Why hasn't the apartment boom hit downtown? (Atlanta, Auburn: real estate, home)

[Ant131531]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Of course it would have racial implications. Do all those rich people up in Forsyth and Milton need a $100,000 check as much as less fortunate residents in other parts of the city? And if they got one, are they going to put it to work in the community or just throw it into their already gigantic hoppers?

This is ridiculous and you should feel ashamed for even posting this. So you're making vast and erroneous assumption that only white people in this metro area are wealthy and fortunate while all the black people are poor and unfortunate? Terrible. My parents easily prove this ignorant statement wrong.

Shame on you. I really hope this is satire.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Oh, TJL, you know me well enough to know I don't pop off with nonsense that isn't backed up with the facts.

The use of highways to separate black and white residential communities was common all over the country, in cities from Boston to Los Angeles. It happened here, too, though it was certainly not just a southern phenomenon.

There are many primary sources but you can get a good overview from The Separate City: Black Communities in the Urban South, 1940-1968 by Professors Chris Silver and John Moeser. See pp. 136-44, for instance.

And--for more specifics on Atlanta in this regard:


Kruse, K.M.: White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of Modern Conservatism.

White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of Modern Conservatism (Politics and Society in Twentieth-Century America): Kevin M. Kruse: 9780691133867: Amazon.com: Books



Enjoy!

[cqholt]

I-20 on the southwest, in particular, was placed in its location to appease the whites of Southwest Atlanta/Westview/West End and prevent blacks from moving in.

It didn't work, ultimately (for a variety of reasons).

Suck it, ATLJL!

Well stated, arjay. And cqholt was right to a certain point.

The Downtown Connector was built through Sweet Auburn to separate the AA business district from Downtown Atlanta.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Suck it, ATLJL!

The Downtown Connector was built through Sweet Auburn to separate the AA business district from Downtown Atlanta.

[Zanarkand A East]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Unfortunately there is a huge barrier, I-20, and the massive downtown interchange. The freeways were put there to keep the majority AA neighborhoods separated from downtown in the 50's and 60's.

The Connector divides Midtown from West Midtown, but they still feel closer than Mechanicsville does to downtown since there's more reason to go there right now. More development there will help, although the interchange is a huge barrier. Just putting more along Spring/Windsor would go a long way to connect Government Walk and Castleberry Hill with Mechanicsville, which is just beyond the I-20 bridge on Spring.

[cqholt]

The Connector divides Midtown from West Midtown, but they still feel closer than Mechanicsville does to downtown since there's more reason to go there right now. More development there will help, although the interchange is a huge barrier. Just putting more along Spring/Windsor would go a long way to connect Government Walk and Castleberry Hill with Mechanicsville, which is just beyond the I-20 bridge on Spring.

The connector between GT/Home Park and Midtown is depressed allowing pedestrians to crossover it easily and its only 300-500 feet wide. I-20 between Downtown and Mechancsville is overhead and spans twice as much due to being at the convergence of 3 major interstates.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by cqholt

The Downtown Connector was built through Sweet Auburn to separate the AA business district from Downtown Atlanta.

That's not exactly correct.

There's no doubt that many cities (including Atlanta) used highways to try to separate black and white neighborhoods.

However, the Downtown Connector was actually shifted several blocks east at the urging of black leaders. The original plan would have had it run right through Downtown and directly over the location of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company at 148 Auburn.

That's not to say the Connector didn't damage Auburn Avenue and much of the rest of downtown and Midtown Atlanta. Although the original Connector was smaller than the monster we have today, you can't run a divided highway through a city without messing up a lot of stuff.


148 Auburn Avenue Northeast, Atlanta, GA - Google Maps

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by Ant131531

So you're making vast and erroneous assumption that only white people in this metro area are wealthy and fortunate while all the black people are poor and unfortunate?

Er, I'm not assuming that at all.

By the way, don't overlook the fact that blacks are not the only minority in Atlanta. Hispanics now make up over 10% of the population, and Asians another 5% or more.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by arjay57

That's not exactly correct.

There's no doubt that many cities (including Atlanta) used highways to try to separate black and white neighborhoods.

However, the Downtown Connector was actually shifted several blocks east at the urging of black leaders. The original plan would have had it run right through Downtown and directly over the location of the Atlanta Life Insurance Company at 148 Auburn.

That's not to say the Connector didn't damage Auburn Avenue and much of the rest of downtown and Midtown Atlanta. Although the original Connector was smaller than the monster we have today, you can't run a divided highway through a city without messing up a lot of stuff.


148 Auburn Avenue Northeast, Atlanta, GA - Google Maps

But its the fact that planners even decided to run it through Sweet Auburn and not the westside of Downtown, that was full of warehouses shows they were trying to divide the AA business district from Downtown.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by cqholt

But its the fact that planners even decided to run it through Sweet Auburn and not the westside of Downtown, that was full of warehouses shows they were trying to divide the AA business district from Downtown.

cq, I appreciate what you're trying to say.

But bear in mind that by 1950 Atlanta's black population was trending heavily to the west side, and that became even more pronounced by 1960.

Given that state of affairs, do you think running the Connector through the middle of the west side would have been more any more welcome?

It's the old dilemma that every highway faces. No matter where you put it, somebody is gonna get mad.

As I've said many times, the Connector didn't do any favors to Auburn Ave or any of the other areas it ripped through in Midtown or downtown. However, the decline of Sweet Auburn is a lot more complex than you are suggesting.