Not many people know that the epithet Windy City was bestowed on Chicago not for meteorological but political reasons – apparently, Chicago politicians at one time were known for the windiness of their speeches. Its Latin motto – Urbs in horto; the city in the garden – reflects its spaciousness, as it sprawls out in all directions save that of Lake Michigan, on the shore of which it was founded.

Another nickname, the Second City, belies the fact that it is now the third-largest US city, after New York and Los Angeles, with almost 3 million in Chicago proper and almost 10 million in its metro area, dubbed ‘Chicagoland’. The Indian term at the origin of the city’s name, shikaakwa, means ‘striped skunk’, by the way.

Neighbourhood-wise, the branches of the Chicago River divide the city in North, West and South Side. Sociologists have further divided the city in anything from 77 up to over 200 different neighbourhoods. This map chops up Chicago into 91 ‘hoods, which obviously leaves out many of the 200-plus in the most detailed overview. But the typography, whereby the name of each ‘hood fills out its assigned space as fully as possible, is pretty cool nevertheless.

This map was suggested to me by Jez Robinson, who found it here at orkposters, who designed (and sell) the map.