More on Chicago's Density

A perspective of Chicago 2-flat buildings. Source: Shutterstock via uli.org

A couple of weeks ago I published this piece here about population density in Chicago's 77 designated community areas. After looking at the maps and data again (and taking into account very good comments on Twitter) I revised the population per square mile scale in a way that would reveal a few more subtleties in the city's land use. My observations here are only about population density, and the historical or current land uses that support it. I could write about the impact of socio-economic conditions on Chicago's density, but that's a much bigger discussion than I can take on now. 

Here's the updated version of Chicago's population density, per the 2020 Census:

Anyone who knows the slightest about Chicago probably knows that the lakefront is the densest part of the city, particularly on the North Side. A desire for proximity to Lake Michigan has pretty much been a thing for Chicago's entire existence, and that continues to this day. But if we slice and dice the city in a few ways we can spot some things at the community/neighborhood level that reveals a little more about how Chicagoans live. Let's look first at the north lakefront:

I grayed out the rest of the city to zoom in on this area. Nine of the ten most dense community areas (in dark blue) are located here. Throw in Lincoln Square (#4 on the map), North Center (#5) and the slightly incongruous Near South Side (#33), each of which are also in the top third of population density among community areas, and you can find one of the most dense non-NYC locations in America. How dense? This area has more than 720,000 residents living within 28 square miles -- a per square mile density over 25,000. Let's expand that to include a few more densely populated adjacent areas, adding parts of the Northwest Side:

The first tier of north lakefront community areas are characterized by high rise residential buildings almost directly adjacent to the lake. Further inland, however, particularly west of the Chicago River (which separates the added areas from those included on the first map), you can find much more "missing middle" housing -- midrises, U-shaped courtyard apartment buildings, a variety of 2-4 unit buildings (side note: a lot of the 2-4 unit buildings are endangered as more are converted into large single family homes). The overall density for all areas in blue above drops, but not much. The blue areas have 1.19 million residents within 54 square miles, or just under 22,000 people per square mile. In other words, 43 percent of Chicagoans live in this shaded portion that is 24 percent of the city's land area.

Now let's examine the dark blue, blue and light blue areas, or the contiguous areas with more than 10,000 people per square mile (sorry, Chatham and Auburn-Gresham, #44 and #71 respectively on the map; they have the density but they're not adjacent):  

The community areas of the south lakefront and the West Side begin to show up here. South Shore (#43 on the map) is the densest community on the South Side, followed closely by Kenwood (#39) and Hyde Park (#41). West Side communities like Austin (#25), the Near West Side (#28), the Lower West Side/Pilsen (#31) and South Lawndale/Little Village (#30) would likely be more dense if not for the amount of industrial development interspersed within their borders. I imagine the lived experience of density in those areas is quite similar to spots on the North and Northwest sides. 

Take a look at the dense portion of the Southwest Side that stretches south from South Lawndale/Little Village to include Brighton Park (#58), West Elsdon (#62), Gage Park (#63), West Lawn (#65) and Chicago Lawn (#66). This area stands out for being the densest non-North/Northwest Side part of the city, and for being somewhat distant from other dense Chicago communities. These are communities that have seen increasing growth and density over the last 30 years, likely supported by the introduction of the CTA Orange Line. Established in 1993, the Orange Line connects Midway Airport (the part of the map that extends outward closest to the map legend) and the Loop. There's also been increasing growth to the northeast of there, in McKinley Park (#59), Bridgeport (#60) and Armour Square/Chinatown (#34), also supported by the Orange Line.

Now let's consider the rest of the South Side:

The South Side has a more complex and less consistent density character than the rest of Chicago. First, the South Side is low-lying land compared to the rest of the city, which probably had an impact on its early development. Second, industrial development served by rail was really concentrated here as well, further limiting residential development. Areas south of 79th Street (the bold line above) tend to be considerably less dense than the rest of the city, with more single family homes, many built in the 1950's or later. The northern edge of the area above -- New City/Back of the Yards (#61), Fuller Park (#37), West Englewood (#67) and Englewood (#68) had their potential density affected by the Chicago Stockyards and later industrial development, rail yards, and highway construction that eliminated blocks of housing. The least dense part of the city on the Southeast Side is also the home of Lake Calumet and the Port of Chicago, located in South Deering (#51). Residential development there has mostly ringed the lake and port.  

Overall, however, from a density standpoint Chicago stands as the strongest example of urbanism in America outside of New York City.