Neighborhoods are primarily residential areas, but also include commercial uses such as grocery stores, restaurants and small offices, clustered around transit stops or along arterial roads. Elementary schools are located in neighborhoods, and are small enough that most students can walk to school. Downtowns are more densely developed than the neighborhoods that surround them, so residential uses mostly take the form of apartments and hotels, whereas neighborhoods have a mix of row houses, detached houses and apartments. Downtown buildings, whether retail, office or residential, are nearly always built right up to the sidewalk, whereas buildings in neighborhoods may be set back from the sidewalk by a few feet. A Chapel Hill neighborhood, just a couple of blocks away from the photo on the left.
Downtown is the most accessible point in the region.
Neighborhoods are located along roads and transit routes that converge downtown. Inter-city buses and trains only stop downtown. Because downtowns are located at the historic centers of towns and cities, they often have excellent river and sea access. A neighborhood park mostly attracts people who live there, and is a major meeting place. A city neighborhood may function in a similar way to a small town or village where everyone can walk to a central commercial area with a transit stop.