Chicago is famously a city of neighborhoods. Seventy-seven of them, formally; more than 200 in subjective, ever-changing fact. But what does that actually mean? The Chicago Neighborhood Guidebook, the latest in Belt's series of idiosyncratic city guides (after Cleveland and Detroit), aims to explore community history and identity in a global city through essays, poems, photo essays, and art articulating the lived experience of its residents. Edited by Martha Bayne with help from the Read/Write Library, the book builds on 2017's critically acclaimed Rust Belt Chicago: An Anthology. What did one pizzeria mean to a boy growing up in Ashburn? How can South Shore encompass so much beauty and so much pain? Where's the best borscht in Ukranian Village? Who's got a handle on the ever-shifting identity of Rogers Park? All this and more in this lyrical, subjective, completely non-comprehensive guide to Chicago. Featuring work by Megan Stielstra, Audrey Petty, Alex Hernandez, Sebastián Hidalgo, Dmitry Samarov, Ed Marszewski, Lily Be, Jonathan Foiles, and many more. --

Introduction / Martha Bayne -- Austin: Austin and Division / Shaina Warfield -- Austin: Cakewalk / Rasaan Khalil -- Humboldt Park: Queen of the Tunnels / Lily Be -- Garfield Park: Perspectives / Gabiel X. Michael -- North Lawndale: an interview with Alexie Young, MLK Fair Housing Exhibit Center / F. Amanda Tugade -- Little village: three stories / Emmanuel Ramirez, Zipporah Auta, and Gloria Nine Valle with Yollacalli Arts Reach -- Garfield Ridge: comeback kid / Sheila Elliott -- Back of the yards: books and breakfast at the breathing room / Miranda Goosby -- Englewood: An interview with Tamar Manasseh, Mothers/Men Against Senseless Killings / Kirsten Ginzky -- Marquette Park: members only / Gint Aras -- Ashburn: That's amore / Tim Mazurek -- Mount Greenwood: growing up in, and reporting on, Chicago's poster child for racial tension / Joe Ward -- Beverly: how to integrate a Chicago neighborhood in three (not-so) easy steps -- Scott Smith -- Roseland: they killed him and his little girlfriend / Raymond Berry -- Pullman and Ideal Communities in Chicago, the Rust Belt, and Beyond -- Claire Tighe -- Hegewich: Pugdy's pizza / Josh Burbridge -- East side: Something about the south side / Mare Swallow -- South shore: Between the lake and Emmett Till Road / Audrey Petty -- Woodlawn: Memories of Obama / Jonathan Foiles -- Hyde Park: quarks and quiche on the Midway / John Lloyd Clayton -- Bronzeville: Black metropolis / Alex Miller -- Bridgeport: The community of the future / Ed Marszewski -- Heart of Chicago: a sketch / Dmitry Samarov -- Pilsen: the Quietest form of displacement in a changing barrio / Sebastian Hidalgo -- Greektown/Maxwell Street/Little Italy: UIC: Chicago's past and future / Ann Logue -- River West / Jean Iversen -- South loop: Michigan and Harrison / Megan Stielstra -- Loop: Life in Chicago's front yard / Rachel Cromidas -- Gold coast: The alleys of Gold coast / Leopold Froehlich -- Lakeview: on Belmont and Clark / Emily Mack -- Lakeview: The Blue House / Eleanor Glockner -- North center: Signs in Bloom / Kirsten Lambert -- Ravenswood gardens: Chicago river life / Rob Miller -- Uptown: a trip to the Argyle Museum of Memories / Vitaliy Vladimoriv -- Andersonville: The precarious equilibrium / Sarah Steimer -- Edgewater Glen: trick or treat / Kim Z. Dale -- West ridge: Rebel girl / Sara Nassar -- West ridge: Paan stains and discount vegetables / Stuti Sharma -- Albany park: Edge zone chicago / Benjamin van Loon -- Portage Park: Six corners, many changes / Jackie Mantey -- Hermosa: Holy Hermosa / Sara Salgado -- Logan Square: The best burger on the Square / Nicholas Ward -- dt Humboldt Park: along Pulaski Road, from Irving Park to Humboldt / Alex V. Hernandez -- Epilogue: The last days of Rezkoville / Ryan Smith