# Find Chicago building permits in a specific area
Sometimes it's useful to see what is being built in Chicago, or who's involved in certain kinds of projects, in a specific area or Place Report. This article will explain the two methods to find building permits across a Place Report (popular Place Report types are community areas, wards, and ZIP codes).
## What is Building Permits Browser?
Building Permits Browser is a powerful map and spreadsheet to browser, search, filter, and sort over 600,000 building permits issued in Chicago since 2006. The database is updated every morning, Tuesday through Saturday, usually between 7 AM and 8 AM, except after city holidays. The data comes from the Chicago Department of Buildings (DOB).
By default, permits are sorted by "most recently issued" and "most expensive" when permits share the same issuance date. The building permit applicant provides the estimated cost value and it's not vetted by DOB. We use the estimated cost for sorting and for grouping permits into cost buckets.
## Two methods
There are two methods to find building permits in a specific area. The first method – the easiest – is to use a Place Report's own Building Permits Browser. The second method is to use the [[Building Permits Browser]], which starts with a citywide view of building permits and has more filters than the first method.
### Method 1: Place Report
It's easier to use this method to find building permits in a specific area, but it has fewer filters than method 2.
1. Open a Place Report. Use the search field at the top of the page to search for an existing Place in our database, or browse for them on the [Places Explorer](http://chicagocityscape.com/maps/index.php), or start with one of these examples: [Portage Park community area](http://chicagocityscape.com/maps/index.php?place=communityarea-portage-park), [60608 ZIP code](http://chicagocityscape.com/maps/index.php?place=zip-60608), [25th Ward](http://chicagocityscape.com/maps/index.php?place=ward-25). You can also [draw your own Personal Place](http://chicagocityscape.com/draw.php) and save it to your account.
2. Scroll down to the "Buildings data" group of features, or skip to it by clicking on "Building permits & violations" in the Table of Contents.
3. In the "Buildings data" group of features, the Building Permits Browser tab is already selected. Click "Load building permits", after which a map and data table will appear.
That's all! The ten building permits that were most recently issued will appear first (see screenshot 1).
*Screenshot 1*
#### Count dwelling units
To find new construction housing, select the "New construction" checkbox under the "Filter by permit type" heading. Then select the "Search & apply filters" button.
The number of dwelling units mentioned in each building permit's description will be tallied and displayed under the data table. Look for the heading "Housing stats".
*Note: This number is extracted using our software that reads the permit descriptions; the exact data is not provided by the building permits data source. Similarly, when filtering for permits for the demolition of residential buildings the number of units in the building is rarely listed in the permit description.*
#### Additional filter options
You can narrow your search and what permits appear in the map and data table by using some of the filters in the gray filter box below the map. The most common filters are "permit type" (new construction, renovation, etc.) and time period or date range.
When using any filter that's not a Quick Filter, click the "Apply filters" button to begin the new search.
##### Time period and date range
Both of these filters will search for permits corresponding to the requested period, but search differently.
**Time period**
These are predefined periods; choose one from the list. If you're comparing Place Reports, we recommend only using the fixed year periods rather than the relative periods ("last 30 days", "last 365 days"). After selecting a time period, click "Apply filters".
**Date range**
Define your own period. This period filter is better than "Time period" if you're looking to search for permits in a quarter.
It's easy to use, and both fields are optional: Click in the "Start date" and/or "End date" fields and use the calendar to choose a date. Then click "Apply filters". (See screenshot 2, which shows January 1, 2022, and March 31, 2022, which represents 2022 Q1.)
*Screenshot 2*
*See also: [[Building Permits Browser|Learn how to use additional filters]]*
### Method 2: Building Permits Browser
1. Access the [Building Permits Browser](http://chicagocityscape.com/permits.php).
2. Scroll down to the filters section and locate the "Filter by Place" filter.
3. Click inside the field and type the name of the Place Report you're looking for. Screenshot 3 shows inputting "Portage Park", which is a community area and neighborhood name (each group of Place types has a bolded header, which cannot be selected).
4. Look through the results and select the Place Report you want.
5. Click the "Apply filters" button.
6. The map and data table will update to show only building permits in the Place Report you selected.
*Screenshot 3*
You can set additional filters at the same time; make sure you click "Apply filters" after changing the filters. Quick Filters are complex filters that we've assembled behind the scenes to respond to popular searches.
# Related articles
- [[Exporting to spreadsheet|Learn how to export building permits data]]