Atlanta vs. Charlotte (Savannah, Marietta, Douglas: Home Depot, school, university)

[atlantaATL]

Originally Posted by bgNCATL

I agree with everything you say DeaconJ. I'm from Greensboro, NC and have been in Atlanta for about 8 years. I have read through all of these post and I have done nothing but laugh at the post that some of these Charlotte people are making. I use to hang out in Charlotte all the time back in the day and I often stop by when I'm driving home. I use to think Charlotte was huge until I moved to Atlanta. Now when I drive through, it feels small in comparison. The uptown skyline is very nice, but small. It's about 7 or 8 blocks in one direction and 3 in the other. People up there like to say that Atlanta's skyline is spread out, but they don't realize that downtown Atlanta by itself is just as big and urban as Charlotte's downtown. This is not including midtown and Buckhead. When riding down 85 and you look over at Buckhead, it could easily rival Charlotte's uptown. Charlotte need about 150 more tall building and about 4 million more people to catch Atlanta. Actually, I think ATL has almost built more building in the past 10 or 15 years than the total number of building in Uptown Charlotte. I don't understand How they think Charlotte is catching up?

Charlotte really has a lot to catch up to everything atlanta has done and overachieved. From retail. Public transportation, hosting major events, sports teams. Hotel offerings. Gaining over 4 million people. Having a more diverse economy thers just much more.

[bgNCATL]

Originally Posted by atlantaATL

Charlotte really has a lot to catch up to everything atlanta has done and overachieved. From retail. Public transportation, hosting major events, sports teams. Hotel offerings. Gaining over 4 million people. Having a more diverse economy thers just much more.

Very true.

[Carolina Blue]

Originally Posted by bgNCATL

...I don't understand How they think Charlotte is catching up?...

In some respects, Charlotte has "caught" Atlanta, and passed it. For example, in population. In 1980 the city of Atlanta had a population of 400,000, while Charlotte only had 300,000. Fast forward to the new millenium, the city of Charlotte now has a population of almost 700,000, while Atlanta only has about 500,000. Atlanta has always had a conflict between its city and surburbs. Unfortunatley, there are a lot of inner city dwellers there who don't understand the importance of having a healthy, growing center city. For too many years, many were all too satisfied with the white flight that was occuring. Now, its coming back to bite the city. The fact that only 10% of Atlanta's metro population lives within the city limits has major negative implications to its tax base. Case in point, all the city layoffs Atlanta had last year.

From the article below...

"Property taxes represent the largest chunk of the city’s revenue —- 28 percent —- but that’s lower than other similarly-sized cities. By contrast, more than 60 percent of Charlotte’s revenues last fiscal year came from property taxes."

Article: 'We are fighting for our survival' | ajc.com

[PT 3000]

Originally Posted by Carolina Blue

In some respects, Charlotte has "caught" Atlanta, and passed it. For example, in population. In 1980 the city of Atlanta had a population of 400,000, while Charlotte only had 300,000. Fast forward to the new millenium, the city of Charlotte now has a population of almost 700,000, while Atlanta only has about 500,000. Atlanta has always had a conflict between its city and surburbs. Unfortunatley, there are a lot of inner city dwellers there who don't understand the importance of having a healthy, growing center city. For too many years, many were all too satisfied with the white flight that was occuring. Now, its coming back to bite the city. The fact that only 10% of Atlanta's metro population lives within the city limits has major negative implications to its tax base. Case in point, all the city layoffs Atlanta had last year.

From the article below...

"Property taxes represent the largest chunk of the city’s revenue —- 28 percent —- but that’s lower than other similarly-sized cities. By contrast, more than 60 percent of Charlotte’s revenues last fiscal year came from property taxes."

Article: 'We are fighting for our survival' | ajc.com

Once again some of you don't take into consideration how much annexing Charlotte had to do to get its population the size it is, if Atlanta proper(132 sq. miles)and Charlotte proper(283 sq. miles I think) were the same size Atlanta's population would be well over one million, Fulton county alone Atlanta's home county is already over 900,000, most people living in Atlanta consider the metro area as a whole and that's why someone from Marietta may go out of town and tell people they're from Atlanta.

[JoeP]

That is true, you can't compare any city proper because many cities don't expand in political boundaries (land) and many do.

However, GA would never EVER go for annexing any more because well, this is the state that won't support MARTA and even large metro counties like Cobb think someone is going to steal their tv and hop on a slow moving train.

[Carolina Blue]

Originally Posted by PT 3000

Once again some of you don't take into consideration how much annexing Charlotte had to do to get its population the size it is, if Atlanta proper(132 sq. miles)and Charlotte proper(283 sq. miles I think) were the same size Atlanta's population would be well over one million, Fulton county alone Atlanta's home county is already over 900,000, most people living in Atlanta consider the metro area as a whole and that's why someone from Marietta may go out of town and tell people they're from Atlanta.

No, your point is well taken. Atlanta's metro is almost five times the size of Charlotte's, and NC has very liberal annexation laws. We've heard this ad nauseam. My point is that in some respects, Atlanta's metro's size isn't worth a hill of beans. And that's what many Atlanta posters fail to realize. Putting woulda coulda shoulda's aside for a moment, the fact is, the "city" of Charlotte has almost twice the population of Atlanta. And Atlanta's tax base is being crippled by the fact that only 10% of the areas' population lives in the city limits. I'm sure some Atl posters are more concerned about how many Nordstroms the city has, but if no one thinks the declining tax base issue matters, just go ask the 300 something people who got laid off by the city last year.

[afonega1]

Originally Posted by Carolina Blue

No, your point is well taken. Atlanta's metro is almost five times the size of Charlotte's, and NC has very liberal annexation laws. We've heard this ad nauseam. My point is that in some respects, Atlanta's metro's size isn't worth a hill of beans. And that's what many Atlanta posters fail to realize. Putting woulda coulda shoulda's aside for a moment, the fact is, the "city" of Charlotte has almost twice the population of Atlanta. And Atlanta's tax base is being crippled by the fact that only 10% of the areas' population lives in the city limits. I'm sure some Atl posters are more concerned about how many Nordstroms the city has, but if no one thinks the declining tax base issue matters, just go ask the 300 something people who got laid off by the city last year.

Since when does population determine how great the city is?Atlanta is way more denser than Charlotte.That said it still is not dense enough.The tax base is not declining.There not annexing like Charlotte but that does not mean its declining.As far as land area,look at Philadelphia.It is almost the same size as Atlanta.The difference is that Philly has more people and is WAY more denser.The rate at which people are moving in the inner city of Atlanta is much greater than those moving into Charlotte.Its a matter of fact that Atlanta ranks just a hair behind Dallas as the nation fastest growing inner city.Cities population can be small but if it is more concentrated, it gives the city more urbanity.Such as more people on the street,transit options,stores and business that are available on the street level.Especially with easy access without the use of a car.

No Atlanta is no NYC or Boston,but it is certainly way ahead of Charlotte in urban Design.Almost every new construction project in Atlanta is geared toward more "live,work,and play concepts like Atlantic Station but on different levels. Both cities have ways to go but Im sorry but Charlotte may have a bigger land area with more people but so does Jacksonville.

[Carolina Blue]

Originally Posted by afonega1

Since when does population determine how great the city is?Atlanta is way more denser than Charlotte...

Answer: When it’s lack of population, i.e. a sufficient tax base; causes it to furlough police and firefighters.

I put your argument about density right up there with my, “But we’ve got two Nordstrom’s” comment. At the end of the day, does it really matter how much more dense Atlanta is than Charlotte if, 1) Charlotte is still the larger city in population, and 2) if Atlanta just laid off 700 city workers?

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Carolina Blue

Answer: When it’s lack of population, i.e. a sufficient tax base; causes it to furlough police and firefighters.

I put your argument about density right up there with my, “But we’ve got two Nordstrom’s” comment. At the end of the day, does it really matter how much more dense Atlanta is than Charlotte if, 1) Charlotte is still the larger city in population, and 2) if Atlanta just laid off 700 city workers?

I think Atlanta's financial issues are more related to its recent leadership than anything else, but you make an interesting point.

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by Carolina Blue

In some respects, Charlotte has "caught" Atlanta, and passed it. For example, in population. In 1980 the city of Atlanta had a population of 400,000, while Charlotte only had 300,000. Fast forward to the new millenium, the city of Charlotte now has a population of almost 700,000, while Atlanta only has about 500,000. Atlanta has always had a conflict between its city and surburbs. Unfortunatley, there are a lot of inner city dwellers there who don't understand the importance of having a healthy, growing center city. For too many years, many were all too satisfied with the white flight that was occuring. Now, its coming back to bite the city. The fact that only 10% of Atlanta's metro population lives within the city limits has major negative implications to its tax base. Case in point, all the city layoffs Atlanta had last year.

From the article below...

"Property taxes represent the largest chunk of the city’s revenue —- 28 percent —- but that’s lower than other similarly-sized cities. By contrast, more than 60 percent of Charlotte’s revenues last fiscal year came from property taxes."

Article: 'We are fighting for our survival' | ajc.com

Charlotte has caught up with Atlanta in population JUST LIKE Jacksonville has caught up with Boston, El Paso has caught up with Seattle, and Oklahoma City has caught up with Washington D.C. The fact is, these cities are not "catching up" by annexing hundreds of square miles...the only thing these cities are doing is inflating their area, population, and ego with false numbers - and everyone knows it. If you want to sit there and think that Charlotte has in any way surpassed Atlanta by annexing land, then go ahead and live in that little fantasy.