Maps in the Public Square

What are Chicago's emerging art-focused neighborhoods? Where are the "food deserts" in the city? How much does the average household in my district spend on transportation? These are just some of the fascinating questions that can be explored in “Maps in the Public Square: An Atlas of the Next Chicago Region,” an online exhibit that highlights the creative combination of mapmaking and public policy in the Chicagoland region.

With contributions from Openlands, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, Chicago Metropolis 2020, and others, "Maps in the Public Square" demonstrates that the region’s groundbreaking advances in regional planning, sustainable urban development, and community decision-making are supported and given shape by equally groundbreaking cartography. The exhibit draws on both the deep Chicago well of public discussion and the newest mapmaking technologies to paint historical pictures of the region, as well as reveal future implications in topics such as "Work", "Moving", "Plans and Visions", and "Play". Click here to launch Maps in the Public Square.