[Bro_Merch]

In NYC downtown could be the southern portion of Manhattan and pretty much anywhere in Brooklyn. The two most southern (down) areas in the city, not counting S.I. which really doesn't count anyway. That is why the subway signs say Bklyn/Downtown. Uptown would be anywhere north of Central Park in Manhattan or anywhere in the Bronx. The most northern parts of the city. That is why the subway signs say Bronx/Uptown. In NYC the terms 'uptown' and 'downtown' are purely geographical.

In other cases I would consider the term 'downtown' to be the oldest portion of the city. For example in Philadelphia. This would be much harder to pick out in a city like London that's much older.

I live in Washington DC. Here, the term is only used when you are outside of DC and it is used loosely to describe any location inside of DC. If you were in Virginia or Maryland and said you were going 'downtown' that would mean only that you were going to any location inside Washington DC.

I'm a strange city I would assume the term downtown referred to the less kept more rustic area that looks kind of ghetto but is a little more artsy/trendy than the rest of the city.