University Village is a 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. 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 campus to the south and west. 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.