Geographies:
Graphics source: City of Chicago: Neighborhoods, wards, community areas
Wards and Community Areas and Neighborhoods? Oh My — Chicago by 'L' with Geoffrey Baer
Community Areas? Neighborhoods? Sides? Wards?
"Community areas were mapped out by two UChicago sociologists, Robert E. Park and Ernest Burgess, in the late 1920s, grouping together neighborhoods and surrounding areas. Except for the addition of O'Hare in 1956 and Edgewater in 1980, the boundaries of these regions have been kept unchanged. Though some have questioned the proposed inevitability of physically close areas forming a common bond and the consistency in boundary despite urban development and construction, most scholars and city officials still refer to the 77 community areas as dependable units when mapping out the city, and most publicly available data about the city also relies on these units.
Residents usually identify more strongly with their neighborhood, generally a smaller spatial unit that shares one or more common architectural, linguistic, economic, historic, and/or cultural identities. Community areas are distinct from but related to neighborhoods. For example, Wrigleyville is a neighborhood (located within the community area called Lakeview) defined by its proximity to Wrigley Field and its nightlife."
- Read more: University of Chicago, Chicago Studies
1830, a surveyor named James Thompson created the first plat of Chicago, in which Chicago was divided into three "sides" -- the North Side, West Side, and South Side -- by the natural boundaries created by the Chicago River.
- Read more: University of Chicago, Chicago Studies
Wards are political districts. Chicago has fifty, and the voters in each ward are represented by an elected Alderman. The fifty Aldermen make up the Chicago City Council. Ward boundaries change after each United States census in order to reflect population shifts within the city and to ensure that each ward has approximately the same population.
Neighborhoods:
The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) Community Data Snapshot (2023 release. Coverage: 2017-2021):
CMAP snapshots include: demographic, housing, employment, transportation, land use, revenue, and water data in northeastern Illinois.
Chicago's 77 community areas divided by "sides" (Chicago DeTours, 2018).
Far North Side:
| 1. Rogers Park | 9. Edison Park | 13. North Park |
| 2. West Ridge | 10. Norwood Park | 14. Albany Park |
| 3. Uptown | 11. Jefferson Park | 77. Edgewater |
| 4. Lincoln Square | 12. Forest Glen | 76. O'hare |
North Side:
| 5. North Center | 7. Lincoln Park | 22. Logan Square |
| 6. Lake View | 21. Avondale |
North West Side:
| 15. Portage Park | 17. Dunning | 19. Belmont Cragin |
| 16. Irving Park | 18. Montclare | 20. Hermosa |
West Side:
| 23. Humbolt Park | 26. West Garfield Park | 29. North Lawndale |
| 24. West Town | 27. East Garfield Park | 30. South Lawndale |
| 25. Austin | 28. Near West Side | 31. Lower West Side |
Central:
| 8. Near North Side | 32. The Loop | 33. Near South Side |
South Side:
| 34. Armour Square | 38. Grand Boulevard | 42. Woodlawn |
| 35. Douglas | 39. Kenwood | 43. South Shore |
| 36. Oakland | 40. Washington Park | 60. Bridgeport |
| 37. Fuller Park | 41. Hyde Park | 69. Greater Grand Crossing |
Southwest Side:
| 56. Garfield Ridge | 61. New City | 65. West Lawn |
| 57. Archer Heights | 62. West Elsdon | 66. Chicago Lawn |
| 58. Brighton Park | 63. Gage Park | 67. West Englewood |
| 59. McKinley Park | 64. Clearing | 68. Englewood |
Far Southwest Side:
| 70. Ashburn | 72. Beverly | 74. Mount Greenwood |
| 71. Auburn Gresham | 73. Washington Heights | 75. Morgan Park |
Far Southeast Side:
| 44. Chatham | 48. Calumet Heights | 52. East Side |
| 45. Avalon Park | 49. Roseland | 53. West Pullman |
| 46. South Chicago | 50. Pullman | 54. Riverdale |
| 47. Burnside | 51. South Deering | 55. Hegewisch |
