I am not familiar with Chicago, but my impression is that in the U.S., "downtown" is not the best place to hang around, much less walk. At least in LA, San Francisco and San Diego, "downtown" was dirty and full of vagrants and suspicious-looking people (more recently, rioters and shoplifters), but other areas were pretty nice and quiet. (While in European capitals, downtown is where people walk, have ice creams etc.)
NY used to have a nice downtown, but the last time I was there, it looked dirty and seedy, while other areas farther away seemed nicer. In other cities, however, it's the opposite. Las Vegas, for instance, outside of the "strip", was pretty dismal. Philadelphia, on the other hand, seemed to me seedy and dirty and dangerous even when I visited it 20 years ago (never to return -- it didn't give me a good impression at all).
'll take your word on the other cities as I've not been there lately. In Chicago, Downtown is fine as is "Uptown". Near South and near West are problem areas and have been for a while.
For what it's worth, almost all the substandard conditions in Chicago are limited to 3 adjacent zipcodes.
I am not familiar with Chicago, but my impression is that in the U.S., "downtown" is not the best place to hang around, much less walk. At least in LA, San Francisco and San Diego, "downtown" was dirty and full of vagrants and suspicious-looking people (more recently, rioters and shoplifters), but other areas were pretty nice and quiet. (While in European capitals, downtown is where people walk, have ice creams etc.)
NY used to have a nice downtown, but the last time I was there, it looked dirty and seedy, while other areas farther away seemed nicer. In other cities, however, it's the opposite. Las Vegas, for instance, outside of the "strip", was pretty dismal. Philadelphia, on the other hand, seemed to me seedy and dirty and dangerous even when I visited it 20 years ago (never to return -- it didn't give me a good impression at all).
'll take your word on the other cities as I've not been there lately. In Chicago, Downtown is fine as is "Uptown". Near South and near West are problem areas and have been for a while.