Which decade has been more prosperous for the Atlanta region, the 1990's or the 2010's? (Savannah: home, construction)

[Born 2 Roll]

Which decade has been more prosperous for the Atlanta region?

The 1990's, when Atlanta experienced explosive economic and population growth and gained notoriety as a rising sports mecca (with a then-new Georgia Dome stadium that was named host of two Super Bowls and the SEC Football Championship Game) with a massive fast-growing international airport and an upstart Hip-Hop and R&B music scene that rose to national prominence during the lead-up to Atlanta's berth as host of the 1996 Summer Olympics?

Or the current decade of the 2010's, when Atlanta has become an established brand as a major national sports mecca (that is home to new football and baseball stadiums), a local music scene that dominates the national Hip-Hop and R&B landscape (by way of the Atlanta-originated Hip-Hop subgenre of Trap music), an exploding television and film production scene that is the third-largest on the entire planet, is the site of the world's busiest airport and is powered by an Atlantic Ocean seaport (the Port of Savannah) that is one of the busiest and fastest-growing international seaports on the planet?

[Ant131531]

1990s were more transformative as of currently....I think that decade is what transformed Atlanta from a provincial mid-size southern metro to a major international metro whereas the 2010s are sort of a continuation from where Atlanta's growth left off right before the Great Recession.

That being said, this decade isn't over yet so we can't really fully judge until it's 2020. This decade will likely be more transformative than the 2000s. This is also the best decade for the City of Atlanta itself in 50 or so years.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Ant131531

1990s were more transformative as of currently....I think that decade is what transformed Atlanta from a provincial mid-size southern metro to a major international metro whereas the 2010s are sort of a continuation from where Atlanta's growth left off right before the Great Recession.

Excellent points as I agree that the 1990's likely were not only more transformative but were extremely transformative for Atlanta.

The 1990's are the decade that put Atlanta on the map with its then-extremely fast-growing airport; the construction of such iconic facilities as the Georgia Dome, Turner Field and Philips Arena; the city being awarded the rights to host multiple major sporting events (including the SEC Championship Game, two Super Bowls and (especially) the 1996 Summer Olympics) and a then fast-rising upstart Hip-Hop and R&B music scene that eventually rose to international prominence by way of such talents as Kris Kross, TLC, Da Brat, Goodie MOB and (of course) OutKast.

Originally Posted by Ant131531

That being said, this decade isn't over yet so we can't really fully judge until it's 2020. This decade will likely be more transformative than the 2000s. This is also the best decade for the City of Atlanta itself in 50 or so years.

I strongly agree that the current will likely be even more transformative than previous decades like the 1990's and the 2000's.

That's because of the stunning rise during the 2010's decade of Atlanta and Georgia as a massive hub for the television and film production industry, along with the rise of the Atlanta area as a technology hub and the construction and opening of such new sports facilities as SunTrust Park and (especially) the potentially-iconic Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The continued rise of Atlanta as a major sporting event-hosting mecca as well as the continued rise of the Atlanta area as a college and prep sports hotbed is also something that can be cited as a major positive for the metro area.

Though, we may not be able to fully judge the impact of this decade until its 2020, this decade seems to be another extremely transformative and highly-prosperous decade for the Atlanta region.

[JMatl]

Originally Posted by Ant131531

1990s were more transformative as of currently....I think that decade is what transformed Atlanta from a provincial mid-size southern metro to a major international metro whereas the 2010s are sort of a continuation from where Atlanta's growth left off right before the Great Recession.

Atlanta hasn't been a 'provincial mid-size southern metro' since the early 80's, and hasn't really been 'provincial' since the 60's.


Born 2 Roll, great idea for a thread! I would say these times are more transformative than the 90's, especially with the changes to the built environment.

[oldschoolChevy]

I would say this decade easily. The 90's opened that gate but this current era is when the city kicked it wide open. I actually base my opinion off the youth in the city. I grew up in the 90's -early 2000's and remember all the change, but my generation was still for all intents and purposes country. We weren't concerned with cosmopolitan stuff like traveling, dressing nice or trying to be classy. We were all about shorts and flip flops, old school Amercian cars () and some beer and fried chicken at a cook out. Now in 2017 I look at the youth of the city of all races and they remind me of the young folks I see when Im in DC. The stuff they are doing as teens I wasnt even aware of until my 20's. The style and overall swagger is completely different than ours too. These kids in the city now actually come off like some big city kids, unlike my generation where our culture hadn't really caught up to the growth of the city itself

[AnsleyPark]

I would have to say the 90s, a decade when Atlanta's business community exerted tremendous economic muscle to become a national and international business powerhouse with growing its native Fortune 500s and attracting other Fortune 500s to the area. Of course, that continues to this day.

[Tarzanman]

The 90's, by a longshot. Atlanta was firing all all cylinders. Economically, athletically, commercially. Here are just of the few things that I remember:
Braves as world series champions in 1995
Georgia Tech as AFCA football champs in 1990
Atlanta hosts the Olympics in 1996
Thrashers awarded to Atlanta in 1997 (start playing in 1999)
Atlanta Hartsfield becomes busiest airport (by passenger traffic) in 1998
Freaknik increases in size to ~80,000 people in 1993 and then 250,000 n 1995
Turner Broadcasting becomes a major player: CNN rises to pre-eminence in 1991 (due to Desert Storm coverage); Cartoon Network launched in 1993

I'm sure there's a lot more.

[arjay57]

I'd also say the 90s.

[DJDeadParrot]

Going to go with 90s, as well.

[Tarzanman]

Originally Posted by oldschoolChevy

I would say this decade easily. The 90's opened that gate but this current era is when the city kicked it wide open. I actually base my opinion off the youth in the city. I grew up in the 90's -early 2000's and remember all the change, but my generation was still for all intents and purposes country. We weren't concerned with cosmopolitan stuff like traveling, dressing nice or trying to be classy. We were all about shorts and flip flops, old school Amercian cars () and some beer and fried chicken at a cook out. Now in 2017 I look at the youth of the city of all races and they remind me of the young folks I see when Im in DC. The stuff they are doing as teens I wasnt even aware of until my 20's. The style and overall swagger is completely different than ours too. These kids in the city now actually come off like some big city kids, unlike my generation where our culture hadn't really caught up to the growth of the city itself

That is almost 100% the advent of the internet and social networking. Even the most reclusive shut-in living in a basement on the outskirts of Palmetto now has access at their fingertips to youtube channels, message forums, communication and other sound, images and video to almost any subculture out there. As a kid, you didn't have access to much of anything that wasn't approved for consumption on mass media (radio, tv, periodicals), didn't come to via word of mouth, or didn't exist geographically close to you.