Find out how many home loans were applied for and issue or denied in your neighborhood 

This new data section on Chicago Cityscape is inspired by the joint WBEZ and City Bureau investigation, called "Where Banks Don't Lend", of home mortgage lending activity in Chicago. The investigation used data about applications for a new home mortgage collected by the federal government pursuant to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). 

The investigation found that the country's largest banks, and the ones with the most loans in Chicago, have disproportionately not lended in neighborhoods of color. Additionally, redlining and other discriminatory actions by lenders and real estate agents in the 20th century in Chicago led to contract buying as the only way Black people could "buy" homes. 

Here's how to access the home mortgage data:

• Do you want data for a specific address? Look up the address to get its Address Snapshot, and then scroll down until you see "Home mortgages"
• Doing research and you already know the Census tract number? Find it in Places Explorer, open its Place page, and then scroll down until you see "Home mortgages"