Best Atlanta Neighborhood 2023, 1st round: (6) Edgewood vs. (11) Adair Park

As part of ongoing Best of Atlanta 2023 coverage, Urbanize’s third-annual Best Atlanta Neighborhood tournament is kicking off with 16 places vying for the prestige of being called the city’s greatest. (Note: Seeding from 1 to 16 was determined by reader nominations this month—so no pitchforks, please.)

For each Round 1 contest, voting will be open for just 24 hours. Please, let’s keep the tourney fun and positive, as one neighborhood rises above the rest in very public fashion. The eliminations begin now!

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(6) Edgewood

Making its first tournament appearance since an early exit in 2021 (thanks to juggernaut Mozley Park), Edgewood garnered enough nominations this year to slip into a comfortable No. 6 seed. Which seems fitting for a neighborhood that counts a comforting, constantly evolving food destination like El Tesoro—and, as of February this year, mega-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 (above) 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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(11) Adair Park

Returning to the Best Atlanta Neighborhood tourney this year—following a valiant Final Four performance in 2021—is none other than Adair Park, a historic Southwest Atlanta community that’s been a darling for BeltLine-spurred investment (and displacement) for the better part of a decade. Realtor.com pegs the median home listing price at $475,000 in Adair Park these days, but that still represents a discount over many intown places with comparable perks and charm.  

This year, Adair Park welcomed back the BeltLine Lantern Parade—and a new Switchyards location that transformed a previously dilapidated space at Academy Lofts Adair Park (formerly George W. Adair School). Another local adaptive-reuse project with a coworking component, CreateATL, gained footing as a collaboration space for hatching big ideas. Adair Park pulled off one of the biggest upsets in tourney history in 2021, toppling mighty Midtown. Could ’23 bring a repeat march toward glory? We’ll see.