For a short time in 1893, the Hyde Park and Kenwood neighborhoods of Chicago bordered the capital of the world, as millions visited the World’s Columbian Exposition in Jackson Park and the Midway Plaisance.

The City in a Garden, a new book by John Mark Hansen explores the history of these neighborhoods:

Chicago suburb, world’s fair grounds, college town, the city’s first stably integrated community, Hyde Park and Kenwood have many distinctions. The City in a Garden tells the neighborhood’s story through the experiences and lives of its residents. Paul Cornell, the Illinois Central Railroad, the South Park system, the City of Chicago, the World’s Columbian Exposition, the University of Chicago, race relations, and urban renewal run as threads through the pages.

Hansen, the Charles L. Hutchinson Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago, will discuss The City in a Garden on January 20 at the Seminary Co-op Bookstore (5751 S. Woodlawn Avenue); a Q&A and signing will follow. The event is free and open to the public.