Located on the southwestern shores of Lake Michigan, Chicago rests on the northwestern part of Illinois, and is the principal city in the Chicago metropolitan area in the Great Lakes region. It also lies in between two rivers-the Chicago River in downtown and the Calumet River in the industrial far South Side. The history and economy are closely tied to the commerce created by Lake Michigan. The lake also provides a positive climate effect-the waterfront neighborhoods are slightly warmer in winter and cooler in the summer. The city covers an area of 60,000 hectares and sits 176 meters above sea level. As a multicultural city that thrives on the harmony and diversity of its neighborhoods, Chicago today embodies the values of America's heartland-integrity, hard work and community and reflects the ideals in the social fabric of it's 77 distinct neighborhoods.
The Chicago Loop is the central business district, and Lake Shore drive runs adjacent to a large portion of Chicago's lakefront. There are many parks along the waterfront, such as Lincoln Park, Burnham Park, Grant Park and Jackson Park. There are also many public beaches across the waterfront. Most of the city's high-rise commerical and residential buildings can be found close to the waterfront.
The Chicago Metropolitan area is also known as "Chicagoland" due to the fact that the city and it's suburbs are combined together.
Map of Chicago's community areas, grouped by color
The city is well known for their sports teams, such as the Chicago Bears football team, the Chicago Cubs Baseball team and also the most famous Chicago Bulls Basketball team, which was the home to arguably one of the greats basketball players to ever live: Michael Jordan. It's cuisine is also well known; the popular deep dish Chicago pizza along with the Chicago style hot dog is a must when visiting the city. Due to the large migrant population of Italians, the culture and cuisine is heavily influenced by Italy.
Major sections of the city include central business district, called the Chicago Loop, and the North, the South and West sides. The three sides of the city are represented on the Flag of Chicago by three horizontal white stripes. The North Side is the most densely populated and residential section of the city and many high rises are located on the lakefront. The South Side contains the University of Chicago and most of the facilities of the Port of Chicago.
Chicago's streets were laid out in a street grid that grew from the city's original townsite plat. Streets following the Public Land Survey System section lines later became arterial streets in outlying sections. Most of the city's residential streets tend to have a wide patch of grass or trees in-between the street and the sidewalk itself. This keeps pedestrians walking on the sidewalk further away from the street traffic. Western Ave is the longest continuous urban street in the world at 23.5.