Welcome to Atlanta's SoNo district

I have to thank all of Atlanta’s new directional signs for introducing me to Atlanta’s new neighborhood, SoNo.

SoNo refers to “one of the hippest and safest areas in the city” – south of North Avenue. The president of Central Atlanta Neighbors, Brian Glass, has “coined” the city’s new neighborhood title of SoNo.

Aside from the title’s lack of creativity, the SoNo title may look an awfully lot like New York City’s name for its south of Houston district: SoHo. Don’t worry, that was the intention. It seems the idea behind the title is to represent the similarities between the two “live-work-play” communities.

While SoNo may not seem like a "live-work-play" community now, it will in the years to come according to the Imagine Atlanta plan. Imagine Atlanta is the development and revitalization plan introduced by Central Atlanta Progress, Inc. and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, Inc.

The SoNo portion of the Imagine Atlanta plan anticipates to develop the area's pedestrian-friendly realm with a "more intimate environment at street level," according to developers Cousins Properties and Emory University-Crawford Long Hospital. Their plan also hopes to connect Peachtree Street to the former Old Fourth Ward neighborhood with a "more civic" feel that will include parks, art and green space. This "urban revitalization" plan, as the developers and the city say, hopes to create an identity for the neighborhood.

Check out SoNo's highlights at www.sonoatlanta.com.