I consider Downtown Charlottesville to be the area between High St down to the railroad tracks and btwn Ridge St and 9th St from west to east. This is also referred to as the Charlottesville Historic District. The District is a decent sized downtown area for a City of Charlottesville’s size. Main Street functions as the central heart of Downtown where the bulk of cultural and retail amenities are located. And its a pedestrian street! Charlottesville and Burlington are running neck and neck for the smallest US cities with a functioning pedestrian street. Some of the energy of Main street spills over to Water and Market Streets. I particularly like the mixed-use urban form of Water Street, which combines both old and new, low rise and mid rise buildings. Market street is a mix of residential and institutional uses. Great 19th century architecture here. he area between Market and High has a decent # of surface lots and can feel pretty dead. North of High street is primarily a residential area called North Downtown. 

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Great pedestrian street along Main.
* Great cultural amenities including tons of restaurants, bars, and cafes, plenty of art galleries & several theaters, etc.
* Lots of local retail options including plenty of boutiques, several bookstores, a couple grocerias, and other typical neighborhood retail.
* Great array of historic bldgs.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Decent # of parking lots and underutilized areas, especially btwn market and high.
* Not a major jobs center.
* Ok bike infrastructure.