Cabrini-Green Transforms Slowly

"So far, not a single new building has risen on Cabrini property, but the first phase of construction is set to begin within a year. Already, new developments -- on the big surrounding swaths of rezoned barren or industrial land -- squeeze it on all sides." As one resident describes it: "The community is like a wounded animal trying to survive."

Schmich reports that many people have returned to Cabrini-Green -- some have returned because they could not cope financially outside of public housing. Some are supposedly squatters in living vacated units, while others are unauthorized friends and relatives living in leased units. Schmich also reports that most people have gone to Rogers Park, "down to remote suburbs, to scattered places with one shared trait: They're as racially segregated as Cabrini, and if all aren't quite as poor, they're nevertheless estranged from the opportunities of the new old neighborhood -- the jobs, the supermarkets, the frequent buses, the new parks and library, the beauty and promise of Chicago."