Obama's Neighborhood Rich in Diversity

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks with members of the congregation at the Vernon Park Church of God Sunday, July 15, 2007, in Chicago. Obama discussed the recent shootings of 34 Chicago students and called the community to action against the violence. (AP Photo/Jerry Lai) (Jerry Lai - AP)

CHICAGO -- Barack Obama could have lived anywhere. He was born in Hawaii, had family in Kenya, worked in New York and went to school in California and Massachusetts.

But he settled here, in a prominent neighborhood on Chicago's South Side that has a history of influential residents. In many ways, the Democratic presidential candidate is the epitome of the place he calls home: a mix of black and white residents who are wealthy, well-educated and liberal-leaning.

Ringed by communities where people are poorer and more likely to have a high school diploma and not a college degree, the neighborhood where the Obamas live is an urban island of intellectual and financial prosperity, although it too has residents living below the poverty line.

Just off the south shore of Lake Michigan, the Hyde Park-Kenwood area is a showcase of high-rises, condominiums, vintage homes and stately mansions. It has generic national chain stores and unique local businesses like the barber shop where Obama gets his hair cut, the pizza place his family calls for takeout and the island-inspired restaurant where Michelle Obama fancies the grilled tilapia.

"Can you believe every time she comes she gives me a hug? ... I'm just her waitress," said the Calypso Cafe's Mina Lewis, who talks fondly of the days before the presidential campaign when Michelle Obama would come in with her daughters and friends.

With the intellectual vibe of a college town and the tree-lined streets to match, Obama's neighborhood is dominated by the prestigious University of Chicago, where he once taught constitutional law.

High achievement and diversity are hallmarks of his Hyde Park-Kenwood community, technically two adjoining neighborhoods but usually referred to collectively. The community has been home to a long list of well-known residents, from the nation's first black woman senator and Chicago's first black mayor to legendary Scopes Trial defense attorney Clarence Darrow and an assortment of Nobel Prize winners and business magnates.

With a university at its core, it's not surprising the community far outpaces surrounding neighborhoods when it comes to the number of residents holding advanced college degrees.

The neighborhood is also much more prosperous than some of the city's South Side communities that border it. Homes sell for a median price of almost $300,000, more than three times that of the nearby Woodlawn neighborhood.

The median family income of $57,460 in Hyde Park and $43,554 in Kenwood also are three times greater than the median incomes in some neighboring communities, according to the latest census data.

The face of the neighborhood is mixed. Hyde Park is close to evenly split between blacks and whites with a small Hispanic population and Kenwood, which is smaller, has almost four times as many blacks as whites. Surrounding communities are predominantly black.

Hyde Park-Kenwood is a community that prides itself on an independent-minded brand of politician _ something Illinois' junior senator is selling in his bid to become the country's first black president.