The Future of Atlanta... (foreclosure, unemployment, move)

[suewong1]

we have no choice, i am guilty of moving to the burbs, who can afford tolive in the inner city or who would want to....unless you can afford Beverly Hills which has a "hood"too. the distance is special, you need a get away from the inner city except to get a dose of ethnicity and go outward for peace....i made the mistake of telling people and guess where they are..oh by the way i am ethnic....and am considering once again to move there...the water thing is crazy here too.....suewong1

[Derrick_TheRiskTaker]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

Translation:

The City will form a committee to study the possibility of forming a forum of suburban and city leaders to hire an out-of-city study group to do a study on the possibility of alternate transportation options for the city. Once they have the study complete, they will send their report to the forum who will in turn study it and then pass it on to the committee who will pass it on to the Mayor who will then form a new committee to study how much this plan will cost the City residents.

Ten years later - we'll have one new express bus route called the, "Atlanta traffic elimination alternative bus option".



Sorry. I've been here 23 years. Been there done it... and we are still sinking. When they start laying light rail tracks intown and in some of the burbs, and building the outer loop, THEN I'll believe someone has actually done something.

23 years of bitterness and outright anger! (Or at least what I convey from your posts). This same attitude contributes to the unfortunate situation we face and your view on this particular issue is also the same as those diehard "southerners" you speak about in another post.

I think it will take some committed citizens and groups (including those already in existence) to kind of push this issue through. Otherwise we might need flying cars sooner than we can imagine! However, at least the mayors office still realizes the issue is just as important as other issues and has not swept it under the rug and completely disregarded the issue as the governor has done.

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by Derrick_TheRiskTaker

I think it will take some committed citizens and groups (including those already in existence) to kind of push this issue through. Otherwise we might need flying cars sooner than we can imagine! However, at least the mayors office still realizes the issue is just as important as other issues and has not swept it under the rug and completely disregarded the issue as the governor has done.

Hey, at least I try to do something. I write emails and/or letters to my elected officials all the time both on a state, regional, and local level, telling them about the need for transit options *all the time*. I STILL TRY, dude. Rarely do you get answers, and they pretty much fall on blind eyes or get ignored, but I DO things other than just talk about them in message boards like 95% of folks do.

[Derrick_TheRiskTaker]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

Hey, at least I try to do something. I write emails and/or letters to my elected officials all the time both on a state, regional, and local level, telling them about the need for transit options *all the time*. I STILL TRY, dude. Rarely do you get answers, and they pretty much fall on blind eyes or get ignored, but I DO things other than just talk about them in message boards like 95% of folks do.

Yeah I know. I'd like to commend you for your efforts to man! So that is something I guess we all should and could do more of.

[K'ledgeBldr]

Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr

Lets see if we make it pass 2012 first.

I hate to quote myself- but it obviously didn't turn on any lightbulbs.
So, read this:
Why 2012? (broken link)

If it comes to pass we won't need "long term" anything- If nothing happens, I hope crow tastes good with a little A-1 sauce.
LOL!

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr

I hate to quote myself- but it obviously didn't turn on any lightbulbs.
So, read this:
www.levity.com/eschaton/why2012.html (broken link)

If it comes to pass we won't need "long term" anything- If nothing happens, I hope crow tastes good with a little A-1 sauce.

You're link's not working.

[Michelle71]

Originally Posted by backfist

nrgpill, diva05, atlantagreg,

All excellent points. I couldn't agree more.

In some ways, Georgia natives are like children when it comes to their future. Given the chance, kids will do what they enjoy and what makes them happy; they won't give much thought to their future, though. That's where responsible adults come in.

What I've seen in Atlanta--and other Southern metro areas that are on the grow--are Southern natives who really don't want to think about or plan for a future, yet who resent those outsiders/grown-ups who would dare make plans for that future.

So it's up to us transplants to be reasonable but persistent if we want the changes that are so vital right now. I'm not talking about transforming Atlanta to New York, rather changing some old and tired habits that will be damaging to Atlanta's future.

I happened across your condescending post and felt the need to respond. I do not live in Atlanta but am a native of and do live in a fast growing southern metro area. I am involved in the local political process and just recently voted for the town commissioners I thought would do the best job in planning for the future.

There have been numerous posts from transplants that have moved to this area stating about how the quality of life here is much better than that found in their own hometowns. If these people can not properly plan for the places of where they come from what makes you think they would do such a good job of planning for the future of where they live now?

[Scraper Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by diva05

I agree with you nrgpill, but not completely with everyone. Atlanta will likely be more like Houston (my home town), which is four times the size of Atlanta with virtually no mass transit system; the light rail that only runs downton came within the last decade. Compared to Houston's urban sprawl ATL actually looks planned.

Voters from Houston are allergic to progress - really. The first thing anyone notices when arriving in Houston are the masses freeways. They spiral 100s of feet in the air in all directions. My entire life every freeway in Houston is under construction. It NEVER stops. Granted, Htown has much more land than Atlanta, but the dependency on cars is ridiculous. Imagine if every freeway in Atlanta were 6 lanes, the city had two loops, some beltways, and still had our current traffic problems - that is Houston. However, even Houstonians are finally gaining some sense. They recently voted to expand the light rail system built a few years ago.

The only thing that will save Atlanta is if the suburbanites stop breaking out in hives when they get within 100 feet of downtown. People have to be willing to move back into the city or ATL is doomed. This will require a lot more than savvy politicians. Better schools, less crime, and some healing of race relations would have to come first. Especially the latter considering our stalled transit system and urban sprawl is largely sparked by those "native" Georgians fear of the darker neighbors intown. If businesses and residents are willing to actually invest in building the city proper and not running to the burbs, we have a chance.

Houston is not four times the size of Atlanta, it is virtually the same size: metro population of around 5.5 million. People from Houston tend to equate city population with size, when cities aren't good indicators of a developed metropolitan area. City boundaries are arbitrary. They can be small or large. In Houston's case, they have annexed much of their suburban area. The city limits of Houston are much more spread out than the city limits of Atlanta. Hence, it does have four times the city proper population. However, the developed area/built-up space of the Atlanta and Houston metroplexes are roughly the same size, perhaps with a slight edge to Atlanta. The metropolitan area populations, as previously stated, are roughly the same size.

[crystalblue]

Originally Posted by Scraper Enthusiast

Houston is not four times the size of Atlanta, it is virtually the same size: metro population of around 5.5 million. People from Houston tend to equate city population with size, when cities aren't good indicators of a developed metropolitan area. City boundaries are arbitrary. They can be small or large. In Houston's case, they have annexed much of their suburban area. The city limits of Houston are much more spread out than the city limits of Atlanta. Hence, it does have four times the city proper population. However, the developed area/built-up space of the Atlanta and Houston metroplexes are roughly the same size, perhaps with a slight edge to Atlanta. The metropolitan area populations, as previously stated, are roughly the same size.

World's largest cities - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

prob the best way to compare major cities.

[backfist]

Originally Posted by Michelle71

I happened across your condescending post and felt the need to respond. I do not live in Atlanta but am a native of and do live in a fast growing southern metro area. I am involved in the local political process and just recently voted for the town commissioners I thought would do the best job in planning for the future.

There have been numerous posts from transplants that have moved to this area stating about how the quality of life here is much better than that found in their own hometowns. If these people can not properly plan for the places of where they come from what makes you think they would do such a good job of planning for the future of where they live now?

Because many transplants are coming from metropolitan areas where things like available water and mass transit are the least of their worries. People who relocate from San Francisco or Chicago know that they're coming to a highly populated metro area. But what they don't expect is a metro area of nearly 5 million people where the primary sources of people-moving are gridlocked highways, poorly gridded surface streets, and a local gentry that is averse (if not hostile) to efforts to resolve the problems.