Geographies of Death: Cemetery Loss in Chicago
Location
Poster #10
Start Date
1-5-2026 10:00 AM
Department
Geography and Environmental Studies
Abstract
The growing rate of urbanization in cities contributes to the loss of cemeteries and other places of burial in urban spaces, both actively through the demolition of resting places for redevelopment and passively through administrative neglect. Previous studies have documented cases of administrative neglect leading to degradation of burial sites across the globe, demonstrating a pervasive issue in urban planning. In this project, we used publicly available information to map active and inactive cemetery sites in Chicago. After mapping these sites, we compared the Land Use Inventory from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) from 2020 and 2001 to see any change in the recorded land use for the active cemetery locations. These maps showed that the processes that lead to the loss of the inactive cemetery sites had concluded. These maps also demonstrated one of the more common forms of administrative neglect, that being missing or incorrect documentation in official records. Our findings support the conclusion that poor record-keeping and rapid urbanization threaten burial sites by creating the conditions for redevelopment.
Faculty Sponsor
Ting Liu
Geographies of Death: Cemetery Loss in Chicago
Poster #10
The growing rate of urbanization in cities contributes to the loss of cemeteries and other places of burial in urban spaces, both actively through the demolition of resting places for redevelopment and passively through administrative neglect. Previous studies have documented cases of administrative neglect leading to degradation of burial sites across the globe, demonstrating a pervasive issue in urban planning. In this project, we used publicly available information to map active and inactive cemetery sites in Chicago. After mapping these sites, we compared the Land Use Inventory from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) from 2020 and 2001 to see any change in the recorded land use for the active cemetery locations. These maps showed that the processes that lead to the loss of the inactive cemetery sites had concluded. These maps also demonstrated one of the more common forms of administrative neglect, that being missing or incorrect documentation in official records. Our findings support the conclusion that poor record-keeping and rapid urbanization threaten burial sites by creating the conditions for redevelopment.