Split your city into two or three smaller cities? (apartment, neighborhoods)

[Empidonax]

If your city, for whatever reason, had to (or wanted to?) split into two or three separate municipalities, where might the divisions fall? This could include secession of neighborhoods from the city-at-large.

Milwaukee:

Bay View, a gentrifying blue-collar neighborhood in the southeastern part of the city (by Lake Michigan), used to be a separate municipality until the early 20th Century, and the fault lines are still pretty evident.

Also, the city's northwest side was annexed around mid-20th Century; its character seems like more of an urbanized suburb than a real city neighborhood of Milwaukee.

Buffalo:

South Buffalo (predominantly middle class Irish-American) has had a distinctive identity for decades, so I could see it as a separate entity.

Also, though the neighborhoods of Riverside and Black Rock (northwest Buffalo) are rather poor, they exist in physical isolation from the rest of the city.

Columbus:

The northwest section (middle class homeowners and apartment dwellers) has more in common (culturally, physically) with neighboring suburbs than with the rest of the city of Columbus.

[Kevin J]

Chicago has 77 official neighborhoods that are recognized by the city. I suppose any of them could get the itch to secede. But if you're limiting the division of the city into 2 or 3 sections, the easiest and most logical division would be:

1. New Chicago - the central area including the Loop and the near north, south and west sides (boundaries: North Ave, Halsted, I-55, and the lake)

2. South Chicago - the remainder of the south and west sides, south of the Eisenhower Expressway

3. North Chicago - the remainder of the north and west sides, north of the Eisenhower Expressway (there's already a town in Illinois called "North Chicago," but let's just pretend for the sake of the question, that it doesn't exist).

Chicagoans very much define themselves as north and south siders, which is reinforced by the location of the city's two baseball teams. There's a west side identity too, it's not as strong or as historic as the other two.

The Loop and the residential areas surrounding it is very much its own entity in the city.

[krudmonk]

I'd lop off the north and south. However, I'd rather move the hills north and the bayfront south, though. Just cover up the weaker neighborhoods.

[M3 Mitch]

The "Tri-Cities" of Eastern Washington State are divided by the Snake and Columbia rivers, so there is at least one real-world example of what you are proposing. They don't cooperate well with each other.

[foreverdublin21]

Cleveland could be divided pretty easily as the Cuyahoga River cuts right through the city (dividing it in half in a way). You could divide Cleveland in to three cities, the Westside, North Coast, and the East &South.

The Westside (I'll call Westend): consist mainly of neighborhoods like Detroit-Shoreway, Ohio City, Tremont, and everything west of that.

The North Coast: (which I may refer to as Norden Coast (given Ohio's history): the major areas off of the Lake, Downtown, Goodrich, St.Clair, Glenville and even include University Circle (along with everything east of that).

And lastly East/South area: (I'd call the East-Southend: which would have Central, Fairfax, Hough, the Industrial Valley and everything south and east of it.

Cause of which in a hypothetical sense if it were to happen, Westend and Norden Coast would eventually begin to grow. While East-Southend would continue to decline until developers and wealthy citizens looking for more room will turn their eyes towards East-Southend, and hopefully in another hundred years time (or less) the edge of East-Southend will be come like the Upper East Side.

[btownboss4]

Boston would lose Charlestown ( look at it it really isn't in the city it's across the charles) it would be a richer Chelsea.
Hyde Park, Rosindale and Reedville are too far from The center to be in the city (they would be an inner suburb)

NYC should split into it boroughs.

The North side of Pittsburgh should be it's own city (it was)

[Bslette]

Minnehaha (South Minneapolis, Uptown, and Calhoun, Harriet, and Nokomis), Minneapolis (Downtown, Midtown, Lake of the Isles, Cedar Lake, and the Northside), and St. Anthony (everything east of the river).

[Jdawg8181]

Originally Posted by btownboss4

Boston would lose Charlestown ( look at it it really isn't in the city it's across the charles) it would be a richer Chelsea.
Hyde Park, Rosindale and Reedville are too far from The center to be in the city (they would be an inner suburb)

NYC should split into it boroughs.

The North side of Pittsburgh should be it's own city (it was)

NYC is already split into boros.

[BuckeyeBoyDJ]

Phoenix:

1. Ahwatukee - a large upper middle class suburban area in the far southern city limits of Phoenix and could seriously be it's own city since it's separated from the rest of Phoenix by a mountain range.

2. Central Phoenix - Includes downtown, south central Phoenix, and the area of the city all the way north to Thunderbird which is the main populated part of the city of Phoenix.

3. North Phoenix - Suburban newer areas of Phoenix from Thunderbird north to God knows where (The city limits literally stretch all the way north to open desert so I don't know where to draw the line.....I guess Anthem)

[btownboss4]

Originally Posted by Jdawg8181

NYC is already split into boros.

I meant Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island all become their own cities.