Downtown

In many US and Canadian cities, the central business district, often so called because it was sited on lower ground (for example, along a river) than surrounding residential neighbourhoods (see Uptown).

Famous examples of historic downtown areas are those in New Orleans, which was settled in the 18th century by the French and Spanish, and in Manhattan, New York City, which is home to Wall Street and whose haphazard street layout predates the strict grid pattern seen in the rest of Manhattan.