In this 1974 film, Kartemquin filmmakers present a portrait of Pam and Scott Taylor, their family, their friends, and their Lincoln Park neighborhood. It is another entry in a catalog of films from the collaborative group, which document transformations in the city of Chicago over the past decades.

Lincoln Park is a multiracial neighborhood, which 10 year-old Pam Taylor likes to live because her friends are Mexican and black. However, DePaul University is buying up homes and expanding its presence in the area. This forces families, including friends of the Taylors, to move. Upper class people are buying up homes and remodeling the property so it has higher real estate value, and this drives up the cost of living.

The gentrification of the neighborhood has Pam worried that she is going to lose friends. Also, every piece of property that DePaul tears down is another place lost, where Pam, Scott, and their friends play.

As Scott comments, regular families, like lower and middle class families, cannot afford the houses, which wealthier people are transforming into higher-end pieces of real estate. It is changing the neighborhood so there are less children and more couples with Mercedes-Benzes.

The family recognizes that their home is good enough. It has everything they need. It has everything they want. That is what matters.

Unfortunately, forty years later, Kartemquin revisited the family with their short film, “Now We Work On Clifton.” The family home was demolished. A nearby Puerto Rican neighborhood no longer exists. (This short is available to watch for free, along with the longer film.)

Watch “Now We Live On Clifton” for free at Kartemquin Films’ website. [Available through March 10.]