Why is Georgia so dependent on Atlanta ? (Columbus, Savannah: insurance, home)

[matt8325]

Is it just me or does it seem like states like FL and NC have several big metro areas but GA mainly just has 1 big metro area. In NC there are 3 metro areas I can think of with over 1 mill people ( Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro/Winston Salem). FL has several large metro areas ( Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville). I dont think Augusta, Savannah, Macon, or Columbus have metro areas of over 1 million. It seems like you always hear about most jobs going to the Atlanta metro area, while in other states like NC and FL the jobs are more spread out over the whole state.

[TakeAhike]

This may provide some insight>>>
History of Atlanta (http://sos.georgia.gov/tours/html/atlanta_history.html - broken link)

Georgia was primarily dependent on agriculture and later manufacturing/textiles. Goods were shipped to Atlanta to go N, E, S and W. 'Commerce' --that was the reason for being.

There are probably many more reasons. Those in the Georgia forum might have some thoughts on this.

[Georgia]

One reason is due to interstate construction. If you notice, unlike NC and FL for example, every highway system in Georgia leads to what center? Atlanta.

On an economic end you will need to re-arrange your question to Why is Atlanta so dependent on Georgia considering the majority of the state tax bite is shipped to Atlanta on an annual basis to constantly bail out the fiscal mismanagement of the city. With quarter billion dollar deficits, half billion in missingTAD funds, and government dependency programs, it's hard to send capital to other areas of the state for growth. If so, you would find boom towns in the Savannah and Columbus areas. This you will probably find as the norm opinion in the Georgia vs. Atlanta thread

[matt8325]

Originally Posted by Georgia

One reason is due to interstate construction. If you notice, unlike NC and FL for example, every highway system in Georgia leads to what center? Atlanta.

On an economic end you will need to re-arrange your question to Why is Atlanta so dependent on Georgia considering the majority of the state tax bite is shipped to Atlanta on an annual basis to constantly bail out the fiscal mismanagement of the city. With quarter billion dollar deficits, half billion in missingTAD funds, and government dependency programs, it's hard to send capital to other areas of the state for growth. If so, you would find boom towns in the Savannah and Columbus areas. This you will probably find as the norm opinion in the Georgia vs. Atlanta thread

I think there should be an interstate going from Columbus to Macon to Augusta. I mean, there basically is no easy way to get from Columbus to Macon or Macon to Augusta.

[atlantagreg30127]

Actually, President Clinton was in the final planning stages for a "secondary" Interstate system that would fill in the blanks where there are none now, before the um, "controversy" and witchhunt began in his term, so that idea was shelved - actually, along with a national lottery which was in the planning stages too if memory serves.

My home town is in Charleston, West Virginia. I drive hours longer than I could, if only there were an interstate that connected Atlanta to Knoxville in a straight line, and Knoxville to Charleston. But the "curve" route that I have to take adds about 2.5 to 3 hours to the trip. There are plenty of other city-to-city trips that would be greatly reduced if they did a secondary system of roads (and yes, bringing back the rail system would help, too).

Other states that also have one major city that serve as their economic engine would be Indiana (Indianapolis), Maryland (Baltimore), Nebraska (Omaha), Oklahoma (Tulsa), etc. Georgia is not unique to have one major city that fuels a lot of the state's income (though certainly not all of it). Savannah was supposed to be the big city in Georgia and was planned from the get-go to be such by the founders. It just never happened when rail overtook the shipping industry, causing Atlanta ("Terminus") to take over.

[matt8325]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

Actually, President Clinton was in the final planning stages for a "secondary" Interstate system that would fill in the blanks where there are none now, before the um, "controversy" and witchhunt began in his term, so that idea was shelved - actually, along with a national lottery which was in the planning stages too if memory serves.

My home town is in Charleston, West Virginia. I drive hours longer than I could, if only there were an interstate that connected Atlanta to Knoxville in a straight line, and Knoxville to Charleston. But the "curve" route that I have to take adds about 2.5 to 3 hours to the trip. There are plenty of other city-to-city trips that would be greatly reduced if they did a secondary system of roads (and yes, bringing back the rail system would help, too).

Other states that also have one major city that serve as their economic engine would be Indiana (Indianapolis), Maryland (Baltimore), Nebraska (Omaha), Oklahoma (Tulsa), etc. Georgia is not unique to have one major city that fuels a lot of the state's income (though certainly not all of it). Savannah was supposed to be the big city in Georgia and was planned from the get-go to be such by the founders. It just never happened when rail overtook the shipping industry, causing Atlanta ("Terminus") to take over.

Yeah, you are right that there are several states in which there is 1 major city that serves as the main economic engine of that state. I was just comparing GA to surrounding states. I think you can say that out of the states surrounding in GA (FL, AL, TN, SC, NC), GA is more dependent on 1 city than any of these states. Out of all these states, I dont think there is 1 city or metro area that dominates their state the way Atlanta dominates GA.

[Zel Ya]

Originally Posted by matt8325

Is it just me or does it seem like states like FL and NC have several big metro areas but GA mainly just has 1 big metro area. In NC there are 3 metro areas I can think of with over 1 mill people ( Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro/Winston Salem). FL has several large metro areas ( Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville). I dont think Augusta, Savannah, Macon, or Columbus have metro areas of over 1 million. It seems like you always hear about most jobs going to the Atlanta metro area, while in other states like NC and FL the jobs are more spread out over the whole state.

I think there are a few reasons why smaller Georgia cities, as well as other cities in the South, dwarf Atlanta population-wise. Somewhere in the equation there's the issue of civil rights.

The birth of the civil rights movement took place in Atlanta. Martin Luther King was born here. Too many Georgia cities, and other cities in the South, are still locked in the 1950s.

Not that many years ago, Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta were the same size. Why did Atlanta become a dynamic city and Birmingham less so? Civil rights is a factor. Black families viewed Atlanta as a much better place to live than Birmingham. There are other factors but civil rights is certainly one.

Growth in cities is dependent on jobs. I would guess North Carolina has more cities with larger populations due to a more diversified job base. There are a lot of textile industries in North Carolina, furniture, the Research Triangle with a large concentration of high-tech jobs, and Charlotte with a large concentration of insurance jobs.

Broadly speaking, I think many jobs in Georgia, outside of Atlanta, revolve around agriculture. Sure, there's always exceptions to the rule. The largest insurance company in America is based in Columbus, Georgia. That's somewhat unusual.

When you talk about demographics, it's pretty complicated.

[MMANN]

I dont think civil rights has anything to do with it. Its simpler than that:

If you take Atlanta out of Georgia, all you have is Mississippi. In other words, outside of Atlanta, Georgia is pretty poedunk (besides Savannah). The rest of those small cities suck in my opinion.

[neil0311]

Originally Posted by matt8325

Is it just me or does it seem like states like FL and NC have several big metro areas but GA mainly just has 1 big metro area.

This same situation exists in many states, some much larger. Look at NY State. Other than NYC, there are only very small cities, similar in size to the other cities in GA. Buffalo has a larger metro area, but it's also 400 miles from NYC. In Illinois, you have Chicago, and what else, Springfield? In Michigan, you have Detroit, and just smaller cities like Ann Arbor. In Washington, you have Seattle, and small cities like Spokane. The list goes on.

As many have said, Atlanta is a junction of railroads, interstate highways, and it also is the point where the topographic boundaries meet, the highlands meet the plains, and the rivers pass. Given that it's also the state capital, much of the attention and investment historically was given to Atlanta. Beginning in the 1980's and building with the Olympics in 1996, Atlanta grew to be a center of business and the focus for business in Georgia. That attracted people to relocate, and when you combine that with the cultural attraction of blacks to Atlanta, it's grown much more than other parts of the state.

[Zel Ya]

Originally Posted by MMANN

I dont think civil rights has anything to do with it. Its simpler than that:

If you take Atlanta out of Georgia, all you have is Mississippi. In other words, outside of Atlanta, Georgia is pretty poedunk and redneck (besides Savannah). The rest of those small cities suck in my opinion.

Well, I think you're ignoring factors you shouldn't be ignoring. The centerpiece of the question is about Atlanta and you seem to be subtracting, or dismissing, that important fact.

Where do African-Americans enter into the equation? We're talking about the South with large percentages of African-Americans. We're not talking about the North; we're talking about the South.

Many African-Americans have migrated to certain cities in the South, as well as the North, with less prejudice, more job opportunities, and higher salaries.

Atlanta is perceived as an island of tolerance and less prejudice in a sea of "perceived" intolerance. Rural Georgia (mod cut) is generally not perceived as a bastian of progressive thinking and tolerance.

One CAN'T look at growth patterns in the South without looking at the African-American community, and civil rights pulls at the heart strings of every African-American, and rightly so.