One of the eight homes visited will be in Porto Sienna.

Curious about who lives in Downtown San Diego neighborhoods? The Downtown San Diego Partnership will provide some answers Oct. 2-3 when it invites the public to tour eight privately owned homes in Little Italy, Marina, East Village and Columbia. “The tour will enable the public to view life Downtown from a resident’s perspective,” says Barbara Warden, president of Downtown San Diego Partnership.

This third annual event, “Downtown by Design Urban Lifestyles Housing Tour,” is sponsored by Neuman and Neuman Real Estate/Prudential California Realty, Artisan Design Group, Countrywide Home Loans, San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles magazine, KIFM Radio, San Diego Metropolitan magazine, Parkloft and D.R. Horton Homes.

Homes on the tour are in Renaissance, Parkloft, Treo, the Metropolitan, Park Place, Union Square, Porto Sienna and a warehouse conversion in East Village. Multiple tours will be conducted each day beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. Participants are to meet at the oldest home, the historic William Heath Davis house at 410 Island Ave. in the Gaslamp Quarter, then board buses. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended. Refreshments will be provided by Downtown restaurants and many of the sponsors will provide material on the housing market.

Homes in Renaissance are on the tour.

Last year, one in four attached home sales in Southern California from Ventura to San Diego took place Downtown, a dramatic demographic shift for the region, says Warden. She says more than 3,000 people have moved to Downtown over the past year and thousands more are coming. “People are realizing that whether they work here yet or not, Downtown is unmatched in quality of lifestyle for everyone.”

Tickets for the tour are $30 and reservations are required (619) 233-5008. Part of the proceeds will benefit the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation.