Tri-Taylor consists of the area bordered by Harrison Street to the North, the diagonal Ogden Avenue to the East, Roosevelt Road on the south and Western Avenue on the west. It is shaped vaguely like a triangle and hence "Tri-Taylor." The neighborhood is traditionally an extension of the Little Italy neighborhood to its east, although it has consistently been one of the most diverse 'neighborhoods' in Chicago as it was situated on the borders of heavily African American, Irish, Hispanic, and Italian areas. Recently it has been composed mostly of Mexican-Americans and students from nearby the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The neighborhood is also home to the Chicago Technology Park research center as well as the West Side Center for Disease Control, the office for the Medical Examiner of Cook County, and the Chicago Hope Academy (a private high school which opened in 2005).

University Village is a renamed near west Chicago community consisting of newly constructed residential and retail properties. The University Village/Little Italy community cherishes its rich past as one of the first neighborhoods of Chicago. The community is home to mixed-income residents from ethnically diverse socio-economic backgrounds as a result of immigration, urban renewal, gentrification and the growth of the resident student and faculty population of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

University Village, Chicago, consists of major new residential developments over old known Chicago neighborhoods. One such development is the Ivy Hall development, over the area once-known as the Maxwell Street neighborhood. This development took one of the poorest neighborhoods in Chicago and made it into a middle to upper class income area.

The University Commons development and University Station were created from the defunct South Water Market, historically known as the distribution point for Chicago's produce and agriculture market. The Roosevelt Square development was created over the remains of the now demolished public housing area that was under the auspices of the Chicago Housing Authority called the ABLA homes.

University Village, Chicago also includes the established neighborhood of Little Italy, with a rich history of its own.

University Village surrounds the University of Illinois at Chicago, located south and west of the campus. The Illinois Medical District borders the area on the west. The Pilsen community borders the south, the Dan Ryan expressway I-94 borders the area on the east.