The Curbed Cup, our award to the San Francisco neighborhood of the year, is kicking off with 16 'hoods competing for a glorious JPEG of an illustrated trophy. This week we'll have two matchups per day, and all the results and full tournament bracket will be reviewed on Friday. Voting for each pairing ends in the wee hours the next morning. Let the eliminations commence!
[Photos: BRIGHTERFASTER via Sergio/stroller_parking via Noe Valley, SF]
Like we said last year, Hayes Valley has "gone through several rounds of rehab to get where it is today." Further proof that its gentrification has no plans to slow down: The news that the Hayes Valley Farm needs to pack up shop and move so that condos can be developed. There's the Proxy Project, which one of the many reasons San Francisco's foodies are flocking to the pop-up installment. And as Nicole Grant put it in her People's Guide to Hayes Valley, "if you live here, you will reside in a shoebox, shop too much, and order in all of the time - and you'll love it."
Noe Valley didn't see a good amount of rampant development or booming business this year. The simple reason that it's competing in the 2011 Curbed Cup is that a good amount of San Franciscans really want to live there. Its residential real estate usually ends up in bidding wars, and properties are often sold for above the asking price, even if there's a pool in the living room. 24th Street's shops and restaurants continue to lure folks to it from both the neighborhood and beyond. Perhaps its popularity is based on its warm climate, or that it's centrally located in a highly desirable part of the city.
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