Riverside-Avondale one of the years 10 great neighborhoods

Citing Riverside-Avondale’s historic residential properties and abundant parks, the American Planning Association named the area one of the year’s 10 great neighborhoods.

“We’re looking for outcomes: This is what can happen with good planning,” association spokesman Denny Johnson said. “It was pretty easy to see this was an outstanding neighborhood. It had a lot of the quality and characteristics that make it worthy of the designation.”

The neighborhood, which the city has named a historic district, features a mix of architecture, including the Prairie Style rarely seen in this part of the country.

One of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the city also contains a diversity of people, said Stephen Tocknell, a Jacksonville planner who suggested the neighborhood to the American Planning Association.

“There’s some very wealthy houses in the midst of very affordable houses,” said Tocknell, chairman of the local planning association. “A neighborhood won’t thrive and prosper if it doesn’t accept diversity.”

Since the American Planning Association began identifying great places three years ago, it has given 40 neighborhoods the designation, including Park Slope in Brooklyn and Pike Place Market in Seattle.

Read more...

Riverside-Avondale Real Estate