[HN Gopher] Mapping the University of Chicago's 135-year expansi...
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Mapping the University of Chicago's 135-year expansion into Hyde
Park and beyond
Author : speckx
Score : 176 points
Date : 2025-03-11 13:50 UTC (9 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (chicagomaroon.github.io)
(TXT) w3m dump (chicagomaroon.github.io)
| Eldar_ wrote:
| Map doesn't work?
| bell-cot wrote:
| Javascript disabled or ads* blocked?
|
| If "no", which web browser are you having problems with?
|
| *I'm seeing no actual ads. Nor js from sketchy domain.
| tagersenim wrote:
| What a beautiful webpage! I especially like all the quotes that
| go with the different expansion phases.
| welfare wrote:
| What an amazing way of showcasing development, each with excerpts
| and notes highlighting expansion decisions.
|
| Are there other examples of this?
|
| Amazing!
| dcre wrote:
| The New York Times does a lot of great scrolling interactive
| data stories, unfortunately paywalled, and they don't translate
| well to archive sites.
|
| https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/12/20/us/2024-year-...
| Aeolun wrote:
| This must be the first time I've seen the scrolling story thing
| actually work. Great job!
| fsndz wrote:
| it's really awesome !
| HelloMcFly wrote:
| Interesting, it's been around for awhile, I have rarely had
| trouble. This one was the one that I loved the most: https://ww
| w.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/16/world/europe/....
| physicsguy wrote:
| https://ig.ft.com/baltic-sea/ this one from this week I thought
| was excellent
| ananmays wrote:
| This is incredible scrollytelling map work, especially for a
| student newspaper, I'm pretty amazed.
|
| Great job using MapLibre too, glad it is getting more and more
| popular.
|
| For others in the thread wondering about other examples of this
| kind of journalism/mapping/data work, to my knowledge the best
| term for it would be 'scrollytelling' or 'storymapping' (which is
| an ESRI term but is used generally as well).
|
| There are a ton of examples out there, but I'm sad there isn't a
| central repository of really great ones. The NYT and The Pudding
| are two places that do pretty cool stuff like this.
| xnx wrote:
| Good content. Scrolling is annoying. Would be nice to have j/k
| shortcut support to go to next/previous page of content.
| jppope wrote:
| does anyone know how they create the maps for this story? I've
| wanted to do a similar sort of map for a personal project and
| don't know how they do it. Especially the feature where you can
| click.
| costcopizza wrote:
| Thanks for this. I have an impending move to Chicago and really
| haven't connected with the place the 6 or so times I've been the
| last year.
|
| Maybe some history will help.
| tdb7893 wrote:
| I just moved away from Chicago but it took me a few years to
| appreciate the city (and I never found visiting that
| compelling). I miss it now though, I think the best way to
| learn to appreciate the city is to go out and do things in the
| city and find the stuff you like. There is tons of great music,
| food, art museums, shows (especially improv, idk if the IO
| Theater is back running but the Improv Shakespeare that they
| did was amazing). You can find pretty much anything there, the
| only thing I struggled with is I like the outdoors and there
| isn't good hiking (but Chicago actually has really good
| birdwatching in the city).
| tptacek wrote:
| The easiest bit of advice is to get out of the Loop; the city
| Chicago boosters won't shut up about is mostly out in the
| neighborhoods. Also: our real pizza is thin-crust.
| HDThoreaun wrote:
| Stop gatekeeping our pizza. Deep dish is also our real
| pizza
| tptacek wrote:
| I didn't even see deep dish until I was 20 years old.
| HDThoreaun wrote:
| You missed out
| inahga wrote:
| > You can find pretty much anything there, the only thing I
| struggled with is I like the outdoors and there isn't good
| hiking (but Chicago actually has really good birdwatching in
| the city).
|
| Lincoln Park north is not what I would call "good hiking",
| but I think it's nice for those who like the outdoors. Good
| for daytime walks, large beaches, dog beach, bird sanctuary,
| some small natural areas, lakefront trail (paved).
|
| For good hiking, yes you'll have to drive out of the city.
| Kon-Peki wrote:
| You don't have to go too far out of the city - more than
| 10% of the county land area is forest preserve. Inside the
| city, the far northwest side (along the river) and the far
| south side (big marsh/beaubien woods) are probably the best
| bets.
|
| I know that the wooded section between the IC tracks and
| LSD from 47th street up to Oakwood/Pershing is a hiking
| trail very popular with birdwatchers. You can keep walking
| up to the 31st street beach parking lot, but I think it
| might technically be trespassing ;)
|
| Naturally, if you want _really_ good hiking, there is a
| daily train from Union Station that stops at the front gate
| to Glacier National Park. You can also take the South Shore
| train eastwards - there are 3 stops adjacent to the Indiana
| Dunes (both the state and national parks).
| qingcharles wrote:
| I just moved out from Chicago. Don't miss it. Been to
| hundreds of big cities, Chicago is weak. There's not much to
| do for tourists compared to other cities. There is a decent
| theatre scene. Deep dish pizza is good. Lakefront can be
| nice.
| haswell wrote:
| As a lifelong native, I highly recommend one of the
| architecture boat tours. Never gets old, and the guides usually
| manage to pack in a fair bit of history. I know it changed my
| personal connection to the city.
|
| I'm also convinced that if someone hasn't connected to the city
| yet, they just haven't been to the right neighborhood. They are
| many, and cater to many tastes.
| madcaptenor wrote:
| This is great. My only complaint is that I have literally never
| been to that part of Chicago, which obviously isn't their fault.
| I would be fascinated to see this for the urban universities I'm
| personally familiar with.
| wbl wrote:
| Go to the museum of science and industry. And Powells. And the
| Oriental institute.
| auntienomen wrote:
| And Rajun Cajun. :)
| madcaptenor wrote:
| I hear you, but I live in Atlanta. Now maybe if they found
| some way to do some sort of Indian - soul food fusion
| instead of every dish being clearly one or the other...
| madcaptenor wrote:
| Thanks! Those all look good. I live in Atlanta and have done
| quick trips to Chicago in the past - there are plenty of
| flights.
| dustincoates wrote:
| Tangentially related, but still worth checking out: the book
| "Gang Leader for a Day" [0] touches on this topic of how the
| university interacts (or doesn't) with its poorer neighbors.
| Highly recommend the read.
|
| 0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang_Leader_for_a_Day
| teachrdan wrote:
| I second this recommendation. Perhaps most interesting is that
| despite the author literally spending thousands of hours with
| literal gang members, the only time he's truly afraid is when
| he's describing the police gang that's been shaking down drug
| dealers and ordinary residents of the public housing in which
| he does his research.
|
| https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/nation/2023/02/05/chi...
| Starlord2048 wrote:
| [flagged]
| jobs_throwaway wrote:
| > While the University has emphasized the positive impact the
| projects will have on the local economy, some residents are
| concerned about rising rent and how much benefit will reach the
| community as opposed to investors.
|
| What a non-issue. You have this massive development that's going
| to benefit your community and you're concerned because the people
| who actually contributed to it are going to benefit as well? The
| entitlement is just unreal.
|
| I've lived on one of the streets mentioned in the article and its
| hard to overstate how shockingly dangerous the area is. Hearing
| gunshots was a regular occurrence. I knew someone who intervened
| in a robbery and was shot and nearly killed. I wouldn't allow
| friends to come visit after dark because I feared for their
| safety. If anything, the University and its police force should
| do more to rid the neighborhood of its anti-social element.
| UncleEntity wrote:
| > If anything, the University and its police force should do
| more to rid the neighborhood of its anti-social element.
|
| AKA "the blacks".
|
| Ironically, you are positing the same concerns as the people
| you claim are "entitled" but instead of questioning the
| university's policies you want to give them more power to
| enforce racial segregation.
| OldManAndTheCpp wrote:
| No, the anti-social elements. It is wrong to paint an entire
| racial group as anti-social, as you are doing.
| UncleEntity wrote:
| What?
|
| I'm pointing out that's what the op is doing through their
| faith in the historical methods of the universities
| 'community stabilization' efforts. What the op is proposing
| is _exactly_ what the university did after the Supreme
| Court shut down the discriminatory laws on residential
| neighborhoods.
| clcaev wrote:
| Poverty, housing/employment, and generally, migration are hard
| topics.
|
| The university has so many buildings in Hyde Park that they
| often make the decisions about which businesses are there or
| not. I've been happy with most of their choices recently;
| bringing in a Trader Joe, for example. However, some residents
| have differing opinions.
| FuriouslyAdrift wrote:
| It's not far from Englewood and New City (Back of the Yards /
| Canaryville). Some of the worst areas anywhere (although waaaay
| nicer than when I lived in Chicago 30 years ago).
|
| There was a race riot there in 1919:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_race_riot_of_1919
| HDThoreaun wrote:
| Even closer to woodlawn and the infamous o block, arguably
| the birthplace of Chicago drill. Blocks away from campus
| TMWNN wrote:
| Relevant: TIL that Chicago street gangs today identify
| themselves by song. By listening to what drill music (a
| Chicago form of gansta rap) is playing, youths can tell
| which gang's territory they are in, or even when gangs are
| working together.
|
| <https://np.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/5t7ig0/til_
| th...>
|
| A reply to the post:
|
| >Drill rap, possibly the first genre of music that will end
| up disappearing because its practitioners have killed each
| other off.
| giraffe_lady wrote:
| When you start talking about actual human people in terms of
| "getting rid" of an "anti-social element" you know you've got
| an issue figured out and are definitely on the right side of
| it.
| lurk2 wrote:
| 700 murders and 10,000 armed robberies per year.
| PopAlongKid wrote:
| >I've lived on one of the streets mentioned in the article and
| its hard to overstate how shockingly dangerous the area is
|
| Just anecdata. I had a family member living there for the six
| years, several addresses including their condo on Drexel Ave,
| one block from Cottage Grove (more or less the western boundary
| of campus proper). Their first child was born there, mom often
| went on long walks with the stroller to parks, etc with no
| problems. I visited several times, never had a problem. I
| walked to The Cove at night for a few beers, Sister Sledge on
| the jukebox was a conversation starter. Reggie's at the Beach
| (63rd St.) was a nice place, easy parking.
|
| Every large city has "dangerous" areas, Hyde Park probably has
| fewer per capita than most.
| zoobaloo wrote:
| I've lived in the neighborhood for over sixteen years and am
| raising a family there.
|
| There's a lot to say about the crime factor, and it's
| complicated. I will say that it's common to miss it if you
| don't happen to witness it. Streets that look quiet, well-
| developed, and peaceful will suddenly become violent and then
| go back to normal as if nothing happened.
|
| I also lived on Drexel for a few years. A graduate student
| was shot and killed nearby while walking home. Another night
| we witnessed a drive-by shooting while eating dinner. I've
| got a number of crime-related stories after living here that
| range in severity from "funny-in-retrospect" to "somebody
| died."
|
| Something that still strikes me is how crimes can happen
| right outside homes without anyone noticing. The University
| Police have a daily email list of "serious" incidents that I
| check - I'll often notice a carjacking or home invasion
| within 500 feet of where I was taking a nap on my couch.
|
| It's a great neighborhood with a lot going for it, which is
| maybe part of what makes the crime issue so hidden. It
| doesn't look sketchy or violent until it suddenly is.
| nimish wrote:
| Anti-gentrification is a very strange confluence of extreme
| small-c conservativism and leftism. Quite the odd bedfellows.
| lurk2 wrote:
| > I've lived on one of the streets mentioned in the article and
| its hard to overstate how shockingly dangerous the area is.
|
| The army used to train their trauma surgeons in Chicago because
| of the number of knife and gunshot wounds seen in the city's
| hospitals. From 2001 to 2021, there were about 1,000 more
| murders in the city than American soldiers killed in
| Afghanistan and Iraq.
| asteinhart wrote:
| this is mine! thanks for the share. code for the project is all
| open source here: https://github.com/chicagomaroon/data-
| visualizations/tree/ma.... this was my first larger custom story
| project. maplibre for the map, waypoints for scroller helper and
| the rest just vanilla js/html/css. hosted on github pages. i have
| another project that has lots of other examples of cool viz i
| like (filter to about visualizations) https://content-we-
| love-54fa79867044.herokuapp.com/
| clcaev wrote:
| This is absolutely lovely. Thank you.
|
| The underlying map is modern across all timelines. What would
| be super awesome is if the underlying map would also change,
| based on historical propery deeds, maps and ariel photos. For
| example, the 1893 world's fair is when much housing was
| constructed. The entire coastline also changed during this
| timeline. This would be an order of magnitude more work...
| asteinhart wrote:
| love that idea! reminds me of a piece by the philadelphia
| inquirer that i drew inspo from :
| https://www.inquirer.com/history/inq2/chinatown-history-
| time...
| Steuard wrote:
| Is there a place to submit an issue with the data? The final
| map makes it look like a bunch of properties around the
| neighborhood were purchased by the University between 2004 and
| 2005. But I recognize one of them (5125 S. Kenwood, just south
| of Hyde Park Blvd/51st St.) as my first grad school apartment:
| I lived there throughout the 1998-99 academic year, and it was
| definitely a university-owned/managed building at the time.
| asteinhart wrote:
| yes, can send an email to data@chicagomaroon.com! there are a
| chunk of apartments that were very hard to get exact dates
| for so a few are approx but would love to improve the
| accuracy.
| TheBicPen wrote:
| Scrolling is very laggy on mobile. I really don't like this trend
| of hijacking the scroll feature.
| qingcharles wrote:
| One thing to note is that crimes committed on any of this
| property are usually hit with an "aggravating factor", because of
| it being a school, and can double the sentencing for a crime.
|
| I seem to remember a homeless fellow who used a key to extract
| some change from a vending machine that was surprisingly on UoC
| property and got a 12-year sentence.
|
| Also, not to be confused with the confusingly similar University
| of Illinois Chicago.
| thaumasiotes wrote:
| > I seem to remember a homeless fellow who used a key to
| extract some change from a vending machine that was
| surprisingly on UoC property and got a 12-year sentence.
|
| Well, there are two problems there:
|
| - Being in a school is not an aggravating factor (in reality;
| I'm not making any claim about the law) for that crime;
|
| - Stealing change from a vending machine shouldn't involve a
| 6-year sentence.
|
| But neither of those really undermines the general concept of
| crimes on the property "usually" including an aggravating
| factor for the location.
| qingcharles wrote:
| It became a test case of whether there is a limit to
| punishments for crimes. Is a life sentence for littering
| constitutionally legal if there is a valid statute that says
| it is?
|
| The courts eventually up-ended the person's sentence somewhat
| and reduced it to the minimum available, 6 years. I don't
| know whether the person had already served over that time
| before his sentence was adjusted, but I would hazard a guess
| that he had.
| thaumasiotes wrote:
| > It became a test case of whether there is a limit to
| punishments for crimes. Is a life sentence for littering
| constitutionally legal if there is a valid statute that
| says it is?
|
| This can't be a correct description; a statute can't
| influence whether something is or isn't constitutional.
| They're different levels.
|
| I tend to suspect that you're intentionally omitting
| whatever the case was actually about.
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(page generated 2025-03-11 23:00 UTC)