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Old 10-22-2015, 04:07 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Morningside)
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In Pittsburgh, cardinal directions do have distinct meanings, in both the city and the suburbs.

In the city, the term "East End" was historically used to describe a nexus of middle-to-upper-middle class neighborhoods, including Squirrel Hill, Point Breeze, and Shadyside. Virtually all of the city's gentrification and redevelopment has been concentrated in areas to the east of Downtown between the Allegheny and the Monongahela rivers, and the usage of "East End" has broadened over time as a result, so some neighborhoods which historically were never considered in the East End, like Lawrenceville, are now lumped in. Some go so far as to describe areas immediately adjacent to Downtown, like the Strip District, Uptown, and the Hill District, along with Oakland, as part of the East End, but this isn't the majority view. Still, East End implies upscale/gentrified/trendy areas somewhere in the East of the city.

There is a "West End" of the city, but it's not large, with only around 30,000 people in the dozen or so neighborhoods. Confusingly, although the term is used for the whole region (and a few independent boroughs outside the city, like Crafton and Ingram) there's also a neighborhood called West End, which is sometimes called West End Village to distinguish. It's basically known as the forgotten portion of the city, as most of the neighborhoods are built out in a suburban style and in some level of decline.

Pittsburgh has a "North Side" which comprises 18 neighborhoods, which vary dramatically in built style (from mid 1800s rowhouses to mid-century suburbia) and social class (from gentrified to lower-middle class to stone-cold ghetto). There is something of a regional identity. This portion of the city had an independent history as Old Allegheny City, and was forcibly annexed into Pittsburgh under questionable circumstances around the turn of the 20th century. People across all walks of life do find commonality in the belief that the North Side has been overshadowed by the East End ever since annexation, and that this portion of the city has repeatedly been given the short end of the stick (having, for example, some of the worst of the mid-20th century urban planning disasters). The local news also paints the region unfairly with a broad brush, as when a shooting happens, it is often reported as "shooting in North Side" rather than being in its particular neighborhood, leading suburbanites to believe the area is all crime-ridden and dangerous.

In the suburbs, it is common to refer to the suburbs to the north and south of the city as "North Hills" and "South Hills" respectively. There is little difference between them except that the North Hills are a bit newer construction overall, and tend to have more wealth. In my experience people from one tend to dislike the other more than either does the City. The eastern suburbs are not called the "East Hills" as that is the name of a (fairly dangerous) Pittsburgh neighborhood. There are also no West Hills.
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Old 10-22-2015, 04:56 PM
 
Location: Minneapolis
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Minneapolis: These are more or less in order of how often, from my perception, these areas are referenced in the local media. My comments are based upon my personal experiences, perceptions, and historical understanding. I would also point out that some of these areas are quite large and contain very diverse sets of neighborhoods which can't be fully encapsulated in my brief comments.

North Minneapolis: Economically very poor, predominantly African-American with a growing Southeast Asian population, very high crime rate. Was historically the epicenter of the city's Jewish population (pre 1960s).

South Minneapolis: Economically and racially mixed. Very diverse with large American Indian and Latino populations. Has some poor areas as well as some trendy neighborhoods. This includes the Uptown neighborhood which is very popular with millennials.

Northeast Minneapolis: Large working class White population--traditionally Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian. Currently becoming much more ethnically diverse and beginning to gentrify, a burgeoning arts scene.

Southeast Minneapolis: The U of M area, somewhat diverse with a large student population. A mix of student housing and relatively modest homes.

(Northeast and Southeast Minneapolis are geographically notable because they're on the east side of The Mississippi River. This part of the city used to be an independent city named St Anthony, which merged with Minneapolis in 1872.)

North Loop: A part of downtown also known as The Warehouse District. Extremely trendy and heavily gentrified. A lot of new highly-respected restaurants, boutique shops, night clubs, etc. Used to be a big area for artists who have largely moved to Northeast Minneapolis. It's on the northern edge of downtown, so it's also seeing a boom in office construction. Home to much of the "creative community"--ad agencies, etc.

West Bank: Also in The U of M area, extremely large Somali population. Prior to that it had somewhat of a bohemian hippie vibe to it--a bit of which remains.

Southwest Minneapolis: One of the most economically prosperous parts of the city (outside of downtown). A lot of more suburban-looking neighborhoods than in most other parts of the city.

Saint Paul uses directions less often since there are suburbs (North, South, and West) which carry its name. The Eastside is the most notable directionally-referenced portion of the city. It's neighborhoods vary quite a bit, but there is a general perception of a relatively high crime rate. The area is diverse, with a very large Hmong population.
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Old 10-22-2015, 05:16 PM
 
Location: Albuquerque, NM
707 posts, read 740,878 times
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Albuquerque is oriented along the cardinal grid, and the mountains make it impossible to get lost. Locals use directions for parts of town i.e. Westside, South Valley, North Valley. The streets, however, are marked with quadrant emblems i.e. Coors Blvd SW, Lomas Blvd NE.
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Old 10-22-2015, 07:37 PM
 
Location: Victoria TX
42,618 posts, read 86,585,093 times
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New Orleans is famous for not having any North or South, although a few streets cross Canal and are designated as north or south.

In New Orleans, directions are given as Uptown or Downtown, with the Mississippi River flowing from Uptown to Downtown. So if you throw a bottle in the river, it will always go downtown. An intersection doesn't have a North-east corner lot, the quadrant of the interaction will be described as "Downtown Lake", meaning downstream in the Mississippi, and on the side toward Lake Ponchartrain, rather than the side toward the river.

If you start out at the end of Carrollton going downtown on St. Charles, you will go southeast for quite a while, then follow the curve of the river, and by the time St. Charles gets to Canal Street, you will be facing due north, still doing downtown.

A part of New Orleans is across the river, on 'The West Bank", which means on the same side of the Mississippi River that Texas is on. On both bridges, if you are going to the West Bank, you will be driving almost due east.
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Old 10-22-2015, 09:39 PM
 
Location: Taipei
7,773 posts, read 10,066,343 times
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Not sure if this is what you're going for, but here goes:

Northside - People use this term pretty much for everything north of downtown. It generally carries a negative connotation as the near part of the northside is pretty ghetto, poor, black, and where you might find gangs. But really only portions of that are actually bad, the rest are just poor and/or black but as an Asian guy I don't feel unsafe and have to travel in the area often. And then the far northside is actually basically very new suburbs and feels middle class and diverse...even kinda upscale in some parts.

Westside - For some people this refers to HALF THE CITY! It also has a negative connotation often, as it conjures images of rednecks, four wheelers, shotguns and confederate flags. But obviously being half of the city it's got lots of good and bad. The far westside is rural and is the source of some of the reputation. There's also some poor suburban areas, lots of rich suburbs, and some quasi-urban areas.

Southside - Also covers a huge area...basically the entire southeastern quadrant of the city limits. This is the one area that has a very positive reputation, despite that just like every other one it has good and bad. It's mostly newer, contains many of the trendy areas, has most of the jobs that are not located downtown, and high end retail. There's also parts that are older and some that are a tad bit sketchy, but on the whole it's safe.

East Arlington - There is no Eastside, but East Arlington covers the area east of downtown from about midway to the beaches all the way out to the beaches. It's one of the newest suburban areas of town, quite safe and fairly desirable, and seeing lots of new retail. It benefits from having relatively cheap housing while being very close to the beaches and not too difficult of a commute to downtown.

TLDR; The city has three directionally-named sections that very broadly cover most of the city/county limits...Southside, Northside and Westside. In reality all three encompass huge swaths of land that all have bad, good, and even very wealthy areas. But by reputation two are known for their negatives (Northside = ghetto, Westside = redneck).
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Old 10-22-2015, 11:22 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles,CA & Scottsdale, AZ
1,932 posts, read 2,450,353 times
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Phoenix:
West Phoenix- predominately hispanic, can be ghetto.
Central Phoenix- The area where a lot of gay phoenicians live, art neighborhoods, new restaurants coming up, a lot of hipsters live in this area and this is where the bulk of the museums in Phoenix city proper are located. Probs the best part of the city to live in if you don't have a car
South Phoenix- Pretty ghetto but also have some new developments. This is mainly African American and Hispanic, it is a very historic African American part of town and many blacks who live in this part of town have families that have been in phoenix for over three generations(that's a big thing for an arizonan lol a whoping 3 generation!)
North Phoenix- a lot of drug addicts/have a heroine problem in high schools up there but if you can look beyond that it's a pretty nice middle class area.
East Phoenix- the wealthiest part of Phoenix, mainly white. Has neighborhoods with big mansions such as the biltmore with arcadia. Has the nicest shopping areas in the state with very upscale department stores. I believe this part of PHX is so wealthy because it's the part of Phoenix that boarders Scottsdale and Paradise Valley which is the wealthiest town in Arizona.

There are plenty other sections of the city that have their own stereotypes within the different sides of town, I just sort of gave the extremely broad overview.
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Old 10-23-2015, 07:51 AM
 
Location: Washington County, PA
4,240 posts, read 4,883,670 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eschaton View Post
In Pittsburgh, cardinal directions do have distinct meanings, in both the city and the suburbs.

In the city, the term "East End" was historically used to describe a nexus of middle-to-upper-middle class neighborhoods, including Squirrel Hill, Point Breeze, and Shadyside. Virtually all of the city's gentrification and redevelopment has been concentrated in areas to the east of Downtown between the Allegheny and the Monongahela rivers, and the usage of "East End" has broadened over time as a result, so some neighborhoods which historically were never considered in the East End, like Lawrenceville, are now lumped in. Some go so far as to describe areas immediately adjacent to Downtown, like the Strip District, Uptown, and the Hill District, along with Oakland, as part of the East End, but this isn't the majority view. Still, East End implies upscale/gentrified/trendy areas somewhere in the East of the city.

There is a "West End" of the city, but it's not large, with only around 30,000 people in the dozen or so neighborhoods. Confusingly, although the term is used for the whole region (and a few independent boroughs outside the city, like Crafton and Ingram) there's also a neighborhood called West End, which is sometimes called West End Village to distinguish. It's basically known as the forgotten portion of the city, as most of the neighborhoods are built out in a suburban style and in some level of decline.

Pittsburgh has a "North Side" which comprises 18 neighborhoods, which vary dramatically in built style (from mid 1800s rowhouses to mid-century suburbia) and social class (from gentrified to lower-middle class to stone-cold ghetto). There is something of a regional identity. This portion of the city had an independent history as Old Allegheny City, and was forcibly annexed into Pittsburgh under questionable circumstances around the turn of the 20th century. People across all walks of life do find commonality in the belief that the North Side has been overshadowed by the East End ever since annexation, and that this portion of the city has repeatedly been given the short end of the stick (having, for example, some of the worst of the mid-20th century urban planning disasters). The local news also paints the region unfairly with a broad brush, as when a shooting happens, it is often reported as "shooting in North Side" rather than being in its particular neighborhood, leading suburbanites to believe the area is all crime-ridden and dangerous.

In the suburbs, it is common to refer to the suburbs to the north and south of the city as "North Hills" and "South Hills" respectively. There is little difference between them except that the North Hills are a bit newer construction overall, and tend to have more wealth. In my experience people from one tend to dislike the other more than either does the City. The eastern suburbs are not called the "East Hills" as that is the name of a (fairly dangerous) Pittsburgh neighborhood. There are also no West Hills.
Very accurate post.

One other point to raise, Pittsburgh has "tiers" when it comes to the southern side of the city.

First there is the Southside which is an very urban area (similar to Bourbon Street in New Orleans). It's nearly fully gentrified and has a diverse population. Southside is a very dense neighborhood with one of the largest strips of bars anywhere in the country.

Next comes the southern hilltop (southside slopes, Knoxville, Arlington, Mt Oliver, beltzhoover, etc.) This area is significantly different than Southside. It's (as suggested) isolated on top of a large hill and is rapidly declining. Half of the area is a full out ghetto with the other half quickly headding that way. This area was once like the south hills, but now contains some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city

The farthest tier out is the South hills (city). This area is the neighborhoods beyond Saw Mill Run Blvd (Brookline, Beechview, Banksville, Overbrook). This area is a long standing blue collar area, but starting to change. Beechview has Pittsburgh's largest hispanic population, and Brookline is handling some over the overflow of yuppies from the East End.
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Old 10-23-2015, 11:24 AM
 
Location: Katy,Texas
6,441 posts, read 4,005,007 times
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As Houston is way to big to generalize I decided I might just do my suburb which is roughly 180 square miles(50% is rural or Parkland George Bush Park and a lot of the George Bush area and fringes are considered Houston) and it is an unincorporated suburb so it is harder to generalize. https://www.google.com/search?q=KAty...sm=93&ie=UTF-8
Northeast Katy- Lower middle class suburbs, not as rich as the south side but not poor either. Everything North of I-ten but east of 99. This area is bustling and has many people moving in, it's demographics are roughly 20% African American, 25% White, 50% Hispanic and 5% Asian, this is of course rounded off to the nearest number. Average family income is about 50,000 per year. 100,000 people live here.

Southwest Katy- Upper middle class suburbs, pretty diverse area, like the north but with a lot more Asians, 5% African American, 60% White, 15% Asian. Doesn't have the richest neighborhood in Katy but has the newest and is the overall wealthiest region. Average Family income here is 150,000 per year. 90,000 people live here.

Southeast Katy- Has basically the same Demographics as SW Katy, but is not as wealthy here the average family income is about 110,000 per year. IT has roughly 80,000 people, and has middle class to upper middle class neighborhoods.

Northwest Katy/ Old Katy/Central Katy Oldest part of Katy, also is the biggest but most rural area, it roughly has 30,000 people. Although very rural since the city limits of Katy is here their are a few very rich areas but also a few lower middle class neighborhoods. Known for being the oldest and most "redneck" area of Katy. Average family income is $60,000. It is 55% White, 35% Hispanic, 5% Black, 5% Asian
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Old 10-23-2015, 12:38 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Morningside)
14,360 posts, read 16,866,636 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by speagles84 View Post
Very accurate post.

One other point to raise, Pittsburgh has "tiers" when it comes to the southern side of the city.

First there is the Southside which is an very urban area (similar to Bourbon Street in New Orleans). It's nearly fully gentrified and has a diverse population. Southside is a very dense neighborhood with one of the largest strips of bars anywhere in the country.

Next comes the southern hilltop (southside slopes, Knoxville, Arlington, Mt Oliver, beltzhoover, etc.) This area is significantly different than Southside. It's (as suggested) isolated on top of a large hill and is rapidly declining. Half of the area is a full out ghetto with the other half quickly headding that way. This area was once like the south hills, but now contains some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city

The farthest tier out is the South hills (city). This area is the neighborhoods beyond Saw Mill Run Blvd (Brookline, Beechview, Banksville, Overbrook). This area is a long standing blue collar area, but starting to change. Beechview has Pittsburgh's largest hispanic population, and Brookline is handling some over the overflow of yuppies from the East End.
Yeah, I realized after posting that I really left out discussing the Southern part of Pittsburgh. This was mostly on purpose, because there is no all-encompassing term for the non West End portions of the city south of the Monongahela. Even your tripartite breakdown misses Mount Washington and Duquense Heights. And the classification of Carrick is iffy - it's on the southern hilltop, and troubled, but as far south as Overbrook and Brookline - one of the outer tier of southern neighborhoods.
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Old 10-23-2015, 01:25 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
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Some regions of the SF Bay Area and what some people likely associate with them:

North Bay - wealthy residents (Marin County) and Wine Country (Sonoma and Napa Counties).
East Bay - diversity, working/middle class, suburban
South Bay - Sprawl, Silicon Valley, tech this, tech that, tech, tech, tech, tech


There is no "West Bay" which would be SF and the Peninsula.
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