I often hear in American media the ‘downtown’ area of a city being referenced. Does this mean the centre of the city where all the bars and so on are (analogous to the British ‘city centre’ or just ‘town’), or does it mean the opposite (I guess the equivalent of ‘upstate’ compared to the main part of the state)?
Thanks!
23 comments
Yes, the first one.
It’s basically the city center or wherever the most walkable part of the city with bars, restaurants, shops and other attractions are.
In major cities, downtown is usually the central business district where high rise office buildings, major government offices, and so on are.
You may still have what you’d call “high streets” throughout any major city. [Broad Ripple](https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8696495,-86.145194,3a,75y,71.22h,81.21t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s9BwikDUcjZeI3_-ith_HGQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3D9BwikDUcjZeI3_-ith_HGQ%26cb_client%3Dsearch.revgeo_and_fetch.gps%26w%3D96%26h%3D64%26yaw%3D272.06522%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192) in Indianapolis is a concentration of bars, restaurants and shops with its own main strip, but it is several miles outside of [downtown Indianapolis](https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7685519,-86.1572666,3a,75y,314.99h,100.12t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sgB-qCkZ4b2bz0jj-IAfycA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DgB-qCkZ4b2bz0jj-IAfycA%26cb_client%3Dsearch.revgeo_and_fetch.gps%26w%3D96%26h%3D64%26yaw%3D338.639%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192).
Downtown is a colloquial term for a central business district
“Downtown” is where most of the ‘good stuff’ in a city is–restaurants, bars, good hotels etc.
It can also be used for “[business] downtown” which is a different thing. That’s the area most of the business is conducted, along with all the restaurants and hotels that serve them, and it would be lively by day and pretty deserted by night.
Usually the central business district or oldest part of the city.
In the St. Louis metro sub/exurbanites will lump the entire city as downtown oddly.
It’s usually the central business district.
It’s usually the main business district.
In NYC, downtown (Manhattan) refers to the southern part of Manhattan. It can be a direction or it can be specifically the financial district.
This is distinguished from mid-town, typically 23rd to 59th Street (some would start at 14th Street). This includes the shopping district around Herald Square as well as the theater district around Times Square.
I don’t know of any other cities that make distinctions similar to that of NYC.
Downtown means city center, except in weird places like Butte Montana where uptown means city center, because that’s where it is geographically and the town is on a fairly steep hill
Downtown is the administrative part of the city. Financial businesses, government buildings, etc.
Because of the 9-5 nature of a lot of these jobs, this also means that a district of bars and other entertainment sprout up right by.
So yeah, your first guess is pretty spot on.
It’s usually the city center/business district.
It’s across the Fisher.
Downtowns are just the densest part of a city with the largest buildings. Small towns can have “downtowns” where most of the shops, government buildings, maybe some apartment buildings, etc are.
In a larger city it’s where the skyscrapers are, usually office buildings and apartment high rises but there are all sorts of uses for a skyscraper. Doesn’t usually have a ton to do with nightlife or shopping districts, they might be in or near downtown they might not. Large cities have lots of different pockets of stuff like that spread all around town.
NYC is sort of an exception. It’s so large that there isn’t just one “downtown area” like most cities. Uptown, midtown, and downtown do literally refer to the north, middle, and southern portions of Manhattan Island. Other boroughs like Brooklyn and Queens also have their own downtown areas that would be large cities in their own right.
Here in Philly the preferred name of downtown is “Center City.” Dunno why, I expect it goes back to the origins of the plan that William Penn had when he designed the first blocks. There’s an uptown that refers to a part of North Philadelphia.
Agreed with the business district. Often times there’s a concentration of consumer businesses like restaurants, bars, clubs, and such nearby. Mostly you’d look at the largest collection of tall buildings and recognize it as downtown. Not sure about a city like NYC, though.
The place where all the hot girls are at.
Yes. Downtown is the city center.
>I guess the equivalent of ‘upstate’ compared to the main part of the state
“Upstate” is very specific to New York an it refers to the rural part of the state which is both north and up the Hudson River from New York City. Some other states may have a region referred to locally as “upstate” but if so I’m not aware of it.
This relationship of being up river or down river is probably also where “downtown” comes from. Manhattan in New York City is a long north south island and the center of the largest city in the country since it’s founding. The area of the city both south and down river from the rest is “downtown” and the area to the north an up river is “up town” with “mid town” in between.
Boston has a rival claim to being the origin of the term “downtown” probably for the same reason: The dense city center was downriver from rest of the city. This coincidence that two of the oldest and largest cities in the country that most immigrants came through both called their city centers “downtown” is probably why the term was picked up and used of every other city and town regardless of geography.
It refers to the CBD (central business district) or city center. The term likely originates from New York City, where the southern tip of Manhattan is where the city has always been densest and busiest. So “down” (meaning South, or possibly downriver) town Manhattan became associated with the CBD. This is in comparison to Midtown and Uptown, which are the middle and Northern parts of Manhattan island.
Now “downtown” refers to any CBD in a city. So downtown Chicago is the inner loop by the lake, downtown Boston is the peninsula between the Charles and the harbor, and downtown Los Angeles is the area between the 10, the 110, and the 5 freeways.
Downtown is usually just where the bulk of business is done. It’s doesn’t have to literally be southern part of the city, though in the case of NYC it’s literally the southern part of Manhattan.
It’s the main business district.
In my mind, it’s usually the area with the highest density of buildings. It’s usually a few square miles, but smaller cities will generally have a “downtown” area that is a few blocks. They’ll also often be where the original settlement was before the surrounding city was built out, so it’s often much older than anything else around it.
For comparison, here is a series of downtown areas in my region that are drastically different but still considered downtown:
– [Downtown Gilbert](https://www.google.com/maps/@33.3560431,-111.7897372,3a,75y,250.1h,85.37t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sUUZgExqf6aFH22Q-qna3bA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DUUZgExqf6aFH22Q-qna3bA%26cb_client%3Dsearch.revgeo_and_fetch.gps%26w%3D96%26h%3D64%26yaw%3D92.46193%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192) is comparatively small compared to most downtown areas, but it’s a higher density of buildings than the surrounding city. Its downtown area is mostly restaurants and bars
– [Downtown Scottsdale](https://www.google.com/maps/@33.5023582,-111.9261838,3a,60y,305.02h,82.02t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sbnTQlcpo6SHd_q_pajIjHQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192) is about 10 miles northwest and is bigger in both area and in buildings. You start seeing denser residential and retail, as well as office buildings
– As a bonus, a mile south is the “old” downtown area called [Oldtown Scottsdale](https://www.google.com/maps/@33.4929846,-111.926179,3a,60y,40.95h,87.57t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sqScBW2mAFvfSwAAsxF4AvQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192). This is mostly retail and bars
– [Downtown Tempe](https://www.google.com/maps/@33.4243262,-111.9401489,3a,60y,139.01h,94.16t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sn7DV3yPIznFGllO4-5cveg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656) is about 5 miles south of Scottsdale and is a quickly urbanizing city. There are 10+ story buildings going up all over the place. A ton of office space, a ton of denser residential (thanks to ASU, for the most part), and then a bunch of ground floor restaurants, bars, and retail. This is one of my favorite places.
– And finally, [Downtown Phoenix](https://www.google.com/maps/@33.4514607,-112.0738466,3a,60y,160.72h,105.47t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1spXFINiFKxsWuTVFOG48hlg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192) is about 8 miles northwest of Tempe and is much denser with a lot of skyscrapers, stadiums, entertainment venues, etc. You’ll see a ton of dense residential and office space along with restaurants, bars, and retail to support it. However, it’s not really where everyone goes when they want to eat or go to a bar. That’s usually a few miles north of downtown or in Scottsdale or Tempe (both downtown and the surrounding suburbs)
So as you can see, “downtown” really runs the gauntlet from “small, semi dense area with lots of bars” to “very urban, central business district”. And that’s all within about a 30 minute drive of each other.
“Downtown” refers to the innermost, most urbanized part of a city. They tend to be dominated by businesses rather than residences, are where city government buildings are located, and are usually the oldest part of the city.
I’ve never been to London but I would say that both Westminster and the City of London (and probably other surrounding neighborhoods) have claim to be its “downtown.”
“Upstate” is sometimes used to mean a more rural and less urban part of a state, but only if that area is actually to the north, e.g. nobody would call Peoria “upstate Illinois.” In fact, it’s almost only ever used in reference to New York.
For large cities, there is mostly just tall buildings there and the area is often quiet after work hours. Nightlife is usually concentrated around specific neighborhoods or streets that are often not in downtown, although they can be, especially if a sports or concert venue is nearby and an event is happening. Many of those ARE in the true “downtown”.
For small or medium cities, the nightlife and daylife are generally congregated in downtown, and most or all of the other neighborhoods are primarily residential.
If you actually live in the city it means the central business district.
If you live in the suburbs then often people mean any urban, walkable parts of the city.