Public charging stations are most heavily concentrated in the city’s more affluent neighborhoods, creating a chicken/egg scenario for electric car adoption
While electric vehicles are relatively uncommon in Chicago, city officials expect their popularity to grow dramatically in coming decades.
And while electric cars are registered throughout the city, they, along with the city’s charging stations, are most heavily concentrated in the city’s affluent and mostly white North Side. As of 2018, 70% of all public charging stations were located in just three community areas. By contrast, 47 of Chicago’s 77 community areas, largely on the city’s South Side and West Side, had no public charging stations at all.