Metro Atlanta at a crossroad as issues build (Jackson, Clayton: 2014, houses)

[glovenyc]

The region faces a critical juncture — an “inflection point” — in its history. Unclog traffic, better educate children, find a century’s supply of water, create more decent-paying jobs, cooperate regionally and the 22d century could belong to Atlanta.


Metro Atlanta at a crossroads as issues build | www.myajc.com

Thoughts?

[Born 2 Roll]

Because the region has grown so much to the point where the City of Atlanta now makes up but just a small fraction of the metro region's size, population and political clout, the problems that the now 6.3 million-inhabitant, 39-county Atlanta metro region are facing are now almost fully under the purview of Georgia state government in most cases.

Because the Atlanta metro region covers so many counties (the metro area officially covers 29 counties while the metro region covers 39 counties), without the leadership of state government, the Atlanta metro region will have much difficulty dealing with the multi-jurisdictional problems that it faces.

Like other large major metro regions across the country (like Chicago in Illinois, New York City in New York and New Jersey, etc), Metro Atlanta needs the cooperation and leadership of its state government now more than ever.

To illustrate just how the much the growth of the Atlanta metro region has affected the political clout of the City of Atlanta, 50 years ago when MARTA was being formed, the City of Atlanta was the most-populated and most-developed municipality in the state of Georgia.

Now-urban 713,000-plus inhabitant DeKalb County was a totally suburban community of about 330,000 residents....Now-urban 720,000-inhabitant Cobb County was a distant exurban community of about 150,000 residents (somewhat similar to how Paulding County is today)....Now-urban 264,000-inhabitant majority-minority Clayton County was a sparsely-populated suburban county of only about 70,000 residents with a population that was over 90% white....And now-urban 860,000-inhabitant majority-minority Gwinnett County was a very far-flung mostly-rural exurban county of only about 55,000 residents with a population that was about 97% white (similar to how Jackson County is today in Northeast Georgia).

I think that Metro Atlanta might have only had 4 counties at the time (...I'm not even sure if Gwinnett County was yet officially part of the metro area when MARTA was being formed 50 years ago....Gwinnett County might not have been added to the metro area until the 1970 Census).

With so little population and development in surrounding areas at the time, the City of Atlanta still had the most political clout in the metro area by far at the time....Though any political clout that the City of Atlanta might have had in Georgia state politics was often neutralized and at times even undermined by what was then a much stronger South Georgia political scene.

[bu2]

One of Atlanta's key advantages is logistics. That gets forfeited if they don't deal with traffic. Everything gets forfeited if they don't deal with water. Education is a potential long term drag.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

I think that Metro Atlanta might have only had 4 counties at the time (...I'm not even sure if Gwinnett County was yet officially part of the metro area when MARTA was being formed 50 years ago....Gwinnett County might not have been added to the metro area until the 1970 Census).

The "core five" counties (including Gwinnett) were first defined as metro Atlanta in 1950.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Gulch

The "core five" counties (including Gwinnett) were first defined as metro Atlanta in 1950.

Well, actually it appears that we were both incorrect about the timetable of when Gwinnett County was officially added to the Atlanta metropolitan area.

It appears that Gwinnett County did not officially become part of the Atlanta metropolitan area until the 1960 Census (...10 years after your estimate and 10 years before my guesstimate).

It also appears that Clayton County was not officially added to the Atlanta metropolitan area until 1960 at the same time that it appears that Gwinnett County was officially added to the Atlanta metro area.

As chronicled on page 93 of the book "Beyond the Gateway: Immigrants in a Changing America" and according to the table on page 94 of the book in link provided below, it appears that the Atlanta metropolitan area only encompassed the counties of Fulton, DeKalb and Cobb in 1950.

https://books.google.com/books?id=0d...201960&f=false

[AtlantaIsHot]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Well, actually it appears that we were both incorrect about the timetable of when Gwinnett County was officially added to the Atlanta metropolitan area.

It appears that Gwinnett County did not officially become part of the Atlanta metropolitan area until the 1960 Census (...10 years after your estimate and 10 years before my guesstimate).

It also appears that Clayton County was not officially added to the Atlanta metropolitan area until 1960 at the same time that it appears that Gwinnett County was officially added to the Atlanta metro area.

As chronicled on page 93 of the book "Beyond the Gateway: Immigrants in a Changing America" and according to the table on page 94 of the book in link provided below, it appears that the Atlanta metropolitan area only encompassed the counties of Fulton, DeKalb and Cobb in 1950.

https://books.google.com/books?id=0d...201960&f=false

I'm positive I read somewhere that in 1950 metro Atlanta was 2 counties-Fulton and DeKalb. Wikipedia reports it was those 5 in 1950, but they have been wrong before... I do know that those 5 are still regarded as the "core" of the metro. No matter as all your points above still stand. The city of Atlanta can do little about most of these problems. Only those county governments and the state government can do anything under current methods of government. I think the further balkanization of the region will hinder it rather than hurt it.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by AtlantaIsHot

I'm positive I read somewhere that in 1950 metro Atlanta was 2 counties-Fulton and DeKalb. Wikipedia reports it was those 5 in 1950, but they have been wrong before... I do know that those 5 are still regarded as the "core" of the metro. No matter as all your points above still stand. The city of Atlanta can do little about most of these problems. Only those county governments and the state government can do anything under current methods of government. I think the further balkanization of the region will hinder it rather than hurt it.

The counties are small in Georgia, but the number of municipal governments is low compared to the rest of the country. Its more an attitude than anything else. The additional municipalities may actually help get things done by giving a voice to those who get ignored by the counties. North Fulton seems to work together fairly well.

[AtlantaIsHot]

Originally Posted by bu2

The counties are small in Georgia, but the number of municipal governments is low compared to the rest of the country. Its more an attitude than anything else. The additional municipalities may actually help get things done by giving a voice to those who get ignored by the counties. North Fulton seems to work together fairly well.

They are small here in NC too. The county I live in here is only 260 square miles. Back in the rural days when the south was nothing but farms and cotton, I guess they needed courthouses closer. I hope you are right about working together in the future. The region has grown too large to ignore. The state can no longer stall and hamstring Atlanta because the state's economic fortunes are intertwined with it.

(Well... Perhaps they can still hamstring the municipality of Atlanta, but the metropolitan region's questions and needs will have to be addressed regardless.)

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Well, actually it appears that we were both incorrect about the timetable of when Gwinnett County was officially added to the Atlanta metropolitan area.

It appears that Gwinnett County did not officially become part of the Atlanta metropolitan area until the 1960 Census (...10 years after your estimate and 10 years before my guesstimate).

It also appears that Clayton County was not officially added to the Atlanta metropolitan area until 1960 at the same time that it appears that Gwinnett County was officially added to the Atlanta metro area.

As chronicled on page 93 of the book "Beyond the Gateway: Immigrants in a Changing America" and according to the table on page 94 of the book in link provided below, it appears that the Atlanta metropolitan area only encompassed the counties of Fulton, DeKalb and Cobb in 1950.

https://books.google.com/books?id=0d...201960&f=false

This is correct:
http://www.census.gov/population/met...al/50mfips.txt (October, 1950: Delineations used for presenting metropolitan area statistics in 1950 decennial census publications)
http://www.census.gov/population/met...al/60mfips.txt (November, 1960: Delineations used for presenting metropolitan area statistics in 1960 decennial census publications)

Originally Posted by AtlantaIsHot

They are small here in NC too. The county I live in here is only 260 square miles.

But on average, counties are larger in the Carolinas than in Georgia.

[jero23]

Originally Posted by bu2

The counties are small in Georgia, but the number of municipal governments is low compared to the rest of the country. Its more an attitude than anything else. The additional municipalities may actually help get things done by giving a voice to those who get ignored by the counties. North Fulton seems to work together fairly well.

How will 25+ voices versus 10 voices help get things done? They won't because there are too many municipalities are looking out for themselves exclusively could careless for the majority of the region. There are some municipalities that refuse to even work with their own county on service delivery agreements that are mandated by state law, so to think that more voices would work for the better is naive at best.