As part of ongoing Best of Atlanta 2023 coverage, Urbanize’s third-annual Best Atlanta Neighborhood tournament kicked off last week with 16 places vying for the prestige of being called the city’s greatest.

Now, for each Elite Eight contest, voting will be open until noon on Tuesday, allowing anyone time to chime in who’s currently traveling or enduring their family. Please, let’s keep the tourney fun and positive, as one neighborhood rises above the rest in very public fashion. The quest to crown a champion resumes now!

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(6) Edgewood

Plans for La France Street retail at the corner of Hanover Edgewood nearest the MARTA station. Hanover Company

In its first tourney appearance since an early exit in 2021, Edgewood bumped Adair Park out of contention in first round action this week.

Edgewood’s comfortable No. 6 seed is fitting for a neighborhood that counts a comforting, constantly evolving food destination like El Tesoro—and, as of February this year, sandwich emporium and cocktail bar Bona Fide Deluxe, the latter born from underused MARTA parking lots. Other significant changes in 2023 saw a nearly 700-home project gain its footing along Edgewood’s northern rim, replacing a pie factory, while PATH Foundation’s full Eastside Trolley Trail came to be, at last. Not all was rosy in ’23, however, as a patch of pricey duplexes came to market where missing-middle housing advocates had hoped to see nearly 50 relatively cheap residences sprout. On a brighter note for urbanists, a creative residential project called Finley Street Cottages showed what’s possible when underused land, home renovations, and ADUs meet.

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(14) Hapeville

Courtesy of City of Hapeville

Tournament newbie Hapeville is off to a roaring start after trouncing “West Midtown” in the first round, capturing 66 percent of more than 1,200 votes. (Yes, ITP cities are allowed in the tournament, as always.)  

No wonder. In recent years, historic and artsy Hapeville has emerged as the darling of south ITP growth, owing in no small part to its next-door proximity to the world’s busiest airport and Porsche’s North American Headquarters, among other factors. And for a city of less than 7,000 people, it’s also a fiercely proud, neighborly place. This year saw Hapeville add a nifty public greenspace and splash pad fed by natural springs. Just a few blocks from the city’s charming downtown, Porsche’s second phase debuted in 2023 with a new 1.3-mile handling circuit that’s nothing short of exhilarating. Elsewhere, the thoughtful remake of a 1950s gas station came alive, while Hapeville’s residential explosion continued with projects such as Signal and Serenity.