The Pilsen Neighborhood is located on the Lower West Side of Chicago, extending from approximately Western Avenue and Blue Island Avenue to Sixteenth Street and Canal Street. (Pero.) Today, Pilsen has transformed into a colorful, artistic and beautiful community with a majority of the population shifted to Hispanics. During these years, Pilsen has experienced many changes ranging from cultural changes to economic and societal changes that have shaped its current form. Pilsen residents have resisted attempts to gentrify their neighborhood and preserved the community as a gateway for Hispanic immigrants. Pilsen prospered from its beginnings in the late 19th century thanks to German and Irish immigrants, followed later by Czechs, also known as Bohemians. (Mead-Lucero.) This boom was sparked by the Southwestern Plank Road, which was a major trade route under construction at the time. (Pilsen.) The Czechs adopted the name Pilsen from a town in the Czech Republic known as "Pilsen". (History of Pilsen and the Little Village.) After the fire of 1871, Pilsen became an industrial district; Industrial jobs became the pillar that shaped the Pilsen neighborhood. These jobs not only increased the population of Pilsen, but also developed a community among the population. (Pilsen.) The Pilsen district began to prosper and continued to gain momentum. Although there was a change in the ethnicity of the communities, the neighborhood remained a working class society. Mexicans have now become the majority race in the Pilsen area, but this was not always the case. Due to labor shortages during World War I, many immigrants brought the majority of Mexican decadence to the neighborhood. (Pilsen.) When UIC started to extend this extra push...... middle of paper ...... Introduction of xpayer to understand TIFs. Coo County: Cook County Clerk, 2009. Word Document. Gellman, Erik. “Pilsen.” Chicago Encyclopedia. 205. Internet. November 24, 2011. “History of Pilsen and the small village”. Mission of San José Obrero. Internet. November 24, 2011. .Joravsky, Ben. These sliding TIFs. Chicago: Chicago Reader, December 9, 2005. Word document. Mead-Lucero, Jerry. “Nearly 200 years of struggle.” Untitled document. Internet. November 24, 2011. .Pero, Pilsen neighborhood of Peter N. Chicago. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub., 2011. Print. "Pilsen, Heart of Chicago | Chicago Neighborhoods | Explore Chicago." Explore Chicago | The official Chicago tourism site. Internet. November 24. 2011. .