This is a list of official neighborhoods in Louisville, Kentucky. Like many older American cities, Louisville has well-defined neighborhoods, many with well over a century of history as a neighborhood. The oldest neighborhoods are the riverside areas of Downtown and Portland (initially a separate settlement), representing the early role of the river as the most important form of commerce and transportation. As the city expanded, peripheral neighborhoods like Butchertown, Phoenix Hill, Russell, Shelby Park, Smoketown and others were developed to house and employ the growing population.