As part of ongoing Best of Atlanta 2022 coverage, Urbanize’s second-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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CAPITOL VIEW (2)

The 1924 former Masons building on Capitol View's Metropolitan Avenue, located about a block south of the Beltline corridor. Vantage Realty Partners/Ten-X Commercial/CoStar

Highest home sale of 2022: $595K, for a revived 1920s bungalow a block from the BeltLine

Lowest: $200K, for a three-bedroom fixer-upper

Median sales price decrease year-over-year: 7 percent (November)

As one of two Best Atlanta Neighborhood contestants this year with direct Southside Trail access, Capitol View has not surprisingly undergone recent changes both small and large, but its abundant greenspace and enviable old housing stock remains. On Sylvan Road there’s Triton Yards, a food truck park where nobody’s counting calories (thankfully), while up the road RangeWater Real Estate’s rising The Vivian project promises to bring hundreds of new residents to the Capitol View mix. Also in 2022, a 58-unit affordable housing venture broke ground in the shadow of a MARTA station, while another new building with throwback vibes aims to add workforce housing along Metropolitan Parkway.

As nominator Courtney put it last week: “Capitol View/Capitol View Manor is a secret gem of the city. Easy access to all parts of metro Atlanta, BeltLine, a cozy community, [with] active community members. It is home to the new Vivian development, the Atlanta Music Project, Perkerson Park (which has the largest disc golf courses in the city), some of Atlanta’s most beautiful historic homes, and so much more!!”

This tourney has zero criteria, of course, but that certainly sounds like the makings of a top neighborhood.

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EAST ATLANTA (15)

The new Marbut building's balconies, storefronts, and Art Moderne detailing in East Atlanta Village. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Highest home sale of 2022: $925K, for a modern-style four-bedroom with 3,600 square feet

Lowest: $289K, for a 1950s fixer-upper  

Median sales price increase year-over-year: .3 percent (November)

Infill was the order of the day this year in East Atlanta Village, where townhome projects that had claimed vacant lots were completely scooped up by buyers (adding dozens of residents and customers to the Village), while thoughtful mixed-use building The Marbut came together and other commercial spaces were filled. (Another Pellerin Real Estate project next to Argosy restaurant and bar promises to continue the infill trend soon.) Elsewhere in EAV, a roadway realignment and (skinny) bike-lane installation where Glenwood and Moreland avenues meet should have been cause for a parade, given the intersection’s previous condition.

The year wasn’t without losses on the food front, as Delia’s Chicken Sausage Stand nearby on Moreland and now longstanding Happy Donuts have bowed out. But EAV’s first traditional food hall, the Southern Feed Store, gained its footing on Glenwood Avenue this year (after opening just before NYE in 2021), while a swanky Starbucks is planned for a former Long John Silver’s, a vacant eyesore. So, all in all, a fine year for this funky, spunky neighborhood where painting churches black and likening homes to mulleted hipsters is roundly applauded.

Now, please cast a vote below!