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!

…

(8) Cascade Heights

The commercial renovation project in Cascade Heights that includes celebrated restaurant Oreatha's At The Point. Google Maps

Let’s have a warm welcome for Cascade Heights, a bastion of history spanning from the Civil War to the civil rights movement that scored enough nominations to make its Best Atlanta Neighborhood tourney debut this year. Known for its lush tree canopy, abundant greenspace, golf courses, and housing stock ranging from cutesy bungalows to estates on broad gated lots, Cascade Heights is situated southwest of downtown Atlanta, near Interstate 285. It lays claim to Atlanta’s only waterfall, which is just one highlight of the gorgeous, ITP nature fix that is 135-acre Cascade Springs Nature Preserve. On the commercial side, Cascade Heights’ The Point redevelopment—a cluster of refurbished buildings and hangout spaces at the intersection of Cascade Road and Benjamin E. Mays Drive—has rounded into shape nicely in recent years. The buzziest tenant there has to be Oreatha’s at The Point, a celebrated soul food spot by Chef Deborah VanTrece, a best-selling author and founder of the VanTrece Hospitality Group.

…

(9) Cabbagetown 

Cabbagetown's mix of colorful bungalows and reclaimed industrial properties, just east of downtown. Shutterstock

Cabbagetown might be Atlanta’s undisputed per-capita PBR consumption champion, but it’s never managed to collect enough pre-tourney nominations to actually make the Best Atlanta Neighborhood showdown. (Are those two facts related? Probably.) That’s all changed in 2023, with C-town sliding into a comfy No. 9 seed after another year of… well, just generally being awesome. For starters, this year saw Krog Street Tunnel’s chronic flooding (and left-turn) headaches finally be addressed, while a celebrity real estate flipper swooped into the neighborhood and finally landed a buyer for an eye-popping Cabbagetown condo renovation. The Chomp & Stomp festival, meanwhile, continued its post-COVID run of excellence in November. Cabbagetown is known for having a big heart, but could its small stature hold it back, now that it’s finally make this hallowed contest? Only time (and votes) will tell.