Keyword Analysis & Research: gang map chicago

Published in 1927, Chicago’s Gangland is tucked into the back of Thrasher’s seminal book on urban crime and ethnography, The Gang, a Study of 1313 Gangs in Chicago. Chock-full of gray and red demarcations, the hand-drawn, multi-layered map provides detailed insider knowledge of Chicago’s gang activity.

Between 1923 and 1926, one sociologist at the University of Chicago endeavored to track down and map the favorite haunts and hang-outs of more than 1,300 gangs for the project Chicago’s Gangland. “No less than 1,313 gangs have been discovered in Chicago and its environs!” Frederic Thrasher wrote at the time.

The purpose of this map is purely journalistic and is in no way intended to be a glorification of gang violence. The amount of active gang members in the city of Chicago alone is the highest in the world and estimated to be over 150,000. Only active sets are displayed on this map. Active sets are sets currently claimed and occupied by a gang.

From the Chicago hoods of the South Side to the areas where Chicago gangs roam on the West Side to the heart of the Chicago ghetto areas of the North and East sides, this map breaks down the background and history of almost every Chicago hood and community while giving a tour through the streets of the urban sections of the city.