Revival of old thread on Atlanta and ghetto suburbs, anyone? (Auburn: upper-class, section 8)

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by blondandfun

The housing projects were a failed social program, and a lot of them are in the downtown area. Just east of downtown, they have done a great job transforming the old auburn neighborhood, but they need to work north where I still notice a lot of housing projects east of the city. This area is probably the main reason why the population of midtown is weary of walking around south of Ponce de leon.

The majority of these redevelopments are actually being done by African American developers, and a lot of these will end up as majority-black, so there won't be much change in demographics.

Therefore the article doesn't pertain to Atlanta as much as it does to Chicago.

With the mexican/latino community, there are pockets of them in certain areas, but in Atlant most of the redevelopments are only 3 or 4 stories... not huge expensive like they are in Chicago. Therefore, affordable units will be available, as required by zoning.

Wrong again...there aren't any public housing projects on the east side of the city anymore - they have all been demolished. There are only 3-4 left in Atlanta (Bankhead Courts, Thomasville Heights, Herndon Apartments, Hollywood Courts), and I do believe that they are all on the northwest and southwest sides. None of them are in Downtown Atlanta.

I'm still shaking my head over the bolded statements above...that is an offensive and misguided assertion. That's all I have to say about it.

3 and 4 story redevelopments are exactly what Atlanta needs to densify...it is called INFILL development.

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by DeaconJ

3 and 4 story redevelopments are exactly what Atlanta needs to densify...it is called INFILL development.

Couldn't agree more DeaconJ.

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by vsmoove

The theory that putting poor folks in the suburbs will magically transform their lives without providing them any sort of life training is flawed.

Which is precisely why the New Republic article speaks of a "Europeanization" of the American city and holds up Paris as an especially important cautionary tale. While it may have been (or still be) tempting from an American standpoint to think of the suburbs (as an Amerian ideal) as a balm that will magically heal the problem of the social underclass, the example of Paris shows how disastrous such a misconception would be.

[VJP]

I didn't read all the postings but the talk of resurgence of downtowns and reverse suburbanization brings to mind this AWESOME link I found last weekend...

radicalcartography

Check it out...new vs old, concentric vs chunks..

[Atlantasfinest]

[quote=DeaconJ;6604238]Wrong again...there aren't any public housing projects on the east side of the city anymore - they have all been demolished. There are only 3-4 left in Atlanta (Bankhead Courts, Thomasville Heights, Herndon Apartments, Hollywood Courts), and I do believe that they are all on the northwest and southwest sides. None of them are in Downtown Atlanta. QUOTE]

I think the "projects" I she is referring to are due east of the city on Boulevard (between Ponce and Highland Blvd) and it's called Bedford Pine. These "projects" are actually the largest privately owned subsidized housing development(Most projects are publically owned which has stricter restrictions on tenants than Local/Fed Govt Housing) in Atlanta and are a huge magnet for all sorts of crime in the area. Once those buildings are torn down or redeveloped your going to see huge development continue in that area as its located in a perfect spot within the city. There are already many infill housing on the east side of Boulevard staking their claim and having houses built. It's really the property that fronts Boulevard that is the problem. And once that happens I bet Boulevard will change its name to Monroe all the way down to Interstate 20 to shed the image of old .

Here is some more information on Bedford Pine and what's going on there with Midtown Residents who are clamoring for the site to be razed http://midtownatlanta.org/core/item/...=27495.0.53.35.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...lanta&aq=1&oq= - Location

[DeaconJ]

According to the Atlanta Housing Authority website, the four public housing projects I listed earlier are the only ones...and none of those are on Boulevard. They are all in northwest and southwest Atlanta. There are also 2 highrises that serve the elderly and disabled - Palmer House and Roosevelt House. That's it, that's all of them.

Bedford Pine Homes used to be right off of Boulevard, but I haven't seen it listed anywhere as one of the remaining projects still standing. I used to play basketball at Bedford Pine Rec Center about 10 years ago, but haven't been through that area in a while.

That first link reads as if it's a couple of years old...I can't say for sure whether B.P. is still there or not, but AHA doesn't seem to think so. Even if they are still there, I was responding to a statement that there are "a lot of projects on the east side", and regardless that just isn't true.

[blondandfun]

they sure as heck look like projects to me

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by blondandfun

they sure as heck look like projects to me

I can't really say for sure either way...but how do they "look like projects"? Private apartment complexes can be just as delapidated and crime infested as public housing.

[WilliamM]

Originally Posted by VJP

I didn't read all the postings but the talk of resurgence of downtowns and reverse suburbanization brings to mind this AWESOME link I found last weekend...

radicalcartography

Check it out...new vs old, concentric vs chunks..

Holy cow! That's an awesome link!

[mmenomen]

radicalcartography

Holy cow! That's an awesome link!

agreed, very interesting.