The Curbed Cup, our annual award for the neighborhood of the year, is kicking off with 8 or 16 neighborhoods vying for the prestigious (fake) trophy. Let the eliminations commence!

Uptown

The united Uptown neighborhood cruised through the first two rounds of voting, but it will have to overcome Woodlawn—the only remaining South Side neighborhood on the bracket—to advance to the final. In many ways, Uptown is the perfect representation of what a Chicago neighborhood should be—it’s densely populated, affordable, diverse, and close to the lakefront. There’s a reason why Uptown always does well in the Curbed Cup, and that is that its residents are almost fanatical about their love for their neighborhood. Will Uptown claim yet another Curbed Cup?

Woodlawn

In the first two rounds of Curbed Cup voting, Woodlawn defeated two mighty and popular neighborhoods—the Loop and neighboring West Loop. Woodlawn is having a moment and a Curbed Cup win would be the icing on the cake. However, the neighborhood is really going to have to come together to beat Uptown. And while the Obama Presidential Center is expected to be a major shot in the arm, perhaps the story of Shrine of Christ the King is representative of the neighborhood. It is getting a new lease on life through an outpouring of support. Will Woodlawn be able to translate the love its been getting into a Curbed Cup victory?

But the final decision is up to you: vote now for which neighborhood you think should advance to the finals.