Alt Space Chicago is an art gallery that aims to involve the entire neighborhood. Co-founder Jordan Campbell calls it an artist-led engine that uses art and faith to galvanize the community.

A $25 million reconstruction project to improve accessibility at the Green Line’s Austin station on the West Side is underway amid broader funding uncertainty that stands in the way of efforts to make all rail stations on the Chicago Transit Authority fully accessible by 2038.

A local nonprofit hosts Austin Farm-to-Table Trolley Tours where neighbors visit community gardens, learn about health and wellness and see a cooking demonstration with a professional chef. The predominantly Black neighborhood of 96,000 is considered a food desert.

Ten years ago, the Chicago Board of Education and former Mayor Rahm Emanuel decided to close nearly 50 public schools, mainly on the South and West sides of the city. Some buildings remain vacant; others are being transformed into community assets.

Broader Urban Involvement and Leadership Development is close to completing a large community campus that will bring services and gathering spaces. 

A building explosion in the Austin community last month left one person dead, several injured and more families without a place to live. Neighboring organization Circle Urban Ministries is planning a concert to raise funds for those families as they work to rebuild.

A building explosion on Sept. 20 left one person dead and several injured in the Austin community on Chicago’s West Side. With help from neighbors, residents are slowly starting to rebuild. 

Some neighborhood high schools in poorer areas of Chicago are struggling to survive. We look at how the city's school-choice system is playing a role. 

The Supreme Court punts a case on affirmative action in college admissions back down to the lower court. Read the decision.