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"good" and "bad" side of town


mattnf

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It seems that in most N. American cities, the northern and western sections are more prosperous and the southern and eastern sections are poorer and more working class.

For example:

Chicago - the South Side is much poorer than the North Side, the North Side is where the yuppies live

Los Angeles - West L.A. better off than East L.A., and the south is poorer than the north

Washington - NW is the most affluent, SE is the poorest

Boston - the poorest areas are in the southern part

Seattle - north Seattle is more affluent than south Seattle

Atlanta - south side is the poorest part

Montreal - the wealthy Anglo minority live in the west, the east is mostly Quebecois and working class

Vancouver, Portland - west is better off than the east

Cleveland - poorest areas are on the east side, west side more solidly working class

Buffalo - same, and north Buffalo is most affluent

Two exceptions - Milwaukee and Winnipeg - come to mind, but it seems that the geographic divides tend to show northern and western sections being better off than the southern and eastern sides.

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I always thought the east sides of cities tended to be the "wealthier" sections. Saying the "East Side" always meant rich to me, probly cause of the Upper East Side in Manhattan and the East Side of Providence, etc.

It does always seem that the south sides are the lowest income in most cities, I wonder why.

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Is their any connection with the pre-car pattern of the 'uptown' district of a town being more wealthy than the 'downtown' district? Geo-physically meaning, uptown was a part of town that was elevation-wise higher than downtown. When it was typical that all towns were heavily polluted, due to the popularity of coal, therefore the wealthier would build on higher ground away from all the soot. Thus, most of downtown, besides the CBD, was heavily populated by tenant housing & low income shacks.

So - from that pattern in the 1800's, is there any relation direction-wise with today? For Atlanta as an example, even though a very prominant residential district existed on the southside of downtown in the 1800's, the more well known district was on the northside, then known as Uptown & is now Midtown. It's not a signficant elevation change, but enough - besides being far enough to remove the wealthy mansion district from downtown.

This could have led to a domino effect northward, as one wealthy district led to another one - Ansley Park & Morningside are just a few early 1900's neighborhoods built adjacent or beyond the then Uptown (now Midtown).

Just a thought - are there any elevation patterns that could explain why wealthier moved to one direction? Another reasoning - more explanatory for post-WWII housing would be the natural environment. The north side of Atlanta's metro is populated by hills & low mountains.

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In Lansing the North and East sides are the worst, the West side is split down the middle and the South side is much newer and nicer, with the exception of an older part closer to Downtown. In all areas, the neighborhoods get worse the closer to downtown you go.

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I always thought the east sides of cities tended to be the "wealthier" sections. Saying the "East Side" always meant rich to me, probly cause of the Upper East Side in Manhattan and the East Side of Providence, etc.

You've been watching too many reruns of "The Jeffersons." :D

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In Shreveport, the northern part of the city, from north of the CBD all the way to the far northern city limits, is one of the worst areas. Also, the western part of the city is pretty bad as well. East and South Shreveport are where the vast majority of the growth is occurring now, and are also home to the wealthiest people in the area. A general rule of thumb in Shreveport is, if you live east of I-49 and south of the Inner Loop Expressway, you're in a good area. Anywhere else is questionable.

Bossier City isn't quite the same. Central Bossier City (the downtown area) is the worst part of that city. All the newer, nicer growth is north, east, and south. West of downtown is Shreveport, which I've listed above.

You've been watching too many reruns of "The Jeffersons." :D

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

This is EXACTLY what I was thinking...

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Richmond's poorest neighborhoods are in the east and south. Downtown is in the eastern part of the city and one of the poorest neighborhoods is the severed northern half of historic Jackson Ward which probably went on its downward spiral after I-95 cut through and they tore down most of the northern half for a project. Since this was "the Harlem of the South," I'm sure when blacks began leaving the city too this area suffered even more.

The richest neighborhoods are to the northwest and southwest of the city. Inside the city the west is pretty filthy rich compared to the east which has been ignored probably because it doesn't have the money to wave in front of the powers that be.

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Here in Huntsville, I think that the worst part of the city is along Governors Drive West (aka Southwest). This is probably the only area in Hsv that you don't want to go to after dark. A lot of Huntsvillians consider Five Points (East side) is a "bad neighborhood", but I don't understand why a neighborhood with upscale restaurants, coffee shops and art galleries is considered "bad."

The "good side" would probably be either Southeast, Hampton Cove or Far West.

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Saying the "East Side" always meant rich to me, probly cause of the Upper East Side in Manhattan.....

With the exception of Harlem, once you get past the 80s and 90s in Manhattan, it becomes the bad end of the borough. Below the 80s and 90s, most of Manhattan is pretty good. The lower east side is probably a little iffy if anything. 42nd street used to be bad until Guilani cleaned it up in the mid 1990's. Ill never forget the prostitutes and dirty bars.

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In Portland, it's the Eastside neighborhoods across the Willamette River from the Central Business District that has the higher crime rates. Just to the west of Downtown Portland are the West Hills and the Tualatin Mountains which provides very affluent areas close to the center of town although the steep topography also means that more people live on the flatlands across the river. The neighborhoods of North Portland near the riverside ports and Northeast Portland have traditionally had the worst reputations for crime. However, the whole area is gentrifying fast, resulting in some of the rougher neighborhoods now being mixed in with relatively upscale areas. Currently many of the poorest, most crime ridden areas in Portland are the old suburbs on the outer eastside reaching out to the city limits in Gresham.

On the West Coast it seems that the poorer tougher neighborhoods will develop on the side of the CBD that has the majority of industrial development and seaports. Although this isn

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It is all relative- here in San Diego an area the surbanite locals may term as "bad and scary" would be considered fairly upscale, safe and clean compared to some of the grittier cities of the East Coast or Rust Belt region.

If you live in the north county suburbs anything near downtown is "bad and scary". If you actually live in the city as I do you know how mild and relatively crime free it is.

I would say the 2nd and 3rd ring city suburbs are generally looked on as the bad or least desired part of town-about 5-10 miles to the north, east and south from the city center. Because of a Renaissance of development downtown the first ring older suburbs are actually very desired. Obviously the west -the beautiful Pacific- would be the place you would think would be considered the best, but transient college-age populations make some of these areas crowded and a bit rowdy.

Still it is a pretty great place to live. Very few places I would feel even a little bit uncomfortable as a traveled urbanite.

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It seems that in most N. American cities, the northern and western sections are more prosperous and the southern and eastern sections are poorer and more working class.

Two exceptions - Milwaukee and Winnipeg - come to mind, but it seems that the geographic divides tend to show northern and western sections being better off than the southern and eastern sides.

I will agree. In Milwaukee, the Northside west of the Milwaukee River is by far the most dangerous part of the city. The Northwest part is also dangerous. The Southside and Southwest areas are blue-collar working class, but are relatively safe.

In Louisville, the city is divided by I-65, which runs roughly north and south. Anything east of I-65 is okay to live in. The Highlands, Crescent Hill and Cliftons are all east of I-65. With the very notable exceptions of the Old Louisville neighborhood and Downtown, anything west of I-65 should be avoided. The West End is by far the most dangerous part of the city, and it begins just west of Downtown. Outside of the West End, most of the other neighborhoods on the west, south, and southwest sides are very redneck. Along Dixie Highway, all the way down past the Snyder Freeway is white trash.

In Indianapolis, the most prosperous side is the Northside, but the Downtown neighborhoods of Mass Ave., Fountain Square, and the Wholesale District are prosperous. The Eastside is heavily populated with African Americans, as is the Northwest side. The west side is heavily Hispanic, and the Southside is blue-collar and redneck.

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From most dangerous to least dangerous parts of Atlanta-Southeast,Northwest,Southwest,Downtown,Midtown,Buckhead(north of Midtown), and Northeast.

The area around Boulevard and McDonough Blvd off Moreland Ave in Southeast Atlanta is one the the most Dangerous neighborhoods in the country and Northeast Atlanta off of Ponce de Leon is filled with mansions and has a more suburban feel.

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New Orleans' bad sides of town are considered to be parts of Uptown along MLK Blvd, where the wards lie. French Quarter can get dangerous after dark, the natives know what I'm talking about. The ghetto surrounds the French Quarter. The part of the FQ that generally needs to be avoided is N. Rampart, that area is notorious for murders, rapes, assaults, etc.

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