Collapse of the suburbs north of ATL (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: 2015, apartment complex)

[Pemgin]

Every time I venture out there, it seems as nice as ever. What am I not seeing?

[markjames68]

It must be terrible. I am so sad I am moving there shortly.

[AnsleyPark]

There are economically stressed areas in the suburbs as well as in town. There is little to no difference. Having lived in both, it does seem like some intowners revel in suburban problems way too much. Not so much vice-versa.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by seussie

I grew up in Atlanta so I can't lament suburbia. I don't think I ever will. I'm sure there are other narratives, but I always connect the earlier suburban movement to midcentury white flight from the city.

The white population of the city of Atlanta declined by about 175,000 during the decades of mid-century white flight.

That's a very small drop in the bucket of the suburbs.

Millions of blacks, Hispanics, Asians and other ethnic groups have settled in the burbs as well.

[jsvh]

There are still a lot of nice suburbs. But nationality many suburbs are having challenges. That is no different here in Atlanta. Many suburban areas that used to know as really nice when I was younger have become lower income areas. There are a lot of former 1980s "McMansions" out there that now are being shared with a lot of roommates and not getting properly maintained.

[ATLTJL]

Just go anywhere near Lake Lanier or the Gainesville area.

Does anybody consider Gainesville a northern suburb of Atlanta?

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Does anybody consider Gainesville a northern suburb of Atlanta?

Maybe the chickens in southern Hall.

[NorthAtlanta]

I live in Alpharetta and this area only has gotten nicer in the last 10 years. The same with Forsyth. The county is booming and for the first time it entered the top 20 richest counties in the US, the only county in Georgia. Every month we read about a new company moving in or a new upscale mixed use project being announced. Alpharetta and Forsyth schools are among the best in the state and the country. I don't think anything in this area is collapsing, the Alpharetta-Milton-Johnscreek-South Forsyth segment is booming developing it's separate identity, kinda like Orange County to LA.. Most of the trailer parks in this area have been swallowed by newer subdivisions and the residents of these parks have moved out of the area relocating further up North.

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by linus1220

Just go anywhere near Lake Lanier or the Gainesville area. There are expansive trailer parks off the same main roads that million dollar lake homes are on.

The trailer parks were there long before the million dollar lake houses. You just never noticed them for some reason.

Hispanic workers making minimum wage at the chicken factory gotta live somewhere.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Does anybody consider Gainesville a northern suburb of Atlanta?

That's a good question.

An area like Gainesville, which is roughly about 50+ miles from Downtown Atlanta, would probably best be described as an 'exurb' rather than as a 'suburb'.

Though some parts of south Hall County that are closest to Gwinnett County probably could be described as 'far outer-suburban' considering that those areas are as close to Atlanta as Cumming is in central Forsyth County, one trait of exurban areas is that they will often feature pockets of outer-suburban type of affluence intermingled with pockets of middle-income housing and pockets of poverty (like trailer homes, etc).

Like was alluded to earlier in the thread as well as in other threads and discussions on this subject, suburban areas in larger metros all over the country have experienced a significant degree of socioeconomic diversification in recent years.

Because of a large base of commercial development that has generated many office, commercial, industrial, retail, and logistical jobs, the suburbs of large major metro areas (like Atlanta, etc) have seen an influx of lower-income residents (including large numbers of immigrants) that are attracted to those jobs and the generally high-quality schools of those outlying areas.

The influx of large numbers of lower-income residents into traditionally affluent suburban areas does not mean that the suburbs are "collapsing," it just means that the suburbs of large major metro areas are much more socioeconomically diverse than they were in the past.