The West Riverside name is a modern invention by NOLA’s City Planning department to break up the vast Uptown/Carrollton Area. Not sure if locals even use the “West Riverside” name to refer to the neighborhood. Being along the river the West Riverside neighborhood really stops at Tchoupitoulas. South of here to the Mississippi River is a pretty inaccessible industrial area. The topology of the housing stock is mostly more modest shot guns and bungalows with some more regal Uptown housing mixed in. Housing prices, however, are almost as high as surrounding neighborhoods like Audubon and Uptown, which do have larger southern mansions.

West Riverside has a high level of walkability with convenient access to the lengthy Magazine business district, lots of bars, restaurants, & cafes mixed throughout the neighborhood, and good public transit access. There are several areas for improvement that prevent West Riverside from being a top NOLA neighborhood. That includes limited access to park and recreational space, mediocre schools, limited bike infrastructure,  a spotty tree canopy, and a rather autocentric/industrial corridor running down Tchoupitoulas Street. Like other Uptown neighborhoods, West Riverside could use more affordable housing options and racial diversity. 

Click here to view my New Orleans Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Decent urban density.
* Good public transit and solid access to Dwtn via biking, driving, and public transport.
* Highly efficient and gridded street grid.
* Good walkability thanks to hosting the Magazine commercial district throughout its entire length. Lots of mixed-use development through the district.
* Solid generational diversity with good age diversity and about 35% of households with kids.
* Good # of rentals, generally on the pricy side, but some more moderately priced options. 1-beds lease anywhere btwn 1K-2K, 2-beds rent btwn the low 1Ks to low 2Ks, also some 3-beds that lease anywhere btwn 2K-4K.
* ADA curb cuts exist on about 50% of all intersections. Generally good sidewalks but some bad spots in parts.
* Attractive historic housing but more modest that other Uptown neighborhoods with all the shot gun river houses here.
*Overall a very safe community.
* Good cultural amenities including a lots of good & bev bizs, several cafes and night clubs, and several live music venues.
* Solid retail amenities with 3 full service supermarkets, a couple drug stores, plenty of boutiques, gift shops & salons along Magazine Street, a couple book stores, a toy store, a couple banks, several florists, plenty of dessert shops, and a couple gyms. Also a public library, and a children’s hospital.
* Generally good urban massing along Magazine Street.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Dedicated bike lanes along Napoleon but nowhere else. West Riverside is unfortunately outside of the dedicated bike share zone.
* Economic diversity is pretty limited as this is a solid upper middle class neighborhood.
* For sale hsg is generally pretty expensive but some more modestly priced smaller options. 1-bed homes sell anywhere btwn 200K- 600K. 2-beds sell btwn 350K-850K. 3 & 4 beds sell anywhere btwn 450K-1.3M.
* Really no dedicated affordable hsg in the neighborhood.
* Parks amenities are so so . Great access to Audubon Park in the western age of the neighborhood. Pretty limited park access in the eastern half of the district.
* A decent # of schools within West Riverside and nearby mixing a several private and public/charter schools. Public/charter schools are not ranked well.
* Missing a local post office, few churches here, only a handful of medical offices, and o chain clothing or department stores.
* Modern architecture is mainly limited to crummy strip malls along Tchoupitoulas St and Magazine St. Some good infill homes. Tchoupitoulas is has some pretty bad autocentric stretches.
* Tree canopy is so so.