There are two questions that college students ask each other from the time we step on campus as freshmen to the time we graduate: “What’s your major?” and “Where are you from?” We ask these questions because the answers to them will give us a quick glimpse into the personality of the person we have just met, the first clues we have to finding out how different or similar our backgrounds and interests may be. Okay, so maybe admitting that I’m an English major may identify me as someone who enjoys reading, but what does being from Chicago or Miami or Boise, Idaho, say about me?
Whether good or bad, where you live says a lot about who you are. And although it is never a good idea to base your opinion of people solely on information like residence, the implied connotations that accompany knowledge of a specific location are our most useful tool for identifying other people’s possible interests and experiences. Being from Indiana might identify you as a Colts fan, being from Los Angeles might imply that you are perpetually tanned or hailing from Buffalo, N.Y., means that you know what snow really is. We ask people where they’re from so we can attempt to get an idea not only of where they have been, but also of where they are going.
Outside of your home environment, region gives people broad clues to your personality. But within your own city limits, these clues get much more specific, and it is the neighborhood that makes all the difference. If your city is what identifies you when you leave home, your neighborhood is what identifies you with when you are home. Vanderbilt students who are natives of large cities like New York, Chicago, Boston or Houston already know the cultural significance of neighborhoods where words like “South Side,” “uptown” or “downtown” can allow people to often accurately guess your political opinions, income or even profession.
The urban neighborhood is often negatively described as barrier between intra-city communication, separating people by income, ethnicity or religious beliefs. While this is something that should not be discounted, there is also a huge amount of good that comes from neighborhood identification. The reason behind why you live where you live is often the reason why you love where you live. Neighborhood pride brings strength to the entire city, because it encourages people to care for and improve their area, making it a place they want to stay.
A big part of urban neighborhood identification has to do with nicknames. Residents of cities like New York and Chicago know all about the nickname game, with areas like “SoHo,” “the Loop” and “Tribeca” among the more famous monikers. Nashville is currently undergoing a neighborhood identification encouragement, with new nicknames springing up seemingly overnight. The area around 12th Avenue downtown is now known as “The Gulch,” home to trendy restaurants such as Sambuca and Rusan’s. The area cut off by the north end of I-65 is now being referred to by developers as “Uptown,” although many residents of the area feel it should be called “the North End.” Residents of East Nashville are trying to reinvent that part of the city’s reputation as low-income and generally undesirable to both historic and hip. In 1999, the Rediscover East! Organization was launched to improve the housing, schools and businesses of the area, as well as decrease crime and poverty. Since then, the historic East End of East Nashville has been specifically marketed as up-and-coming, with approximately 40 property updates in that area alone. The East End contains in it the 5-Points shopping district, home to restaurants like Café Margot and shops like the Gardens of Babylon. In the case of Rediscover East!, giving a name to something is the first step to seeing it change.
Although the residents of Nashville neighborhoods like the Gulch or the East End may not ever get the same nationwide recognition as the NYC residents of Tribeca and SoHo, they should always be able to match them in urban pride. So the next time someone asks you where you live in Nashville, tell them: “I live in the West End,” and see what they can guess about you.
