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I'm not seeing the benefit to annexation for the sake of annexation. It's hardly as if we're running out of room -- Atlanta has tons of underutilized space.
And the success of cities isn't measured in square miles. There are lots of fantastic, booming cities that have a larger population and less land area than we do.
Especially for areas in 30316, it wouldn’t be for the “sake of annexation”. It would mainly be to avoid being in the stupid city of Greenhaven. That’s what this thread is discussing.
I'm not seeing the benefit to annexation for the sake of annexation. It's hardly as if we're running out of room -- Atlanta has tons of underutilized space.
And the success of cities isn't measured in square miles. There are lots of fantastic, booming cities that have a larger population and less land area than we do.
Of metro areas over one million, only Miami and Riverside have a smaller percentage of their respective metro populations in the core city. They are both at 7%, Atlanta at 8%. With Riverside really being an overflow metro of Los Angeles and not a classic core city in the traditional sense, you really only have Miami in a similar situation and Miami/Dade are consolidated on many fronts.
I find it a very NIMBY like mindset to not see that the city of Atlanta should not encompass a much larger swath of the area than it does. To continue to be beholden to boundary lines established in an era when horse and buggy was the primary mode of travel and slavery was legal and you have no reason for Atlanta to meander and dip and plunge on a map like it does. That it is truncated so closely to the east just because Fulton and DeKalb cleaved in two for whatever reason prior to the Civil War.... why should that affect and hinder life 160 years later? Just makes no common sense whatsoever.
Atlanta needs to be bigger just because. Just because.
Of metro areas over one million, only Miami and Riverside have a smaller percentage of their respective metro populations in the core city. They are both at 7%, Atlanta at 8%. With Riverside really being an overflow metro of Los Angeles and not a classic core city in the traditional sense, you really only have Miami in a similar situation and Miami/Dade are consolidated on many fronts.
I find it a very NIMBY like mindset to not see that the city of Atlanta should not encompass a much larger swath of the area than it does. To continue to be beholden to boundary lines established in an era when horse and buggy was the primary mode of travel and slavery was legal and you have no reason for Atlanta to meander and dip and plunge on a map like it does. Just makes no common sense whatsoever.
Atlanta needs to be bigger just because. Just because.
But Saintmarks --
Atlanta's population isn't limited to 8% of the metro area because of a lack of land.
In 1950 we had 33% of the metro area population in an area just 1/3 the size of the current city limits.
Well, RIP for now. And I agree with reasoning behind the kibosh.
"Ed Williams, chairman of Citizens Against Cityhood in DeKalb, was happy with the outcome. He believes there should be a moratorium on creating cities until new procedures are in place.
“We hope the Georgia General Assembly reforms the cityhood process before it allows any other cityhood or annexation bills to be passed,” Williams said in a news release after the vote. “We hope DeKalb County will have completed its study on how cities impact its services and budget before any other cities are allowed to be created.”
Of metro areas over one million, only Miami and Riverside have a smaller percentage of their respective metro populations in the core city. They are both at 7%, Atlanta at 8%. With Riverside really being an overflow metro of Los Angeles and not a classic core city in the traditional sense, you really only have Miami in a similar situation and Miami/Dade are consolidated on many fronts.
I find it a very NIMBY like mindset to not see that the city of Atlanta should not encompass a much larger swath of the area than it does. To continue to be beholden to boundary lines established in an era when horse and buggy was the primary mode of travel and slavery was legal and you have no reason for Atlanta to meander and dip and plunge on a map like it does. That it is truncated so closely to the east just because Fulton and DeKalb cleaved in two for whatever reason prior to the Civil War.... why should that affect and hinder life 160 years later? Just makes no common sense whatsoever.
Atlanta needs to be bigger just because. Just because.
Yessir, Brother Marks.
The City of Atlanta needs to annex:
Sandy Springs
North Springs
Dunwoody
current Brookhaven
North Druid Hills
Toco Hills
Oak Grove/Vista Grove
Leafmore
Lindmoor Woods
LaVista Park
Laurel Ridge
North Decatur
Scottdale
Vinings/Cumberland
Riverline
Six Flags
Emory
the rest of Druid Hills
Candler-McAfee
most of Belvedere Park
Gresham Park
Constitution/Intrenchment Creek
All of the proposed South River Park Area https://www.atlantaga.gov/home/showdocument?id=30594
Fulton Industrial
Sandtown
Cliftondale
Campbellton
Chattahoochee Hills/Rico
Rough and Ready/Mountain View
Then, City of Atlanta becomes conterminous with Fulton County. (City of Atlanta, County of Fulton is one and the same). Fulton County north of Chattahoochee is divided between Cobb (Roswell, Alpharetta, Mountain Park), Forsyth (Milton), and Gwinnett (Johns Creek). The rest of southern Fulton County is divided between Clayton (Hapeville, East Point, College Park, unincorporated College Park), Fayette (Fairburn, Union City), and Coweta (Palmetto).
1. Terminus (Downtown, Sweet Auburn, Oakland, Capitol Gateway, Buttermilk Bottom, Summerhill, Mechanicsville, Thrasherville, Castleberry Hill, Luckie-Marietta, Whitehall)
2. North Fulton (Midtown, Ansley Park, Piedmont Heights, Cheshire Bridge, Martin Manor, Loring Heights, GT, Atlantic Station, Home Park)
3. East Fulton (the eastside neighborhoods)
4. West Fulton (the westside neighborhoods
5. South Fulton (the southside neighborhoods)
6. Buckhead
7. Northeast Atlanta (the current urban/suburban-esque neighborhoods in N/NW DeKalb)
8. Cross Keys (the current Brookhaven...Cross Keys is actually a better name and historically accurate...this also solves the Brookhaven neighborhood in Buckhead issue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brookh...eorgia#History)
9. Sandy Springs
10. Dunwoody
11. Vinings
12. Chattahoochee Vale (the current Riverline+Six Flags area of Cobb and Fulton Industrial)
13. Southwest Atlanta
14. Sandtown
15. Cliftondale
16. Campbellton
17. Chattahoochee Hills
Except for Terminus, the boroughs are also "twinned"
North Fulton-South Fulton
East Fulton-West Fulton
Buckhead-Sandtown
Northeast Atlanta-Southwest Atlanta
Sandy Springs-Cliftondale
Cross Keys-Campbellton
Dunwoody-Chattahoochee Hills
Vinings-Chattahoochee Vale (paired together as the far northwest boroughs)
In DeKalb, instead of all this "Vista Grove" and "Greenhaven" stuff...
Decatur (expanded) Avondale Estates (expanded) Stone Mountain (greatly expanded) Lithonia (greatly expanded) Clarkston (expanded) Pine Lake (expanded just a bit) Atlanta (annexes parts of southwest DeKalb: Gresham Park, Candler-McAfee, Near East Lake, most of Belvedere Park, Constitution, South River Park Area)
And then three new cities:
Panthersville
Redan
Arabia Mountain
(The laughable city of "Stonecrest" is divided up between Lithonia, Arabia Mountain, and Redan.)
Of metro areas over one million, only Miami and Riverside have a smaller percentage of their respective metro populations in the core city. They are both at 7%, Atlanta at 8%. With Riverside really being an overflow metro of Los Angeles and not a classic core city in the traditional sense, you really only have Miami in a similar situation and Miami/Dade are consolidated on many fronts.
I find it a very NIMBY like mindset to not see that the city of Atlanta should not encompass a much larger swath of the area than it does. To continue to be beholden to boundary lines established in an era when horse and buggy was the primary mode of travel and slavery was legal and you have no reason for Atlanta to meander and dip and plunge on a map like it does. That it is truncated so closely to the east just because Fulton and DeKalb cleaved in two for whatever reason prior to the Civil War.... why should that affect and hinder life 160 years later? Just makes no common sense whatsoever.
Atlanta needs to be bigger just because. Just because.
In addition to what Brother Marks said...
1. Proposed CoA annexations are natural extensions of the CoA. Natural extensions of our multi-nodal, poly-centric city--Perimeter, Cumberland, Emory/Northlake, etc. These areas would've been annexed if not for Georgia's weird annexation laws.
2. Proposed CoA annexations keep powerful corporate players as part of the culture and political fabric of the city (Home Depot, UPS, etc) which is important. They will have a firm stake in the city's well-being (which helps the metro as a whole) and not just be part of some upstart suburb or unincorporated morass.
3. Proposed CoA annexations expand the political demographics to truly represent urban/semi-urban Atlanta. Currently and for the most part, the whites of the CoA are Buckheadites and eastside liberals (from yipster to crunchy). Expanding to Northeast Atlanta, Vinings, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, and Chattahoochee Hills brings a more "middle political" demographic in the white people sense. Moreover, expanding to the southwest and a bit to the southeast increases the CoA's black middle class (currently shrinking) which brings much-needed black political balance instead of just brahmin/elites and the working and/or underclass.
4. When you are traveling within any proposed CoA annexations, it just "feels" and "screams" Atlanta--Perimeter, Cumberland, NW DeKalb, Vinings, Cumberland, etc. It is strange that these areas are not in the city. They are not currently in the city due to Georgia's antiquated and corruption-inspired annexation laws. Additionally, as I mentioned in a post above, Northeast Atlanta (NW DeKalb) is the developmental sister of Southwest Atlanta. I think the only reason this area was not annexed was that it was "less seamless" considering that is in a different county.
5. As stated in #1, Atlanta is a multi-nodal and poly-centric city--which is wonderful. Proposed CoA annexations would bring some cohesiveness to the multi-nodal/poly-centric character of the city. For more on this, read through this link: https://www.atlantaga.gov/home/showdocument?id=30594
6. There is a lot of initiative in the CoA right now to make a great city--and people are realizing the unique assets that make Atlanta what it is. Proposed CoA annexations are natural extensions of those assets and they go along very well to CoA's long-range plan. More here: https://www.atlantaga.gov/home/showdocument?id=30594
You may notice that I did not mention anything about getting "bigger," ideal population, or some percentage of the metro's population. The areas need to be annexed because they are natural extensions of the CoA while enhancing and expanding the CoA's unique assets. Moreover, the CoA would become a healthier city proper which would make for a healthier and consistently viable metro area/region.
Growing up, I always thought it was dumb how close my grandparent's houses bordered the city of Atlanta (Gresham Park, McAfee-Candler), but was never a part of it so I'm all for annexing parts of SW Dekalb into Atlanta especially where it makes sense to do so.
Growing up, I always thought it was dumb how close my grandparent's houses bordered the city of Atlanta (Gresham Park, McAfee-Candler), but was never a part of it so I'm all for annexing parts of SW Dekalb into Atlanta especially where it makes sense to do so.
Atlanta's population isn't limited to 8% of the metro area because of a lack of land.
In 1950 we had 33% of the metro area population in an area just 1/3 the size of the current city limits.
But Arjay, that just proves my point. Almost all the population growth that has seen Atlanta grow from a regional center at best in 1950 to a major player on not only the national stage but the international stage in 2018 has happened OUTSIDE the city. For better or worse, Atlanta is a sunbelt city and sunbelt cities have grown less dense than northern counterparts. It doesn't have to be as big as Houston or Jacksonville, but at the least the portions close to the city in DeKalb should have always been and still need to be in the city proper. It just makes sense.
You can trace this back to the history of Terminus and the bluebloods in Decatur not wanting a nasty railroad in their little county seat town. So the railroad developed six miles east. A city was born. Instead of the city becoming the new county seat of DeKalb, Fulton was split off of DeKalb. It is an unnatural division. Two county seats six miles apart. You would be hard pressed to find two county seats that close to each other anywhere in the country. I propose that this decision, for whatever reason it made sense in the pre-civil war era doesn't make sense now and is one of the unnecessary encumbrances that holds the city back... or at the least causes too much energy to be expelled on the local level of government when the area ought to be looking at bigger and better things.
Pull all the artificially drawn lines through the ages and hand a map of the area to someone who has never been here and have them draw a city of Atlanta proper and you wouldn't get what we got today. A city that encompasses 285 as either the boundary or encompasses it fully to some extent is most likely what you would get.
Sometimes you have to clear out the old way of thinking and all the prejudices that come with them to move forward to something better.
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