Curbed Cup 1st Round: (3) Inman Park vs. (6) Midtown

The Curbed Cup, Curbed Atlanta's annual Neighborhood of the Year tournament, showcases eight seeds vying for our sacred fake trophy. Voting for each contest is open for 24 hours. After two lopsided contests earlier this week, we predict a neck-and-neck affair with this one. Today, the bracket pits reigning Curbed Cup 2011 champ Inman Park against Midtown. Let the eliminations begin!

INMAN PARK:
Atlanta's first planned suburb has emerged from the depths of 1960s decrepitude to gain mention as one of America's loveliest residential neighborhoods. It's a hilly, leafy showcase of jaw-dropping Victorians and smart bungalows, hugged by other desirable nabes, convenient arteries to downtown Atlanta and the Beltline's Eastside Trail. Home to a sampling of Atlanta's best restaurants (both Rathbun complexes, Sotto Sotto, etc.) Inman Park's food and bar scene is burgeoning, with further change promised by the (controversial) 280 Elizabeth St. project, which would transform IP's commercial heart. What's more, the neighborhood holds the sacred Curbed Cup 2011 fake trophy. One downside: Standalone-home costs in the land of the black-and-yellow butterfly are rather astronomical.

MIDTOWN:
The 30,000 residents of Atlanta's second largest business district, Midtown, will tell you it's the easiest neighborhood to live a true metropolitan existence, free of gasoline. Midtown hosts a robust dining and nightlife roster, the High Museum and the city's crown-jewel greenspace, the criminally underrated Piedmont Park. In 2011, Creative Loafing deftly summarized Midtown's metamorphosis as such: "No part of the city has evolved more dramatically over the past two decades...Impersonal office buildings, imposing parking decks and cold asphalt arteries have given way to high-rise living and an explosion of street life...Where once there was a wasteland, now there are great restaurants, groceries, specialty shops, townhouses, lofts and ... people." Despite an upswing in sales, some believe Midtown remains overbuilt, which could make ownership here a risk.