Mountain Man Jim, it's legal to raise chickens in Chicago!
I've fought long and hard to make sure it STAYS legal, too!
I'm about 8 city blocks (one mile) from an el stop, 4 blocks from a commuter rail station (Metra), and 2 blocks from a major expressway (I-94). We're also directly under a major flight path/approach to O'Hare airport.
We're about as urban as you can get, although we do have a detached single family home and a yard.
And we have our chickens!
I also have about 250 sq feet of gardening space devoted just to edibles, and another 500 sq feet of ornamentals. You'd be surprised what you can do with a city lot!
Next year, I'm putting up a small, passive solar greenhouse and a new chicken coop. No need to move to the wide open countryside...just learning to make what I have work for me.
And I think it's nice that I really don't stress about gas prices since I rarely need to drive anywhere.