SoHo Update: What is SoHo; Touristy? Commercial? or a Neighborhood?

It has been difficult to nail down exactly what type of area SoHo really is; does it qualify as a tourist trap, a business district, or a neighborhood?  Many residents find the number of tourists daunting, which usually attracts more traffic, garbage, and street vendors selling stuff New Yorkers would never buy.  The solution: the formation of SoHo Business Improvement District.
 
The SoHo Business Improvement District would be a private and public partnerships, which would focus on sanitation, marketing, and beautification.  Opponents say that the SoHo Business Improvement District is nothing more than an “undemocratic layer of governance” what will follow what commercial real estate firms want, and not residents.  A public hearing before the City Council will be held this March.
 
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2012/01/30/is_soho_a_business_district_tourist_trap_neighborhood.php