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Contrary to popular belief, the South Bronx is not actually the name of a neighborhood, but rather a vague term denoting the southwestern area of the borough, usually west of the Bronx River; its northern boundary is subject to some debate and is somewhat uncertain. What is certain, however, is that the area referred to as the "South Bronx" has expanded over the past 60 years.
The term was first coined in the 1940s by a group of social workers who identified the Bronx's first pocket of poverty, in the Mott Haven section, the southernmost section of the Bronx. Originally denoting only Mott Haven and Melrose, the South Bronx extended up to the Cross Bronx Expressway by the 1970s, encompassing Hunts Point, Morrisania, and Highbridge. It was around this time that the Bronx was experiencing some of its worst times ever, bringing the term "South Bronx" into common parlance.
The South Bronx stretches perhaps further today than it did in the turbulent 1970s; today the neighborhoods of Tremont and University Heights more often than not are considered the South Bronx. Some even argue that the Soundview section is part of the South Bronx, or even its eastern neighbor, Castle Hill. While some place the northern limit of the South Bronx at Fordham Road, placing the line at 183rd Street is probably more accurate. Wherever the South Bronx exactly is, it is an indisputable icon of urban decay.
Any neighborhood that is not considered the South Bronx is automatically the "North Bronx," even if it lies within the southern portion of the borough, as does Throgs Neck in the Bronx's extreme southeast. South Bronx residents often dislike the term because it obscures the actual neighborhoods in the area, and others point out that there are neighborhoods, such as Bedford Park, located in what is considered the "North Bronx," that are almost as bad as the South Bronx.
The South Bronx in many ways is more a state of mind than an actual location. Also, the more notable dichotomy in the Bronx is that of the West Bronx vs. the East Bronx; the West Bronx is hillier, more heavily populated, and closer to Manhattan, while the East Bronx is flatter, more residential, and closer to the Long Island Sound. The "North Bronx" designation therefore groups together neighborhoods on opposite ends of the Bronx which have little in common, such as Kingsbridge and Pelham Bay.
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