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First off, I love Atlanta. I do think there are some things that need to change for everyone in th rest of the nation/world to start taking us seriously. I consider ATL a world city, but many do not (you have to admit that!). Atlanta is def. transitioning right now.
Some people call Atlanta "The annoying cousin that all the big cities are forced to play with," or various stuff like that. I want that to change! Here is 10 things I think must happen for the change to occur. Feel free to add/comment.
P.S., this is for the City of Atlanta, not Metro Atlanta.
1. A Larger Population.
-Needs to be bigger than the largest SE city, so it needs to top Jacksonville, which is 807,815. If it surpasses Jacksonville, it will be the largest Southeastern city.
2. More Museums, cultural attractions.
-Lots of ideas for this. Also, I think that other musuems not currently around Olympic Park should be moved there, including the Cyclorama.
3. A 24/7, safe Downtown through a redevelopment of 5 Points.
-5 Points has to be addressed before downtown can be considered a "come back". I think GA State needs to take over 5 points and undergound, so Downtown and GA State become synonomous. GSU is the only way 5 points can be fixed. Once 5 points is fixed, Downtown will be able to shake its average reputation.
4. A Gentrified, safe, nice East Side and West Side.
- Most cities have 3 good "sides", and one bad side. In ATL, East Side (kirkwood, o4w, etc.) is already on its way. West Side needs to pick up the pace. Then, they will join the North Side as the desireable areas. This would reserve South Side for affordable housing.
5. Annexation of Central/North Dekalb County.
-Think how great it would be if Emory and the areas north were part of the city? Itd be great if the city limits were pushed north up to 85 in Dekalb county and west to Clairmont Road/Decatur city limits.
6. Commuter Rail
-Even one line, to athens, would be good.
7. An urban, walkable, clean, safe Midtown, esp. "SoNo".
-This has already kind of happened, but SoNo really must be fixed up (i.e. get rid of shelter on peachtree). Once this happens, I think Midtown will be where it needs to be.
8. More Diverse Demogrpaphics.
-Think of cities like Chicago, LA, NYC. None of them have a majority racial group. Urbanites like this. No one considers a city with a majority racial group as diverse enough (think Portland, Oregon, or Detroit). A great racial makeup for ATL would be 40% white, 40% black, 10% Asian, 10% some other race/mixed race.
9. An Asian Mayor.
-As an Asian, I think this would be a great statement to the oft-ognored Asian population of the area.
10. An expansion of the subway system to reach places in North Dekalb like Emory, Briarcliff, Northlake Mall, North Dekalb Mall, etc.
-Instead of focusing on the suburbs, MARTA should expand to places inside the perimeter.
Some of these are major, some minor. I think the 1990s was a coming out party for Atlanta, the 2000s were a transition period, and if these things happen in the next decade, the 2010s will be when Atlanta stablizes and gets the recognition it deserves, sans the disrespect.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by US-Traveller
Atlanta is already considered a world city. I forgot the specific classification, but it certaintly is considered a world city.
Specifically, it is a beta world city, according to the Global City Classification.
It shares this classification with such cities as Barcelona, Los Angeles, Washington DC, San Francisco, Dubai, Geneva and Cairo.
Great list. Although I disagree slightly with #4. Affordable housing should be distributed throughout the city instead of developed in one big block on one side of town--which would replicate the old model of poorly served neighborhoods with a high concentration of lower-income households...or ghettoes. Rather you would want lower-income households throughout the city so that they can benefit from the same resources as other households. Additionally, you would want to have an influx of middle-to-upper income households locating to the southside.
I disagree with passing Jacksonville. Jacksonville is the largest city by square miles in the U.S. so comparing based on population to such a large area doesn't make sense. I agree continued population growth in the city will be good and it will continue.
Museums - We have many already and more coming. Atlanta has more then most cities. Look at the free museum weekend offered by Bank of America and see how many are offered compared to other cities. In recent times we have added the Millennium Gate, the Patriot Museum.
-Think of cities like Chicago, LA, NYC. None of them have a majority racial group. Urbanites like this. No one considers a city with a majority racial group as diverse enough (think Portland, Oregon, or Detroit). A great racial makeup for ATL would be 40% white, 40% black, 10% Asian, 10% some other race/mixed race.
First off, I love Atlanta. I do think there are some things that need to change for everyone in th rest of the nation/world to start taking us seriously. I consider ATL a world city, but many do not (you have to admit that!). Atlanta is def. transitioning right now.
Some people call Atlanta "The annoying cousin that all the big cities are forced to play with," or various stuff like that. I want that to change! Here is 10 things I think must happen for the change to occur. Feel free to add/comment.
P.S., this is for the City of Atlanta, not Metro Atlanta.
1. A Larger Population.
-Needs to be bigger than the largest SE city, so it needs to top Jacksonville, which is 807,815. If it surpasses Jacksonville, it will be the largest Southeastern city.
2. More Museums, cultural attractions.
-Lots of ideas for this. Also, I think that other musuems not currently around Olympic Park should be moved there, including the Cyclorama.
3. A 24/7, safe Downtown through a redevelopment of 5 Points.
-5 Points has to be addressed before downtown can be considered a "come back". I think GA State needs to take over 5 points and undergound, so Downtown and GA State become synonomous. GSU is the only way 5 points can be fixed. Once 5 points is fixed, Downtown will be able to shake its average reputation.
4. A Gentrified, safe, nice East Side and West Side.
- Most cities have 3 good "sides", and one bad side. In ATL, East Side (kirkwood, o4w, etc.) is already on its way. West Side needs to pick up the pace. Then, they will join the North Side as the desireable areas. This would reserve South Side for affordable housing.
5. Annexation of Central/North Dekalb County.
-Think how great it would be if Emory and the areas north were part of the city? Itd be great if the city limits were pushed north up to 85 in Dekalb county and west to Clairmont Road/Decatur city limits.
6. Commuter Rail
-Even one line, to athens, would be good.
7. An urban, walkable, clean, safe Midtown, esp. "SoNo".
-This has already kind of happened, but SoNo really must be fixed up (i.e. get rid of shelter on peachtree). Once this happens, I think Midtown will be where it needs to be.
8. More Diverse Demogrpaphics.
-Think of cities like Chicago, LA, NYC. None of them have a majority racial group. Urbanites like this. No one considers a city with a majority racial group as diverse enough (think Portland, Oregon, or Detroit). A great racial makeup for ATL would be 40% white, 40% black, 10% Asian, 10% some other race/mixed race.
9. An Asian Mayor.
-As an Asian, I think this would be a great statement to the oft-ognored Asian population of the area.
10. An expansion of the subway system to reach places in North Dekalb like Emory, Briarcliff, Northlake Mall, North Dekalb Mall, etc.
-Instead of focusing on the suburbs, MARTA should expand to places inside the perimeter.
Some of these are major, some minor. I think the 1990s was a coming out party for Atlanta, the 2000s were a transition period, and if these things happen in the next decade, the 2010s will be when Atlanta stablizes and gets the recognition it deserves, sans the disrespect.
1. Atlanta already is a World/International City...it is the de-facto capital/primary city of the American South...which can be seen as very distinct region that somewhat functions like its own country.
2. Atlanta's population is fine...Atlanta proper's city limits are just too small. I do think the Metro Area's population should grow to be the fifth largest in the country (it will take a few decades). The city proper (and other areas) should continue to become more dense.
3. You don't place affordable housing in just one section of the city...there should be mixed-income communities/neighborhoods throughout the city.
4. Atlanta city proper should annex many more areas:
-Emory/Druid Hills Area
-Briarcliff/Oak Grove Area
-North Atlanta
-Brookhaven
-Vinings/Cumberland
-Six Flags
-South Fulton (north of Fairburn, Union City, Palmetto)
-Scottdale
-Toco Hills/North Druid Hills/Medlock Park Area
-Sandtown
-Gresham Park
-Intrenchment Creek/Constitution Area
-Mountain View Area of Clayton County
*these area should also be annexed by Atlanta proper, but they've been incorporated: -Sandy Springs
-Dunwoody
-Chattahoochee Hills
5. Yes, Atlanta does need Commuter Rail (several lines), along with metro/subway/light rail expansion (several lines) to the mid-suburbs. Atlanta also needs a comprehensive system that includes taxis, buses, express buses, trams/trolleys, and shuttles.
6. Demographics: I am tired of people coming on here basically saying that Atlanta would be better if if wasn't "Atlanta." Atlanta is in the American South--it's demographics reflect that. Instead of Atlanta becoming Anycity, USA, let's continue forging our path of being a World/International City with a base demographic that reflects our unique region. Diversity is great, but not if it sacrifices a city's unique characteristics. Cities do not need to reflect a perfect ideal mix of ethnicities to be "world."
7. The Asian population (specifically the Korean and Indian) are making their mark in the Metro Area. I see Gwinnett Place becoming the Korean "Stonecrest."
6. Demographics: I am tired of people coming on here basically saying that Atlanta would be better if if wasn't "Atlanta." Atlanta is in the American South--it's demographics reflect that. Instead of Atlanta becoming Anycity, USA, let's continue forging our path of being a World/International City with a base demographic that reflects our unique region. Diversity is great, but not if it sacrifices a city's unique characteristics. Cities do not need to reflect a perfect ideal mix of ethnicities to be "world."
7. The Asian population (specifically the Korean and Indian) are making their mark in the Metro Area. I see Gwinnett Place becoming the Korean "Stonecrest."
Very well put! I completely skipped over that part when reading the original post.
6. Demographics: I am tired of people coming on here basically saying that Atlanta would be better if if wasn't "Atlanta." Atlanta is in the American South--it's demographics reflect that. Instead of Atlanta becoming Anycity, USA, let's continue forging our path of being a World/International City with a base demographic that reflects our unique region. Diversity is great, but not if it sacrifices a city's unique characteristics. Cities do not need to reflect a perfect ideal mix of ethnicities to be "world."
Not trying to "attack" here, but why dont you say what you want to say instead of beating around the bush: you want atlanta to stay majority black.
The fact is, atlanta only became majority black in early 70s-late 80s. Before that it was much more "diverse", so really the demographics now are a relatively new phenomenom relative to atlanta's long history.
Demographics dont define a city. They couldnt, because they are always changing. And demographics are not under anyones control, so we cant "forge" any path. I hate to tell ya, but it looks like the city is taking a different path than the one youd like, one more akin to the one the OP prefers. If current trends continue, it will turn out to be more diverse indeed, probably within the next decade.
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