The city ranks well in a new survey, thanks to the wonderful network of parks in Daniel Burnham's Plan of Chicago. We'd have done even better if politics hadn't killed so many other good ideas. Read more
The writer takes on the media's ignorance of history, why Chicago is an ideal case study for discrimination, and how uncomfortable it is to undo policies that were racist by design. Read more
Segregationist policies divided Chicago—and America. Those ideas impacted blacks as well as "probationary whites," setting the stage for stories like "The Case for Reparations" today. Read more
Chicagoland began sprawling in the wake of the Great Fire—and its infectious growth influenced the spread of other cities, laying the groundwork for suburbia as we know it. Read more
A look back at the city's good ideas (ski jumping at Soldier Field, animatronic dinosaurs) and bad ones (like the scooter nuns), through the lens of British Pathé. Read more
