About Town

What's The Story With Evanston's West Side?

Patch opinion columnist Christine Wolf wonders whether Evanston is making enough progress in revitalizing the west side of town.

According to the Handbook of Crime Correlates by Lee Ellis, John Wright and Kevin M. Beaver, "Poorly maintained neighborhoods correlate with higher crime rates." If the authors' theory proves correct, then Evanston's west side has a lot of work to do, beginning at the city level. I moved to Evanston 1997, when my husband and I were expecting our first child. We lived within walking distance of Evanston Township High School and the intersection of Dempster and Dodge. When we first moved to the area, realtors and neighbors insisted that the west side of Evanston was up and coming, poised for change, and taking off. We were young and naive and felt fortunate to afford a home in such a wonderful community like Evanston. Though we never wished…

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Christine Wolf

9:55 am on Saturday, April 13, 2013

Here's an update from the 2nd Ward meeting, covered by the Daily Northwestern: http://dailynorthwestern.com/2013/04/12/city/evanston-plaza-developer-discusses-revitalization-with-evanston-2nd-ward/   more ›

City Launches Site For Prospective Business Owners

Evanston Edge, a website created by the city of Evanston, is designed to attract new businesses to the area.

The city is hoping that a new website will bring more businesses to town. Called Evanston Edge, the site debuted this week and contains resources for local businesses as well as prospective business owners, according to city spokesperson Eric Palmer. The site sells Evanston as the home of "top ranking Northwestern University, a strong business community, thriving urban downtown, picture perfect neighborhoods and exceptional talent." Users can click through to find information on starting a business and obtaining a permit, as well as statistics such as demographics and traffic counts. There's also a promotional video quoting several local business owners, including Inclusion Solutions founder and Patch blogger Patrick Hughes. Speaking in …

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