Abstract: Atlantic City's residential geography reflected the segregration of local residents based on how much they made, where they came from, and what their racial and ethnic identity was. Like in most American places, geography — which side of the tracks or the freeway you lived on — was not an abstract notion. Place meant everything. Every corner, every bar, every lunch counter, and certainly every neighborhood in Atlantic City had meaning and suggested who could live where and who was not welcome. From downtown to Little Italy to the African American “ghetto”, the streets, homes, churches, and stores exhibited a traditional urban form. The design nurtured feelings of community, just not a unified community. The Atlantic City of the past had many communities and many public spaces, each closed off from the other — and that was the point.

Keywords: neigborhoods, community, the Northside, South Inlet, Ducktown, Marven Gardens, segregation,