New Planning Director implies CoA population could triple to 1.5M in the next 20 years (Atlanta: 2015, apartment)

[jsvh]

New ATL planning director to Bankhead residents: We need your help designing city's future | Atlanta News & Opinion Blog | Fresh Loaf | Creative Loafing Atlanta

...He emphasized that he’s very much in a learning mode about Atlanta’s neighborhoods and that he wants help planning what he hopes will be a more populous city 20 years down the line.

“We could, over that period of time, become more dense and urban and become more natural and restore nature at the same time if we do it right,” Keane said.

“Say we want to have a million and a half people in Atlanta rather than the 500,000 we have now,” he said. "This place better be a lot better place to live when we get there. Which means a lot of specifics about how the neighborhood grows, how this neighborhood grows. And the people that live here have to define that, have to help us design that."
...

I am sure he is aware that is a bit ambitious, but I say bring it on. If the macro trends of shifting back to the core continue to accelerate as they are, this is more achievable than many think.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by jsvh

New ATL planning director to Bankhead residents: We need your help designing city's future | Atlanta News & Opinion Blog | Fresh Loaf | Creative Loafing Atlanta



I am sure he is aware that is a bit ambitious, but I say bring it on. If the macro trends of shifting back to the core continue to accelerate as they are, this is more achievable than many think.

He's just throwing stuff out there, not being serious. For Atlanta to have 1.5 million in the current city limits, that would increase density by 3.5 times, from 3,174 in 2010 to 11,329. Below are the US cities of over 150k that have a higher density than that:
New York 27,016
San Francisco 17,246
Jersey City 16,094
Boston 13,321
Chicago 11,868
Hialeah 11,767
Newark 11,495

Philadelphia with 11,233 isn't even that dense.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by bu2

He's just throwing stuff out there, not being serious. For Atlanta to have 1.5 million in the current city limits, that would increase density by 3.5 times, from 3,174 in 2010 to 11,329. Below are the US cities of over 150k that have a higher density than that:
New York 27,016
San Francisco 17,246
Jersey City 16,094
Boston 13,321
Chicago 11,868
Hialeah 11,767
Newark 11,495

Philadelphia with 11,233 isn't even that dense.

Yep. I looked that up before posting. To me that just shows how possible that is to happen. Also, Miami and Atlanta in decades past goes on that list too, totally achievable growth for CoA IMO.

[JoeP]

Of course a planning director would imply such lofty numbers. I would like to see someone independent give projections. While the metro growth is massive, I don't see how the city can remotely gain that many people. Not anything close to that.

[alco89]

The city won't grow that much in the next 20 years, everyone knows that. I'm thinking the planning director is just throwing numbers out there really implying that the city has the area capacity for 1.5 million people.

Regardless, with estimates showing the metro growing to 8 million in the next 15-25 years, we do need to be ready! As far as the metro area is concerned, West ATL, SW ATL, and comparatively underpopulated SW Fulton will be the logical areas to look to. I'd like to see our leaders in these different jurisdictions prepare for this growth by improving crime, infrastructure, and schools.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by jsvh

New ATL planning director to Bankhead residents: We need your help designing city's future | Atlanta News & Opinion Blog | Fresh Loaf | Creative Loafing Atlanta

I am sure he is aware that is a bit ambitious, but I say bring it on. If the macro trends of shifting back to the core continue to accelerate as they are, this is more achievable than many think.

If that is what the folks in Bankhead want, I say more power to them.

[GeorgiaPeanuts]

Originally Posted by JoeP

Of course a planning director would imply such lofty numbers. I would like to see someone independent give projections. While the metro growth is massive, I don't see how the city can remotely gain that many people. Not anything close to that.

According to the ABC Weekend Paper, 38% of all apartment construction in the metro area is happening in the Midtown submarket alone. And there are about 4-5 additional buildings approaching construction starting as well as more proposals in the pipeline. Buckhead is probably not far behind that and I bet Old Fourth Ward as well so right now it looks like that is exactly the trend

[JoeP]

That's great, but again, it's absolutely nowhere close to pace for 1.5 million.

It really doesn't matter, Atlanta has very strong in migration and natural change, along with a strong economy. It just ain't going to be a city proper of 1.5 million anytime close to that prediction.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by JoeP

That's great, but again, it's absolutely nowhere close to pace for 1.5 million.

It really doesn't matter, Atlanta has very strong in migration and natural change, along with a strong economy. It just ain't going to be a city proper of 1.5 million anytime close to that prediction.

The only way that happens by mid-century is if Atlanta annexes most of South Fulton and a big chunk of DeKalb. Its not going to happen in the current city limits.

[J2rescue]

Originally Posted by jsvh

New ATL planning director to Bankhead residents: We need your help designing city's future | Atlanta News & Opinion Blog | Fresh Loaf | Creative Loafing Atlanta


I am sure he is aware that is a bit ambitious, but I say bring it on. If the macro trends of shifting back to the core continue to accelerate as they are, this is more achievable than many think.

I don't think he is at all implying that this will happen. He's just using a figure to make a point that IF we want the city to continue to grow and become very dense, we are going to have to improve the city one neighborhood at a time.