During the pandemic, the city expanded its outdoor dining program in an effort to help the hard-hit restaurant communities throughout its neighborhoods. The program was so successful that, in 2021, the city launched the Chicago Alfresco Program to award grants to help expand outdoor enjoyment across the city. Neighborhoods like Chatham, Humboldt Park and Rogers Park used given funds to activate vibrant outdoor spaces with community-centric attractions like craft markets, public art installations and plywood parklets that drew visitors while bolstering a strong sense of community pride in each respective neighborhood.

Another neighborhood undergoing major revitalization efforts is Bronzeville, always a cultural powerhouse and historically known as the city’s “Black Metropolis,” which influential Black figures like Richard Wright, Louis Armstrong and Ida B. Wells once called home. Bronzeville was the birthplace of gospel music, and both the city’s management and its residents rally around the neighborhood’s growing art scene and historic landmarks to promote and preserve what has become one of the most authentic — and essential — Chicago experiences.

SUE the T. rex on display at the Field Museum © Kermitdo | Dreamstime.com