Curbed Cup 1st Round: (1) Wynwood vs. (16) Kendall

The Curbed Cup, our annual award for Miami’s neighborhood of the year, is kicking off with 16 neighborhoods vying for the prestigious (fake) trophy. We’ll reveal each of the neighborhoods this week, and polls will be open for 24 hours so you can cast your vote as to which ones should advance. Let the eliminations commence!

The Curbed Cup is back!

Last year’s champion, Wynwood/Midtown, returns as our No. 1 overall seed after defeating Surfside in last year’s final. Some notes about this year’s tournament:

• The first round runs through Friday — two matchups per day (one posts in the morning and the other in the afternoon) — when the full 16-team bracket will be unveiled
• Only neighborhoods in Miami-Dade County were considered
• Polls will be open for 24 hours and no cheating will be tolerated!

(1) Wynwood

Our champion also encompasses Midtown Miami, which is booming in its own right, especially in the multi-family residential sector.

Wynwood’s retail/restaurant scene is exploding of late with projects like Wynwood Walk under construction and a new Asian food hall opening recently. The colorful neighborhood’s art scene still remains among Miami’s elite despite many Art Week events moving to different parts of the city this year.

Wynwood also is among the most walkable neighborhoods in the city and its residential component is on the rise with projects like Wynwood 25 in the pipeline.

(16) Kendall

While the #Kendall hashtag on Instagram today is dominated by the Kardashian family (Kendall Jenner), the populous neighborhood still made 2017 headlines in its own right: O.J. Simpson’s former home sold in October and Kendall Indian Hammocks Park (pictured above) made our map highlighting Miami’s best hiking trails.

Last year, Brickell clipped Kendall in Round 1 and the road doesn’t get any easier today with a matchup against our defending champion. However, it’s all in your hands of course.

The poll closes on Tuesday at 11 a.m.