Cityscape of Louisville, Kentucky

The city also boasts the postmodern Humana Building and an expanding Waterfront Park which has served to remove the former industrial appearance of the riverfront.

The airport is located approximately 6.5 miles (10.5 km) south of the downtown area, and easily connected to most parts of the city by three Interstate Highways, maximizing its accessibility.

Another major business district is located in the more suburban area east of the city on Hurstbourne Parkway.

Major roads extend outwards from the downtown area to all directions, like the spokes of a wheel.

The Louisville City Hall largely follows earlier architectural styles, mainly French Empire.

In 2003, Bill Dakan, a University of Louisville geography professor, said that the West End, west of 7th Street and north of Algonquin Parkway, is "a euphemism for the African-American part of town" although he points out that this belief is not entirely true, and most African Americans no longer live in areas where more than 80% of residents are black[clarify].

The nearest to downtown, as well as the wealthiest in terms of average income, is Mockingbird Valley, and the two most prominent and oldest Eastern Jefferson County cities are Anchorage and Glenview.

The area east of I-65, south of Eastern Parkway, and west of Bardstown Road is economically, culturally and topographically a buffer zone between the East and South sides, and is routinely claimed by both residents and outsiders as belonging to either side.

Some notable tall buildings outside of the downtown area are 1400 Willow Avenue, a 21-story condominium complex near Cherokee Park completed in 1980; Baptist Towers, a 17-story retirement living community in Old Louisville; and the suburban office buildings Wright Tower (15 stories, completed in 1966), Watterson Towers (16 stories, completed in 1972), Hurstbourne Place (13 stories, completed in 1982) and the 11 story 120 ft (37 m) high rise Commodore Apartment Building, near Cherokee Park, built in 1929 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 29, 1982.

There are also plans to use the existing (but closed) vehicle lanes on the K and I railroad bridge over the Ohio River as a pedestrian sidewalk to connect Louisville's Riverwalk Trail to a planned 7-mile (11 km) greenway on the Indiana side which will connect New Albany, Clarksville and Jeffersonville.