The Curbed Cup, Curbed Atlanta's annual Neighborhood of the Year tournament, launches right now. Slotting was determined by preliminary voting (apologies to East Atlanta, downtown, etc. but no one nominated you). Each 'hood squares off in a series of one-on-one matchups. Voting for each contest will be open for 24 hours. We'll showcase two first-round contests per day through the week with results reviewed on Friday. Let the eliminations begin!

OLD FOURTH WARD:

The #1-seeded Old Fourth Ward pulled twice as many nominations as its nearest rival (and neighbor), Inman Park. And why not? No place in Atlanta is undergoing such seismic, exciting change at the moment. The 17-acre namesake park and Eastside Trail have been obvious catalysts for life-injecting development, to include Ponce City Market and more than 1,000 apartments and townhomes. Elsewhere, the steady rejuvenation of Edgewood Avenue as a true dining/nightlife destination continues; proactive measures to revitalize Boulevard are ongoing; and the city's first streetcar loop will soon wend through O4W's southwestern flank. One drawback: some clearly blighted pockets of the community are still too crime-ridden.

GLENWOOD PARK:

Edging into this year's tournament at #16 is Glenwood Park. Opened in 2005, the almost-finished community echoes the architecture of Charleston and low-rise New York City, emphasizing walkability and "quality over quantity." The former brownfield site has been lauded for setting the green-development standard not just in Atlanta — but across Georgia. Detractors have called Glenwood Park too urban plan-y, but there's nothing disingenuous about the addition of Kevin Gillespie's heralded Gunshow restaurant this year, and a pending Beltline extension that's set to link the neighborhood to Piedmont Park.