And for the view from the ground up in an area undergoing rapid gentrification, we head to the South Side neighborhood of North Kenwood-Oakland.  

Mary Pattillo is a professor of sociology and African-American Studies at Northwestern University.

She’s the author of the new book, Black on the Block: The Politics of Race and Class in the City.

For her research into North Kenwood-Oakland, she didn’t just visit the neighborhood – she moved there.

She chronicles how an influx of middle-class African-Americans like her has helped revitalize the area, but not without conflicts along the way.

Pattillo sat down recently with Eight Forty-Eight’s Richard Steele to talk about the book.

She says North Kenwood-Oakland has some things in common with other South Side neighborhoods, like Bronzeville.

You can hear Mary Pattillo read an excerpt from her book Black on the Block this Thursday at 7 pm at 57th Street Books.

Music Button: Beat Pharmacy, “Slow Down” from the CD Constant Pressure (Deep Space Media)