[emathias]

I'm not exactly sure what you're looking for, but in Chicago one might bring into this discussion East Hyde Park, downtown Evanston, and downtown Oak Park as being areas outside the main Central Area of Chicago with at least some highrise density and rail access to downtown (the 'L' for Oak Park and Evanston, Metra Electric for Hyde Park).

There would probably be more, in places like Jefferson Park, or at Howard, and maybe McKinley Park just to name few places that seem like natural fits, if Chicago didn't have such a backwards system of zoning entirely suffocated by aldermanic priviledge where a few noisy NIMBYs can cause an alderman to prevent anything over 3 stories from being built, even directly next to an 'L' station. If Chicago ever wises up and forces aldermen to allow appropriately dense zoning within half a walking mile of 'L' stations, it will A) become an even better city, B) dramatically increase utilization of the 'L' in areas that currently don't make good use of it, C) increase property tax revenues, and D) see an increase in car-free households. I hope to see that in my lifetime, but I'm not exactly holding my breath. As it is, we have suburban downtowns with only commuter rail that is infrequent outside of rush hour allowing significantly higher density than Chicago neighborhoods with 24-hour 'L' and multiple bus line service. Some, like Jefferson Park, have multiple commuter rail options, 24-hour 'L' service, and numerous bus routes, as well as excellent freeway access, and yet they clutch their pearls at anything over 3 stories. It's a travesty and an expensive waste of infrastructure.