2016 Curbed Cup 1st round results! Viz Valley trounces Yerba Buena

The first round of voting in the 2016 Curbed Cup is over, and in a somewhat shocking twist, the no. 16 seed—Viz Valley—skyrocketed to victory over the no. 1 seed, Yerba Buena. While the latter has so much going for it, development- and headline-wise, Visitacion, the former, a neighborhood full of families and comparatively reasonable housing stock, proved a formidable victor.

“Leland Avenue has been revived, the library is beautiful, and the Schrader Lock development may finally get done,” says neighborhood resident Flo'Mer Williams. “Visitation Valley is a neighborhood on the move.”

And move it did, right past one of the most talked-about ‘hoods of the year. An underdog story for the ages.

In two other less stunning but still somewhat surprising results, Hayes Valley beat out nascent Mission Bay. Never count out precious architecture. And Noe Valley clobbered SoMa. Never count out the power of the stroller set.

Otherwise, the match-ups went down as expected: Castro took out Bernal Heights with ease. Beach-tinged Outer Sunset beat out tony Presidio Heights. Nob Hill towered over Chinatown. Inner Richmond proved more accessible than the Tendernob. And finally, former Curbed Cup champ Bayview upset the another former Curbed Cup victor, the Excelsior.

The next round of voting is about to get way more interesting. Elite Eight voting will begin next Monday, December 19; may the best neighborhood(s) proceed!