There are sometimes said to be more than 200 neighborhoods in Chicago,[1] though residents differ on their names and boundaries. A city ordinance prescribing and mapping 178 neighborhoods[2] is almost unknown and ignored even by municipal departments. Neighborhood names and identities have evolved over time due to real estate development and changing demographics.[3] The City of Chicago is also divided into 77 community areas which were drawn by University of Chicago researchers in the late 1920s.[4] Chicago's community areas are well-defined, generally contain multiple neighborhoods, and depending on the neighborhood, less commonly used by residents.[3][5] More historical images of Chicago neighborhoods can be found in Explore Chicago Collections, a digital repository made available by Chicago Collections archives, libraries and other cultural institutions in the city.[6]
