Favored Quarters

[TJ in Oregon]

Cleveland: The favored quarter is definitely, although perhaps unexpectedly, the east. This was always the old money part of town with the ornate gilded age mansions. The Heights are the suburban extension of this, complete with their own century old mansions. What is strange about this is that the Southeast and Northeast are the least favored quarters, and that the east side of the city of Cleveland proper is in pretty unfortunate shape these days, so it may mask the fact that the east side is the favored quarter. The remains of the favored quarter are now something more like a wedge between the poorest parts of the city. The west side, which has the reputation of having more stable neighborhoods, was always a working class part of town and mostly remains a stable working class area, albeit with some gentrification in the inner and lakefront areas.

Madison: The favored quarter is unambiguously the west (though not including the southwest). The least favored quarters are the south, and to a lesser extent the north.

Portland: The favored quarter is the southwest, although there are favored patches on all sides of the city. But the West Hills provides such a clear natural advantage to the West that this should be pretty predictable. The least favored quarter historically has been the north, but the north is slowly being gentrified and the far southeast is declining.

[TJ in Oregon]

Cleveland: The favored quarter is definitely, although perhaps unexpectedly, the east. This was always the old money part of town with the ornate gilded age mansions. The Heights are the suburban extension of this, complete with their own century old mansions. What is strange about this is that the Southeast and Northeast are the least favored quarters, and that the east side of the city of Cleveland proper is in pretty unfortunate shape these days, so it may mask the fact that the east side is the favored quarter. The remains of the favored quarter are now something more like a wedge between the poorest parts of the city. The west side, which has the reputation of having more stable neighborhoods, was always a working class part of town and mostly remains a stable working class area, albeit with some gentrification in the inner and lakefront areas.

Claire Malone describes the West-East divide beautifully in A Tale of Two Suburbs

Reading that makes me miss Cleveland. Although I lived in Cleveland Heights, in the favored quarter, I was always more culturally in tuned to the lawn ornaments white ethnic Catholic crowd on the West side. I miss the processions, parades, restaurants, and civic events just thinking about it. Shake Heights/Cleveland Heights is an amazingly beautiful place even if I could never quite fit its politics.

On a sidenote back to this thread, it really is quite the stark boundary where the southern edge of the favored quarter ends; you go from burnt out apartment buildings to mansions with manicured lawns in a single block in some places. As that article mentioned in passing, Shaker Heights even built a wall on its southern border. Meanwhile the northern edge of the favored quarter, as you head towards the Cleveland Heights/East Cleveland border has some clear shifts in various locations but is generally more blurred than its southern counterpart.

Portland: The favored quarter is the southwest, although there are favored patches on all sides of the city. But the West Hills provides such a clear natural advantage to the West that this should be pretty predictable. The least favored quarter historically has been the north, but the north is slowly being gentrified and the far southeast is declining.

You could say Portland’s favorite quarter extends into Lake Oswego, and arguably across the West Hills into unincorporated Washington County within the urban growth boundary. I can anecdotally second your observations about North Portland and the far Southeast, although most of the stories I hear about SE Portland have to do with the more gentrfied/whiter inner part, west of 82nd Ave.

Yeah, I would say in Portland the gentrification border is also somewhat blurred, but you can see a shift between SE 60th or so to SE 82nd around most cross streets. NE 82nd has some roughness around the edges but is mostly gentrified these days. A quick jaunt around SE 82nd near Flavel or Crystal Springs can be a different kind of eye opening experience.

[TJ in Oregon]

Cleveland: The favored quarter is definitely, although perhaps unexpectedly, the east. This was always the old money part of town with the ornate gilded age mansions. The Heights are the suburban extension of this, complete with their own century old mansions. What is strange about this is that the Southeast and Northeast are the least favored quarters, and that the east side of the city of Cleveland proper is in pretty unfortunate shape these days, so it may mask the fact that the east side is the favored quarter. The remains of the favored quarter are now something more like a wedge between the poorest parts of the city. The west side, which has the reputation of having more stable neighborhoods, was always a working class part of town and mostly remains a stable working class area, albeit with some gentrification in the inner and lakefront areas.

Claire Malone describes the West-East divide beautifully in A Tale of Two Suburbs

Portland: The favored quarter is the southwest, although there are favored patches on all sides of the city. But the West Hills provides such a clear natural advantage to the West that this should be pretty predictable. The least favored quarter historically has been the north, but the north is slowly being gentrified and the far southeast is declining.

You could say Portland’s favorite quarter extends into Lake Oswego, and arguably across the West Hills into unincorporated Washington County within the urban growth boundary. I can anecdotally second your observations about North Portland and the far Southeast, although most of the stories I hear about SE Portland have to do with the more gentrfied/whiter inner part, west of 82nd Ave.

Parma is on the South side, The western suburbs include Rocky River/ Lakewood which are also relatively UMC and upscale although its more of a new-money type.

There are definitely some upper middle class suburbs on both sides of the city, though Lakewood is more mixed than really upper class. No one really uses the phrase "South Side" except to describe Tremont itself (which is simultaneously consider to be on the Near West Side), or perhaps the Cuyahoga Valley. Cleveland is very East/West centric.