Curbed Cup Elite Eight: (16) Inner Sunset vs. (8) The Mission

[Mission photo via Patricia Chang/Inner Sunset photo via Paul Churcher]

The Inner Sunset isn't all fog and the N Judah. This neighborhood hosts a bunch of undervalued but awesome parks with some pretty killer views. The bustling commercial district on 9th Avenue has some new housing and restaurants moving in, while the Doelger Sales Office on Judah recently got some landmark love. Things are pretty active over in Golden Gate Park too, as The Academy of Science got the ok to expand its restaurant and the De Young hosted an exhibit on some very swanky bling. But who are we kidding, that fog can be pretty awful.

It's impossible to sum up the explosive change the Mission has experienced in 2013 in one paragraph, but we'll try. There are new condos going up monthly, which makes the neighborhood very appealing to new demographics. It's the district everyone wants to live and dine in, so much so that the city's even considered banning new restaurants from opening along gentrification-happy Valencia Street. New condos sell like hotcakes, and weird entertainment venues continue to try to open up shop. Many people who have lived in the neighborhood for more than five minutes are justifiably concerned about the rapid change the neighborhood's experiencing, and only time will tell how well the 'hood will embrace and hold onto the character its historically known for.