[Maps of Chicago by the Department of Urban Renewal]

Chicago’s attempts to “renew” portions of the city in the late 1960s.

This trio of maps captures the well-meaning, though ultimately inconclusive, efforts of Chicago’s Department of Urban Renewal to clean up the Windy City. Published by the department in 1967, the images highlight the breadth of the ambitious program. Two sheets show a small-scale overview of the efforts, noting loan and grant areas (one) and redevelopment, conservation, and areas for further study (two). A third map, at a much larger scale, outlines the Southeast Englewood Conservation Project. Acquisition and clearance is recommended for nearly a quarter of the structures in the affected area.

Established in 1962, Chicago’s Department of Urban Renewal (DUR) focused primarily on “slum clearance” and land redevelopment, often prioritizing the demolition of blighted areas over neighborhood conservation. Backed by federal funding and the power of eminent domain, the department facilitated massive projects such as the construction of the University of Illinois at Chicago campus, part of a broader wave of renewal that also produced high-density public housing like the Robert Taylor Homes. These initiatives disproportionately targeted low-income minority communities, displacing tens of thousands of families and earning urban renewal the bitter nickname “Negro Removal.” While the city touted these efforts as modernization, they often resulted in the destruction of tight-knit neighborhoods and intensified racial segregation across the South and West Sides.

Further reading: UIC Near West Side Renewal Project; Chicago Public Library, Department of Urban Renewal Records.