Today the Lincoln Park Community Area is Chicago's most affluent -- but just thirty years ago it was in the throes of urban decline. This illustrates how rapidly trends and demographics can change, but also underscores that the key features that make an area attractive -- in Lincoln Park's case, splendid historic architecture, immediate accessibility to its sprawling namesake park, and great proximity to downtown Chicago -- only gain in value over time and, if underappreciated, are likely ripe for a boom. In Lincoln Park's case, the boom is more than twenty years old and the neighborhood is at its very height, too much so (in terms of demographic homogeneity and cost of living) for some would-be residents. Lincoln Park includes about ten distinct residential areas, including Lincoln Central, Mid-North, Park West, RANCH Triangle, Old Town Triangle, Diversey Harbor, Sheffield Neighbors, Wrightwood Neighbors, and the De Paul University area.
