Attention Cobb County residents (Atlanta, Marietta: law school, sales tax, living in)

[glovenyc]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Brookhaven is slammed with apartments, townhouses, and dense single family neighborhoods. It's bounded by two of the city's major freeways and has a number of major arterials slicing right through it. It's got mass transit, major parks, ethnic diversity and tons of businesses, small and large. There's every kind of retail from funky little mom & pop stores to Costco. There are fine dining restaurants as well as little hole in the wall places. A trunk freight line runs right through the middle of it and it borders by one of the nation's busiest private airports. It's got a four mile common boundary with the city of Atlanta and was an early streetcar suburb. It is 100% ITP.

Why does all of this not add up to urban?

It's never enough?

[jsvh]

If you want to get technical, the US Census defines an "urban area" as one with more than 1,000 people per square mile. Which makes Brookhaven an urban area.

I think "urban" is mostly used subjectively. Some think it has to be dense blocks of skyscrapers. Some think it is being able to see your neighbor's house from your own is urban.

I am more the former. I don't think most of the city of Atlanta is urban. I would consider Brookhaven and Cumberland an "emerging urban nodes". But I don't know why anyone would pick Cumberland over Brookhaven.

[whodean]

Originally Posted by jsvh

I don't know why anyone would pick Cumberland over Brookhaven.

That's an easy one. Schools are probably at the top of that list. Brookhaven is saddled with incompetent DeKalb schools

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by whodean

That's an easy one. Schools are probably at the top of that list. Brookhaven is saddled with incompetent DeKalb schools

Nope. Chamblee HS & Cross Keys HS are ranked higher than Cambell HS and Wheeler HS by US News & World Reports.

Were you maybe trying to go for "schools" as the code word for racism and classism?

[AfternoonCoffee]

Originally Posted by jsvh

Nope. Chamblee HS & Cross Keys HS are ranked higher than Cambell HS and Wheeler HS by US News & World Reports.

Were you maybe trying to go for "schools" as the code word for racism and classism?

I seriously doubt the poster was using "schools" as a "code word for racism and classism" when Campbell, Wheeler and Chamblee high schools all have nearly the same racial demographics (roughly 45% black, 25% white, and 15% Hispanic) Cross Keys would be the outlier with 78% Hispanic, 12% black, and 2% white. Clearly all the gentrified urbanites of Brookhaven aren't sending their kids there, though, as 86% of the students have free and reduced lunch. Oh, and of the other 3 schools, Chamblee HS has the lowest population of students on free and reduced lunch at 41% (compared to Wheeler's 45% and Campbell's 64%)

So, maybe the poster really meant exactly what they implied: that Cobb's public school system is more stable and dependable than Dekalb's public school system that, unfortunately, has had far more issues and drama. And not so much about individual schools.

That's my guess, anyway.

[Cameron H]

Originally Posted by jsvh

Nope. Chamblee HS & Cross Keys HS are ranked higher than Cambell HS and Wheeler HS by US News & World Reports.

Were you maybe trying to go for "schools" as the code word for racism and classism?

1. So when you say "Cumberland" it seems you're talking about Smyrna and Marietta?
2. What about elementary schools? Maybe you prefer King Springs, Teasley, or Nickajack to Ashford Park?
3. How do housing prices compare between Brookhaven and Smyrna or Marietta?
4. Maybe you're looking for proximity to private schools such as Lovett or Whitefield?
5. Smyrna is more diverse and more dense than City of Atlanta.

46.63% African American
31.6% White
14.9% Hispanic or Latino
4.9% Asian
3.1% Multiracial

While there seem to be many good reasons for some people to choose "Cumberland" over Brookhaven, racism wouldn't appear to be one of them.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Do you see a scenario where traffic get so bad, that Cobb County leaders cry out to the state for help and then once a suburban, republican-dominated county puts pressure on state leaders the state will actually do something? What I am getting at is the state is more likely to help out a suburban, republican-dominated county than a liberal, black-controlled city like Atlanta?

Yeah, I definitely can see a scenario where traffic gets so bad in the I-75/I-285 NW Cobb Cloverleaf/Cumberland/Platinum Triangle area that Cobb County leaders (particularly Cobb's business community) pressures Georgia state government to fund the construction of multiple high-capacity transit lines through/near the area of the new Braves' stadium and beyond up the US 41/I-75/I-575 Northwest Corridor.

Though if traffic does get that bad on Braves' game days around the new stadium in Cumberland, the more likely scenario is that Cobb County will join with North Fulton and Gwinnett counties to pressure the Georgia state government that those areas dominate to directly fund the implementation of high-capacity transit service through their politically powerful areas.....Much in the same way that Georgia state government already directly funds express commuter bus service (GRTA Xpress) to and from the suburbs where much (if not most) of the political power in the state currently lies.

As long as suburban and exurban Republicans (in particular, Northside suburban and exurban Republicans) dominate Georgia's political scene, Georgia state government will likely be more prone to fund transportation improvements in the Northern suburbs where much of its financial and electoral support lies.

[Cameron H]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Yeah, I definitely can see a scenario where traffic gets so bad in the I-75/I-285 NW Cobb Cloverleaf/Cumberland/Platinum Triangle area that Cobb County leaders (particularly Cobb's business community) pressures Georgia state government to fund the construction of multiple high-capacity transit lines through/near the area of the new Braves' stadium and beyond up the US 41/I-75/I-575 Northwest Corridor.

Are we talking busses? Or rail? I'd love to see rail expanded to the area and my wallet's open, but let's not kid ourselves that it would relieve ballpark traffic anytime soon.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Cameron H

Are we talking busses? Or rail? I'd love to see rail expanded to the area and my wallet's open, but let's not kid ourselves that it would relieve ballpark traffic anytime soon.

The state has an unfunded proposal to run a high-capacity passenger rail transit line (light rail or heavy rail) across Top End of the I-285 Perimeter between Cumberland and Doraville by way of Perimeter which has been on the books for many years.

But no one in political leadership positions in Georgia state government or in the Cobb, North Fulton and Gwinnett county governments can decide on whether they should go with expanded bus service that operates in future HOT lanes or grade-separated high-capacity rail transit (light rail or heavy rail) service if and whenever the money for expanded transit service comes available.

Cobb County business interests have long wanted a high-capacity rail transit line to be constructed along the US 41 Cobb Parkway corridor but no one seems to know how to come up with money to build and operate it, so right now the proposal seems to be for some kind of Bus Rapid Transit line to be implemented along the US 41 corridor.

But Cobb County government's proposed way to pay for the proposed BRT line (funds obtained from a voter referendum-approved sales tax and federal funding) is highly-controversial with Cobb's still-conservative electorate....A conservative Cobb County electorate that is not quite comfortable with so much public money being spent on transit....Which is why often-embattled Cobb County Commission Chairman Tim Lee (a political figure that has taken much heat from Cobb County's still-large faction of conservative base voters and conservative grassroots activists during his time in office) seems to have indefinitely post-phoned putting the BRT line proposal on the ballot this year in the same year when he must stand for re-election.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by Cameron H

While there seem to be many good reasons for some people to choose "Cumberland" over Brookhaven, racism wouldn't appear to be one of them.

Don't confuse diversity for lack of racism / classism. The Confederacy was much more diverse than the rest of the US.

Cobb leads the way in hate in metro Atlanta:

Olympic Torch Relay Will Skip Atlanta Suburb That Condemned Gay Life - NYTimes.com
“Take MARTA To Cobb and Rob” by Ed Kilgore | Political Animal | The Washington Monthly
How Atlanta Was Kept Out Of Cobb County By A 10-Foot-Wide City | WABE 90.1 FM