Environmental Snapshot for Loop
Suggested ways to use this snapshot
Use the information on this page, as well as the links to fire insurance maps, to collect some of the information that is necessary to write an Environmental Database Report (EDR).
External resources
- Review the site-specific data on the Illinois EPA's Document Explorer to locate IEPA records of environmental reviews or remediation at or near a property.
- Find fire insurance maps using Fire Insurance Maps Online (FIMO) (requires a Chicago Public Library card)
Water
Regional water sources
The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) has published a water demand forecast for the seven-county region, which analyzes:
- water sources for each municipality
- demand forecast for each county
- how to maintain a sustainable supply
Water quality in Chicago and Blue Island
Access H2NOW waterway monitoring , provided by Current, to see river water quality monitoring analysis in real time on the Chicago and Calumet Rivers.
Air quality external resources
Chicago Cityscape does not integrate air quality data, but there are multiple sources to review.
- Urban Air, an experiment in Chicago from Microsoft Research that placed ~86 air quality monitors at CTA bus stops (ended in 2023)
- AirNow, administered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency which has its own sensors and incorporates PurpleAir data
- AirNow Fire and Smoke Map, shows wildfire smoke plumes and air quality impacts from fires – includes the new Clarity sensors installed in Chicago in 2026
- PurpleAir, a company that sells a fixed, home-based air quality monitor that uploads data to a public map
- plume labs, a company that sells a portable air quality monitor that uploads data to a public map
Suggest an air quality monitor location Since February 2025, Neighbors For Environmental Justice has started collecting suggestions for where 220 air quality monitors should be placed in Chicago.
Chicago-only data
Environmental inspections
Showing environmental inspection reports
Data integrity issue On June 16, 2025, Chicago Cityscape became aware through this article that these environmental inspections reports were updated to remove data (specifically the inspector narratives that provide rich information), and that some of them were updated to have invalid dates.
Storage tanks
Known underground and aboveground storage tanks
Storage tanks found nearby
Sign in to your account to view them, or you can instantly create a free account
Energy benchmarking data
Energy usage data for the 2023 reporting year (and earlier) for buildings
Energy benchmarking data found nearby
Sign in to your account to view them, or you can instantly create a free account
Land use for 2013, 2015, 2018, and 2020
Every five years, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), the Chicago region's state and federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), creates a detailed land use inventory of the seven-county area.