Mapping Displacement Pressure in Chicago, 2021

IHS’s Mapping Displacement Pressure in Chicago project supports ongoing and future public investment decisions by creating a leading indicator to identify neighborhoods where vulnerable populations may be experiencing affordability pressures and displacement risk due to increased housing costs. This data update, reflecting house price changes during 2020 compared to a combined 2018 to 2019 baseline, illustrates how demand for housing shifted amid the economic and health impacts experienced during the first three-quarters of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the 2021 study are reflective of the uncertainty and challenges of the early pandemic period, which led to particularly uneven market activity throughout the year.  

The project’s annually updated interactive mapping tool recognizes the spectrum of displacement—visualizing Chicago neighborhoods that are currently experiencing displacement-related challenges due to high and still rising housing costs as well as neighborhoods where recent market shifts may signal future displacement risk amid speculative investment activity.