying for them to become part of PACT (Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program) a city program which teachers residents basic building and rehabbing skills necessary to obtain an union apprenticeship. Anyone who completes the program successfully will be guaranteed a year position rebuilding the neighborhood. The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

Dream No Small Dreams. Man smokes in a vacant lot while hanging out with friends. The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

Kokomo, a stripper, performs at a bachelor party on Chicago's S. Side. The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

An abandoned car in the back yard on Chicago's South Side. The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

Moving into a new home in the New Apartments in the Pocket Town neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

Waiting for a chainsaw to arrive on the 7100 block of Dobson. Pockettown, is a tight-knit African-American neighborhood in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there. Since 2000 the South Side has seen major changes, including the destruction of many Chicago Housing Authority projects and the continued gentrification of many communities bordering Lake Michigan. As part of documenting life in the Pocket, these photographs attempt to illustrate larger trends of renewal, change and transformation on the city's South Side. The project also includes audio interviews with neighborhood residents that record their feelings about the changes occurring in their neighborhood. My hope is to stimulate dialogue about inequitable access to education, jobs and housing-in short, about opportunity and the meaning of community. I have few answers to these questions, but I'm not done looking.

A boy raises his hands in Lake Michigan on the 63rd St. Beach on Chicago's South Side. The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

Matias Purnell poses for his portrait on the 7200 block of S. Chicago Ave. on Chicago's South Side. The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

LaToya Jackson poses for pictures before her senior prom with her mother, Carolyn and her boyfriend on their front porch of their S. Ingleside home. Her boyfriend, Magic, holds their son in his arms. The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

Uncle Al holds up his niece at Sam Binionâ's house on the 7200 block of S. Ellis. The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

The South Side of Chicago' s once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.

Mariah Driver plays Hide and Seek with her sisters outside her house on S. Chicago St. in Chicago's Pocket Town neighborhood. The family has since moved to the Englewood neighborhoodand the house, which was in decrepit condition, has been demolished to make way for new development by the Comer Foundation.

Vacant lot at the corner of 71st and Ingleside. The vacant lot now houses a building by the Comer Foundation. The South Side of Chicago's once proud industrial communities fell onto hard times during the 1970s and 1980s, changing from thriving working class communities to places far removed from local and federal resources, rife with unemployment, poverty, drugs and gang violence. Despite this adversity, many residents have held on and guard deep feelings of affection for their communities. More recently, though, another challenge has reared its head. Residents in each of these communities face the very real possibility of being displaced from the communities they love because they can no longer afford to live there.