Uptown is one of Chicago's 77 community areas. Uptown's boundaries are Foster Avenue to the north; Lake Michigan to the east; Montrose Avenue, and Irving Park Road to the south; Ravenswood Avenue, and Clark Street to the west. To the north is Edgewater, to the west is Lincoln Square, and to the south is Lakeview. Near the lake are some of the northern reaches of Lincoln Park, including Montrose Beach and multiple nature reserves. The area has a mix of commercial and residential development, and includes a well-established entertainment district of clubs and concert venues, and was a center for early film making. Truman College, a two-year city college, is located here, and the area's southwest corner includes the historic 19th century Graceland Cemetery.

Edgewater is a lakefront community area on the North Side of the city of Chicago, Illinois six miles north of the Loop. The most recently established of the city's 77 official community areas, Edgewater is bounded by Foster Avenue on the south, Devon Avenue on the north, Ravenswood Avenue on the west, and Lake Michigan on the east. Edgewater contains several beaches for residents to enjoy. Chicago's largest park, Lincoln Park, stretches south from Edgewater for seven miles along the waterfront, almost to downtown. Until 1980, Edgewater was part of Uptown, and historically it constituted the northeastern corner of Lake View Township, an independent suburb annexed by the city of Chicago in 1889. Today, Uptown is to Edgewater's south, Lincoln Square to its west, West Ridge to its northwest and Rogers Park to its north.