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Excellent comments, Brother Marks as I share your desire to see the Atlanta region improve its overall quality-of-life over just simply growing the quantity of population for bragging rights over competing large major metro regions.
I understand the premise for you saying this but I don't think this type of statement is really applicable to Atlanta (or to Dallas, Houston, or Miami either for that matter). I think this type of concern with regard to growing for the sake of growing without formulating desired and/or qualitative amenities, offerings, or services is applicable instead to places such as Phoenix, Orlando, Las Vegas, and Charlotte.
There are two types of fast growers in the United States Sunbelt.
You have the Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami types and then you have the Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte type of places. On the surface people wrongly conflate the two groups together and bandy about how they are generic copies of one another, not true at all. People often equate Sunbelt growth in all Sunbelt cities to be the same, but the reality is that not every Sunbelt city is the same. Even amongst them, they have a hierarchy and different styles. Even among them you have the older, more mature, and often have more things to offer types and then you have the younger, less matured, and largely growing for the sake of growth itself types.
When I look at the first group, Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami I see a lot of impressive things that the latter group (Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte) don't have. Things in the way of educational institutions, economic industries, income, economic size, retail brands, airport and airline services, culinary innovations, diversity, cultural institutions, private investment, immigration, among several other things. The Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami group has grown explosively since 1970, each one of them has added over 4 million people but what separates them from the Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte group is in their quality of offerings. They have qualitative offerings and not just because of their big size, but because they were all major cities in the Streetcar Era and all of them had streetcar lines and their inception as a coming of age big city predates suburban expansion after World War II.
The type of structural density, urbanity, streetscapes, and especially architecture that you see in the cores of Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami are not present in Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte. The latter group largely came of age after World War II just like the former group, but unlike the former group, none of them had much of a historic stock of architecture or urban fabric and it shows in every way.
Economically Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami have quality economies with quality industries to represent them, whereas the Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte group do not (well Charlotte has "some" banking, but that is it).
Funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by PCSA, 2016:
- Greater Houston, TX: $379,033,855
- Greater Atlanta, GA: $308,931,902
- Greater Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, TX: $146,299,543
- Greater Miami/Fort Lauderdale, FL: $136,854,803
... Then you have the Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte tier:
Total Personal Income (TPI) by Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in 2014:
05. Houston: $355.791 Billion
06. Dallas/Fort Worth: $344.280 Billion
10. Miami/Fort Lauderdale: $285.961
11. Atlanta: $244.066 Billion
For performing arts and cultural institutions Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami not only have the most popular but also the most qualitative (in terms of art and show pieces), award winning, recognition and prowess. Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte in contrast do not have anything of much significance to offer at the same scale. Observe.
Top Art Museums in the World by Visitors:
- Museum of Fine Arts Houston: 850,000 annually
Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami: All have top 100 undergraduates schools and all have prominent Top 50 graduate level schools in key fields of study. The latter group of Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte does not.
Top 100 Undergraduate Schools, 2016:
18. Rice University (Houston)
21. Emory University (Atlanta)
36. Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta)
51. University of Miami (Miami)
61. Southern Methodist University (Dallas)
82. Texas Christian University (Dallas-Fort Worth)
Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami all have an elite undergraduate institution already in place, a few of them have more than one. In contrast Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte do not have that.
Things stay the same at the graduate level too for some of the most important fields of study; business, law, medicine, engineering, computer science, so on.
Top Business Schools, 2016:
19. Emory University (Atlanta)
25. Rice University (Houston)
37. University of Texas at Dallas (Dallas)
48. Southern Methodist University (Dallas)
Another instance where the Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami group produces in the upper echelon of the United States whereas Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte do not.
Top Engineering Schools, 2016:
07. Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta)
31. Rice University (Houston)
Another instance where the Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami group produces in the upper echelon of the United States whereas Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte do not.
Top Medical Schools (Primary Care), 2016:
09. Baylor College of Medicine (Houston)
21. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas)
29. Emory University (Atlanta)
Another instance where the Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami group produces in the upper echelon of the United States whereas Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte do not.
Top Medical Schools (Research), 2016:
20. Baylor College of Medicine (Houston)
23. Emory University (Atlanta)
25. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas)
44. University of Miami (Miami)
Another instance where the Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami group produces in the upper echelon of the United States whereas Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte do not.
Top Law Schools, 2016:
22. Emory University (Atlanta) 25. Arizona State University (Phoenix)
45. Southern Methodist University (Dallas)
50. University of Houston (Houston)
^ This is the first time in the colleges and universities data where the Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas has actually contributed something of quality.
Top Nursing Schools, 2016: 14. Arizona State University (Phoenix)
24. University of Texas Health and Science Center - Houston (Houston)
38. University of Miami (Miami)
44. Florida Atlantic University (Miami)
45. Baylor University (Dallas)
49. Florida International University (Miami)
^ Again, one of the rare few times where the Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte group has contributed anything.
Top Computer Science Schools, 2016:
09. Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta)
20. Rice University (Houston)
Another instance where the Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami group produces in the upper echelon of the United States whereas Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte do not.
I just want to re-emphasize my point one more time;
No Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami are obviously not perfect and have much work to do at many things but they actually are cultured cities, economically relevant cities, cities with the offerings, amenities, and importance that places like Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte do not have and quite possibly can never have.
When you look at Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami in the data I presented above, you'll notice that in majority of the ways they've already passed up legacy cities like Philadelphia and whatnot at several things. That is because as of today Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami are some of the best cities in ALL OF NORTH AMERICA for culinary scene (food), culture, performing arts, economy, industries, amenities, services, immigration, and the like.
I could have kept on posting statistics. I could have posted venture capital statistics too, I could have posted ballet, opera, theater awards from internationally renown and revered firms as well, I could have posted even more economic industries, I could have posted Fortune 500, Fortune 1000, Global 500 statistics, I could have posted the GDP, I could have posted the number of billionaires, I could have posted all of the luxury retail stores in these cities, I could have posted airport and airline service statistics, I could have posted the hotel brands that have a presence in each city, I could have posted the number of sports teams and the number of champtionships, I could have posted that Michellin Guide is looking to expand its restaurant rating books to Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami but I didn't because that would've been overkill.
I hope that at this point that people understand there is a difference even within fast growing cities. Not all fast growing cities are the same. Some of them are fast growing and already have the quality amenities, services, and offerings in place to be treasured places in the United States and the world. Then there are other fast growing cities that are only growing for the sake of growing. They have relatively weak culture, weak culinary scene, weak and shallow economies, weak amenities, services, and offerings and that at the end of the day, their only characteristic is growth.
I think Atlanta is a bonafide city, as are Houston, Dallas, and Miami.
I think cities like Phoenix, Orlando, Las Vegas, and Charlotte still have much to prove and much to develop upon. As they stand right now, they are all inferior to Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami in almost every relevant way. I understand one can say "I like the location, scenery, and climate" of Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte better but something as subjective as that is it. On all objective fronts such as culinary scene, culture, economy, amenities, services, jobs, offerings, educational institutions, performing arts, immigration and diversity, private investment, and well, everything else a place like Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami are superior.
To summarize:
If Atlanta wants to go absolutely gangbusters with its growth, that's fine. It has the qualitative amenities, offerings, and services already in place. It deserves that right to grow that fast without criticism. Sure, there are still things Atlanta can work on and it should always aim at getting more stuff, more amenities, more services, and offer more of everything it can but as it stands today - growth in Atlanta is an absolute positive.
I do not feel that way about growth in Phoenix, Orlando, Las Vegas, and Charlotte however.
In other words, what you're saying is that you think Atlanta along with Houston, Dallas, and Miami will continue to benefit from rapidly growing in population?
Back to the original subject. I would rather see Atlanta slow somewhat and grow in more smart ways than just go all out to hit the 10 million milestone just for the sake of hitting that number. It's a scary thought on some levels as growth itself is an industry and as the last recession pointed out, any slowing of the rate of Atlanta's growth machine hurts its economy.
But this growth needs to be followed by institutions and amenities that make a mega city a mega city and not just flat numbers. Better universities, hospitals, museums, arts, parks, roads and rails, preservation of the remaining rural enclaves, etc, etc, etc. I would like to see more of this massive growth in the center and the area ITP become much more urban. I would like to see the older cities in the area develop a more urban core as well. Denser pockets in the center and denser satellite orbs and more varied, less dense areas in between. I would hate to see a carpet of somewhat denser sameness everywhere.
I would also prefer that this extra 4 million or so be divided up 2 million for Atlanta and 2 million for the rest of the state. I would like to see Macon, Augusta, Savannah and Columbus really boom and us look a little more like North Carolina than Illinois..... More status and panache to the second tier cities instead of a huge black hole of a monstrous city draining the rest of the state. But I think that wish has reached a point of no return.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll
Excellent comments, Brother Marks as I share your desire to see the Atlanta region improve its overall quality-of-life over just simply growing the quantity of population for bragging rights over competing large major metro regions.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Red John
I understand the premise for you saying this but I don't think this type of statement is really applicable to Atlanta (or to Dallas, Houston, or Miami either for that matter). I think this type of concern with regard to growing for the sake of growing without formulating desired and/or qualitative amenities, offerings, or services is applicable instead to places such as Phoenix, Orlando, Las Vegas, and Charlotte.
There are two types of fast growers in the United States Sunbelt.
You have the Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami types and then you have the Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte type of places. On the surface people wrongly conflate the two groups together and bandy about how they are generic copies of one another, not true at all. People often equate Sunbelt growth in all Sunbelt cities to be the same, but the reality is that not every Sunbelt city is the same. Even amongst them, they have a hierarchy and different styles. Even among them you have the older, more mature, and often have more things to offer types and then you have the younger, less matured, and largely growing for the sake of growth itself types.
When I look at the first group, Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami I see a lot of impressive things that the latter group (Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte) don't have. Things in the way of educational institutions, economic industries, income, economic size, retail brands, airport and airline services, culinary innovations, diversity, cultural institutions, private investment, immigration, among several other things. The Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami group has grown explosively since 1970, each one of them has added over 4 million people but what separates them from the Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte group is in their quality of offerings. They have qualitative offerings and not just because of their big size, but because they were all major cities in the Streetcar Era and all of them had streetcar lines and their inception as a coming of age big city predates suburban expansion after World War II.
The type of structural density, urbanity, streetscapes, and especially architecture that you see in the cores of Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami are not present in Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte. The latter group largely came of age after World War II just like the former group, but unlike the former group, none of them had much of a historic stock of architecture or urban fabric and it shows in every way.
Economically Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami have quality economies with quality industries to represent them, whereas the Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte group do not (well Charlotte has "some" banking, but that is it).
Funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by PCSA, 2016:
- Greater Houston, TX: $379,033,855
- Greater Atlanta, GA: $308,931,902
- Greater Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, TX: $146,299,543
- Greater Miami/Fort Lauderdale, FL: $136,854,803
... Then you have the Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte tier:
Total Personal Income (TPI) by Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in 2014:
05. Houston: $355.791 Billion
06. Dallas/Fort Worth: $344.280 Billion
10. Miami/Fort Lauderdale: $285.961
11. Atlanta: $244.066 Billion
For performing arts and cultural institutions Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami not only have the most popular but also the most qualitative (in terms of art and show pieces), award winning, recognition and prowess. Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte in contrast do not have anything of much significance to offer at the same scale. Observe.
Top Art Museums in the World by Visitors:
- Museum of Fine Arts Houston: 850,000 annually
Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami: All have top 100 undergraduates schools and all have prominent Top 50 graduate level schools in key fields of study. The latter group of Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte does not.
Top 100 Undergraduate Schools, 2016:
18. Rice University (Houston)
21. Emory University (Atlanta)
36. Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta)
51. University of Miami (Miami)
61. Southern Methodist University (Dallas)
82. Texas Christian University (Dallas-Fort Worth)
Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami all have an elite undergraduate institution already in place, a few of them have more than one. In contrast Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte do not have that.
Things stay the same at the graduate level too for some of the most important fields of study; business, law, medicine, engineering, computer science, so on.
Top Business Schools, 2016:
19. Emory University (Atlanta)
25. Rice University (Houston)
37. University of Texas at Dallas (Dallas)
48. Southern Methodist University (Dallas)
Another instance where the Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami group produces in the upper echelon of the United States whereas Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte do not.
Top Engineering Schools, 2016:
07. Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta)
31. Rice University (Houston)
Another instance where the Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami group produces in the upper echelon of the United States whereas Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte do not.
Top Medical Schools (Primary Care), 2016:
09. Baylor College of Medicine (Houston)
21. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas)
29. Emory University (Atlanta)
Another instance where the Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami group produces in the upper echelon of the United States whereas Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte do not.
Top Medical Schools (Research), 2016:
20. Baylor College of Medicine (Houston)
23. Emory University (Atlanta)
25. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas)
44. University of Miami (Miami)
Another instance where the Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami group produces in the upper echelon of the United States whereas Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte do not.
Top Law Schools, 2016:
22. Emory University (Atlanta) 25. Arizona State University (Phoenix)
45. Southern Methodist University (Dallas)
50. University of Houston (Houston)
^ This is the first time in the colleges and universities data where the Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas has actually contributed something of quality.
Top Nursing Schools, 2016: 14. Arizona State University (Phoenix)
24. University of Texas Health and Science Center - Houston (Houston)
38. University of Miami (Miami)
44. Florida Atlantic University (Miami)
45. Baylor University (Dallas)
49. Florida International University (Miami)
^ Again, one of the rare few times where the Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte group has contributed anything.
Top Computer Science Schools, 2016:
09. Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta)
20. Rice University (Houston)
Another instance where the Atlanta/Dallas/Houston/Miami group produces in the upper echelon of the United States whereas Phoenix/Orlando/Las Vegas/Charlotte do not.
No one is arguing that Atlanta (and other major Sunbelt metro regions like Dallas, Houston and Miami) has not already compiled an impressive collection of amenities, offerings, services and quality industries during a period of explosive growth for Atlanta and other large major Sunbelt metro regions since the end of World War II.
The deepest concern specifically about Atlanta moving forward is that the Atlanta region severely lacks the transportation and water supply infrastructures to be able to accommodate its current population of nearly 6.5 million, much less nearly 4 million more residents.
Atlanta severely lacks the transportation and water supply infrastructures of other large major metro regions like Dallas, Houston and even South Florida.
In addition to a severe lack of transportation and water supply infrastructure, there are also concerns about the availability of quality public education at the pre-k through grade 12 level. There are also concerns about the availability of social support services (like libraries, after-school/extracurricular/recreational programs for at-risk youth, etc).
Not unlike its peers of a similar size across the Sunbelt region of the U.S., Atlanta generally does not lack the upper-end amenities, offerings, services and quality industries that are highly appealing to an affluent crowd. But what Atlanta (and other large major metro regions) may lack are the basic services that makes quality-of-life good for everyone in a large major metro region and not just a region's most affluent residents.
No one is arguing that Atlanta (and other major Sunbelt metro regions like Dallas, Houston and Miami) has not already compiled an impressive collection of amenities, offerings, services and quality industries during a period of explosive growth for Atlanta and other large major Sunbelt metro regions since the end of World War II.
The deepest concern specifically about Atlanta moving forward is that the Atlanta region severely lacks the transportation and water supply infrastructures to be able to accommodate its current population of nearly 6.5 million, much less nearly 4 million more residents.
Atlanta severely lacks the transportation and water supply infrastructures of other large major metro regions like Dallas, Houston and even South Florida.
In addition to a severe lack of transportation and water supply infrastructure, there are also concerns about the availability of quality public education at the pre-k through grade 12 level. There are also concerns about the availability of social support services (like libraries, after-school/extracurricular/recreational programs for at-risk youth, etc).
Not unlike its peers of a similar size across the Sunbelt region of the U.S., Atlanta generally does not lack the upper-end amenities, offerings, services and quality industries that are highly appealing to an affluent crowd. But what Atlanta (and other large major metro regions) may lack are the basic services that makes quality-of-life good for everyone in a large major metro region and not just a region's most affluent residents.
Atlanta gets about 50 (49.71) inches of precipitation per year, I think they can figure out water. Not many cities get more rain that that.
In comparison Las Vegas gets 4.
Atlanta gets about 50 (49.71) inches of precipitation per year, I think they can figure out water. Not many cities get more rain that that.
In comparison Las Vegas gets 4.
You'd think so, but Atlanta is actually in a pretty bad spot for water security.
The whole city sits on top of a rock shelf that keeps anything like an aquifer from forming. All rain basically just drains away into the streams and rivers, and groundwater is a spotty, infrequent, and unreliable thing.
We're also right under the headwaters for most of the rivers. The Chattahoochee and Coosa rivers have their headwaters in the Appalachians just to the north. In the case of the Flint, we are literally the headwaters. That means that, when a drought hits, we don't have the advantage of having the whole state as collector, and thus must rely on our reservoirs to hold out during droughts.
There's also the issue of sourcing from other rivers. Obviously the Tennessee river is up there at the boarder, but there's been little success with getting any kind of tap into that. There are other rivers in Georgia, but we start running into the same headwaters issue with a lot of them. There's the Savannah River, but negotiating that with with S.Carolina is going to be an issue, and the depth of the port is a concern if we start pulling too much.
There's also the whole creeping salinity thing, which is helping cause fishery collapse problems in the Apalachola bay. We don't want to do that to any of our bays either, so, again, water pulling is going to be a problem in that regard.
That also applies to trying to do large-area rain capture, in that any water we use without replacing is not going to make it to the bays.
North Georgia in general, has made rather great strides in reducing water waste, and has actually dripped its total usage despite growing in population. Atlanta is making progress in implementing green-infrastructure, meant to conserve water quality, and help add more water back into the streams and rivers rather than just letting it evaporate.
There are other things that can help, like water reuse (not cleaning, but actual reuse) facilities, grey-water systems for industrial and commercial uses, further modernization of our sewer system, more water quality monitoring set ups with better urban creek care, more green-infrastructure, and a finalized negotiation with Tennessee will all help with security.
In other words, what you're saying is that you think Atlanta along with Houston, Dallas, and Miami will continue to benefit from rapidly growing in population?
Yes, with one caveat - they must also continue to expand and make efficient of transportation modes.
Things like historic architecture, cultural institutions, educational facilities, a large quality economy, established pre-war suburbs and neighborhoods and things of that nature, these cities already have in place. If they want to add more, then that's just the icing on the cake.
Their only objective now should be to get bigger and to do so in a manner where infrastructure also expands and becomes more efficient.
To a city like Phoenix, in contrast, it has to start at square one. Essentially all Phoenix really has is size, it is devoid of the historic pre-war neighborhoods, suburbs, architecture, and institutions (both cultural and educational), outside of regional Mexican cuisine - it hasn't developed a culinary scene, and has a shallow economy with little depth. Phoenix is going to continue to grow but it really should focus all of its attention on building up its offerings, services, and amenities and getting that to a higher standard.
Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, and Miami don't have to work hard on that at all. They already have it. They just need to get bigger, beef up in every way, both city and suburbs, increase density several fold in the city core, and expand all types of infrastructure.
The deepest concern specifically about Atlanta moving forward is that the Atlanta region severely lacks the transportation and water supply infrastructures to be able to accommodate its current population of nearly 6.5 million, much less nearly 4 million more residents.
I agree with you on the infrastructure and transportation and that will remain the biggest challenge for every fast growing city in the United States overall. Areas like Washington DC, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Denver, Portland, and Salt Lake City that are growing rapidly outside the Sunbelt also have the same concerns.
Transportation and infrastructure expansion is a necessity, that must be addressed by Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and Miami as well as other fast growing both in the Sunbelt and outside of it.
Why would water be a specific concern for Atlanta? On the surface, it appears to be located in a region where precipitation is high annually.
No one is arguing that Atlanta (and other major Sunbelt metro regions like Dallas, Houston and Miami) has not already compiled an impressive collection of amenities, offerings, services and quality industries during a period of explosive growth for Atlanta and other large major Sunbelt metro regions since the end of World War II.
The deepest concern specifically about Atlanta moving forward is that the Atlanta region severely lacks the transportation and water supply infrastructures to be able to accommodate its current population of nearly 6.5 million, much less nearly 4 million more residents.
Atlanta severely lacks the transportation and water supply infrastructures of other large major metro regions like Dallas, Houston and even South Florida.
In addition to a severe lack of transportation and water supply infrastructure, there are also concerns about the availability of quality public education at the pre-k through grade 12 level. There are also concerns about the availability of social support services (like libraries, after-school/extracurricular/recreational programs for at-risk youth, etc).
Not unlike its peers of a similar size across the Sunbelt region of the U.S., Atlanta generally does not lack the upper-end amenities, offerings, services and quality industries that are highly appealing to an affluent crowd. But what Atlanta (and other large major metro regions) may lack are the basic services that makes quality-of-life good for everyone in a large major metro region and not just a region's most affluent residents.
Transportation, development and zoning is linked......
Despite Houston and Dallas having a better better road network Atlanta traffic is better. Part of reason besides population is Houston and Dallas zoning is just as ridiculous or even more so than Atlanta.
Sprawl complicates Transportation issues Atlanta doesn't need Houston, Dallas, or Miami road network. Most cities outside of North America are not grided, They have denser developments and better zoning. This is what Metro Atlanta need especially give the present infrastructure.
I have check Skyscraper page repeatedly, and Check their version of the ARC, The north central Texas council of governments and southeast texas council of governments. While those cities have more projects and of urban developments. Atlanta seem to have more urban project percentage given it's size, and have way more leaders focus on smart growth than Metros. I think this because these metro have different task.
Atlanta does have the water, it's Georgia fighting AL and Florida for water from a reservoir in Georgia is the issue. It's politics more than lush Atlanta actually lacking water. But Georgia does need to build more reservoirs.
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