TL metro added 68,585 residents from July 1st 2022 to July 1, 2023.

[atl2021]

Originally Posted by rickms55

Something that gets lost (or more commonly, most people don't consider ever) is that there are two main pieces to population change. Migration (people moving in vs out) and natural change (births vs deaths). Natural change is the part that is not on the radar. 26,000 of the metro's gain last year was from natural change (net gain from births).

The problem for much of the country is that many areas have positive migration but have more deaths than births. We actually need more immigration for a lot of the country.

I have been screaming this for a long time. If we stop immigration, the population of the US will begin to decline. See Japan as an example.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by atl2021

I have been screaming this for a long time. If we stop immigration, the population of the US will begin to decline. See Japan as an example.

I'm fine with legal immigration, not the current mess along the border.

[rickms55]

Originally Posted by Gulch

I'm fine with legal immigration, not the current mess along the border.

Ok, this isn't a discussion about the "border." Nobody brought up "illegal" immigration.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Your comment raises the point that Alpharetta and Gainesville have emerged as dominant hubs of metropolitan and regional activity in the 21st century as most of Atlanta’s continued metropolitan and regional growth has increasingly occurred north of the city since the end of World War II.

Since the Great Recession, the North metro Atlanta outer suburb of Alpharetta has emerged as a major (massive) hub of tech industry and white-collar job activity in North metro Atlanta and North Georgia.

And since the turn of the millennium, the Northeast metro Atlanta exurb of Gainesville (which was already a very important hub of industrial activity in the Northeast Georgia Foothills/Mountains region) has emerged as a very important and major hub of political activity in the greater Atlanta metropolitan region and in greater North Georgia.

It’s no accident that there are two potential ownership groups currently vying to attract an NHL franchise back to the Atlanta market at two possible sites in the Alpharetta area, which anchors a large cluster of affluent households in the North metro Atlanta OTP suburbs.

And it’s no accident that multiple powerful Georgia political figures at the state and federal levels (including a two-term former Georgia governor, a three-term former Georgia lieutenant governor, a former very high-ranking congressional leader, a former Georgia state senate majority leader, a highly influential media personality, etc.) have come out of the Gainesville area since the turn of the millennium.

The North metro Atlanta suburbs and exurbs have experienced so much growth in recent years and preceding decades that the area has acquired its own economic, political, social and cultural sphere of influence that may often make the area feel as if it is separate from the rest of metro Atlanta.

Sounds like that's where we need the second commercial airport

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Mississippi Alabama Line

Sounds like that's where we need the second commercial airport

Atlanta city government actually owns 10,000 acres of land about 60 miles north of Five Points in Downtown Atlanta that was intended to eventually become a second major commercial airport for the greater Atlanta metropolitan region and North Georgia.

That land is the Dawson Forest City of Atlanta Tract in Dawson County, which Atlanta city government purchased back in the very early 1970’s because of expectations that most of the future growth in the greater metro Atlanta/North Georgia region would happen north of Atlanta.

There are multiple reasons why that land was never developed into a second major commercial airport, including because:

> Delta Air Lines has opposed and continues to oppose the development of a second major commercial airport in the greater Atlanta region

> Very strong opposition from environmentalists and local residents to developing what has become a beloved wilderness area in the North Georgia Appalachian foothills

> Supposed findings that the topography of site makes it unsuited to be an airport

> Some concerns about lingering radiation levels from when the site was used for nuclear research and testing in the 1950’s and ‘60’s.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Atlanta city government actually owns 10,000 acres of land about 60 miles north of Five Points in Downtown Atlanta that was intended to eventually become a second major commercial airport for the greater Atlanta metropolitan region and North Georgia.

That land is the Dawson Forest City of Atlanta Tract in Dawson County, which Atlanta city government purchased back in the very early 1970’s because of expectations that most of the future growth in the greater metro Atlanta/North Georgia region would happen north of Atlanta.

There are multiple reasons why that land was never developed into a second major commercial airport, including because:

> Delta Air Lines has opposed and continues to oppose the development of a second major commercial airport in the greater Atlanta region

> Very strong opposition from environmentalists and local residents to developing what has become a beloved wilderness area in the North Georgia Appalachian foothills

> Supposed findings that the topography of site makes it unsuited to be an airport

> Some concerns about lingering radiation levels from when the site was used for nuclear research and testing in the 1950’s and ‘60’s.

Paulding too. But the key word is Delta.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Mississippi Alabama Line

Paulding too. But the key word is Delta.

It wasn’t just Delta that blocked the development of the Paulding County airport (also known as Silver Comet Field at Paulding Northwest Atlanta Airport) but it was also the local voters there who replaced ambitious pro-development Paulding County Board of Commissioners members with less-ambitious pro-development politicians in the 2014 election.

One important thing to keep in mind about Paulding County is that much of the western half of the county is a state government-protected wilderness area (in the Paulding Forest and Sheffield WMA’s/Wildlife Management Areas) that Paulding County residents (particularly longtime Paulding County residents) are very fond of keeping in place, particularly as the eastern half of the county becomes increasingly built-up with heavier development that is spilling over into Paulding County from neighboring Cobb County.

And the Paulding County airport is located at a site that is surrounded on at least three sides by the protected lands of the Paulding Forest WMA. So development of that site into a larger commercial airport was always going to be a challenge.

[SEAandATL]

Originally Posted by rickms55

Ok, this isn't a discussion about the "border." Nobody brought up "illegal" immigration.

Most of ATL metro's growth came from elsewhere in the South, particularly Florida.

[evannole]

Originally Posted by SEAandATL

Most of ATL metro's growth came from elsewhere in the South, particularly Florida.

The three largest Florida metros, combined, added nearly 3x the number of people that Metro Atlanta did.

[MichiganderTexan]

Originally Posted by ShenardL

People used to say Phoenix would reach/surpass Atlanta's population, but Atlanta is growing faster. Atlanta will be 6th in MSA for a while since the cities behind it are growing slower while the cities ahead of it (Houston/Dallas) are growing faster. I think Atlanta is projected to have 8 million in the MSA by 2049/2050, so around 2060 is around the time it may pass Chicago (which is stagnant/declining in population).

Phoenix isn't really growing slower though. Based on last year's estimate yes, but there have been years where Phoenix had a higher numerical growth rate than metro Atlanta.