Curbed Cup 2011 Winner: Uptown!!

It's happened again, folks. Uptown is repeat winner of the Curbed Cup. They certainly had the electoral machine humming. Of the 1,267 votes cast between Thursday and Sunday, Uptown managed 70.7%. In the words of one commenter: "Uptown is surrounded by good neighborhoods so the market forces bearing down upon it are unrelenting. That and the Uptown Music district in the making, the new Wilson EL redo in the works, the Lakefront, the eventual redevelopment of the Maryville site...and many more factors have now STACKED the deck in favor of Uptown. Its got more good going for it now than bad. The momentum can't be stopped." The same momentum that ran roughshod over its Curbed Cup competition. The more nebulous West Lakeview stunk up the party in earlier rounds, toppling high seeds Lincoln Square and Avondale. We're still not sure how or why, particularly with Lincoln Square. But hey, last year had its surprises too. What'll be in store for 2012? What new booming 'hoods will make the roster? Which heavyweights will sputter out? Will Curbed push through campaign reforms? Only time will tell. Until then, Uptown holds the mantle for neighborhood of the year!