San Antonio Districts (Houston, New Braunfels, San Marcos: neighborhoods, university, income) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

maxus40 · 04-19-2007, 12:11 AM

All it takes is to watch the local news. Any on-the-scene reports have notoriously refered to locations in which news takes place as a "side" of town. For instance: "Murder on the Northside", "Reporting from the Westside", etc.

My point is that San Antonio has become a large enough city that, refering to a "side" of the city generally means it could be anywhere. The Northside can pertain to an area anywhere from IH10 to the west Loop 410 to the south, IH 35 to the east and maybe 1604 on the north. That is a huge expanse of the city and to refer to a specific location should not be as general as such.

I would like to start to point out certain smaller areas of the city as districts so that locations can be made specific to a part of the city.

San Antonio is not a small town anymore and it seems more fitting to places like New Braunfels or San Marcos to be calling any location there a "side" of town.

I would like to map out S.A. so that we can be get a better idea of where we live within the city.

An example would be that if someone asks you where you live and you say the Northside (too general for a populated area of over 400,000), you can now say something more specific like perhaps the "North Star district" or "Encino" or "Colonies North" or "Shavano". Through time (years) we can become familiar with these districts as a whole and comprehend a specific area.

Other major cities have used these identities which add a certain uniqueness and sense of place in an area in which they live. Houston has: Midtown, Montrose, Rice, University, Museum district, just to name a few.

As a collective effort please help me to sort out areas in which you live in S.A. and we'll map out these places for future reference.

More later.

Thanks,

Maxus40

smuboy86 · 04-19-2007, 12:20 AM

That's why I always say Alamo Heights even though I'm a few streets east of N. New Braunfels and a street north of Terrell Hills. I'm still an '09er forever and always.

Insomniac · 04-19-2007, 02:00 AM

I would think that the north side, south side westside, east side are districts themselves in the same manor as Chicago and how they have the South side and North side, etc.

However, if you\'d like to see the citys official lay out of neighborhoods/districts in San Antonio, here you go.

http://www.sanantonio.gov/planning/p...d/0704GJ01.pdf

maxus40 · 04-19-2007, 07:55 AM

thats the idea smuboy. sometimes even "09 district" can apply.

slaleman · 04-19-2007, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Insomniac

I would think that the north side, south side westside, east side are districts themselves in the same manor as Chicago and how they have the South side and North side, etc.

However, if you\'d like to see the citys official lay out of neighborhoods/districts in San Antonio, here you go.

http://www.sanantonio.gov/planning/p...d/0704GJ01.pdf

But Chicago has much more distinctive neighborhoods as anyone who has ever lived there can tell you. No one in Chicago refers to anything as "Northside" or "Southside" unless you're talking about the Cubs and Sox.

For example, on Chicago's north side, there is Lincoln Park, Bucktown, Uptown, Lakeview, Lakeview East, Rogers Park, Wicker Park, Wrigleyville, Gold Coast, etc., etc., etc. Each of those neighborhoods has its own distinctive flavor and vibe. Many of the neighborhoods developed around pockets of immigrants who all lived in one particular area. Many of those pockets still exist, but many are changing too.

The big difference between Chicago and San Antonio is that these neighborhoods have existed for decades and each neighborhood has it's own identity...certain income groups, certain ethnic groups, and so on. You can make generalizations about someone based on where they live. Most of the people who live in Lincoln Park are young, and have well paying jobs because Lincoln Park is one of the most trendy, expensive neighborhoods in the city. If you live in Wicker Park, you're probably more into the arts. Gold Coast, old money.

You could make some of those generalizations about the older areas of San Antonio, but as it continues to expand, it's harder to keep track....and according to that map, I don't live in a neighborhood at all because there's not a registered neighborhood association where I live.

ShaneSA · 04-19-2007, 09:11 PM

I live in Bohemian Alamo Heights. Better known as Mehncke Park. It's 09 but I always say it s the poor end of Alamo Heights. It's in SA, but everyone thinks becaue your zip is 09, it's Alamo Heights. I always have to explain it's NOT Alamo Heights.