Why is Atlanta's population only 500k? (Sandy Springs, Roswell: established neighborhood, school districts, subdivisions)

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by aries4118

Not true...take a look at the entire Metro Area...

Many ITPers don't realize how unincorporated OTP is...and many parts of ITP are unincorporated as well (Vinings, North Atlanta, most of Brookhaven, most of Druid Hills, Emory, Sage Hill, Briarcliff, Greater Oak Grove, North Decatur, North Druid Hills, Scottdale, Rehoboth, Embry Hills, inner South DeKalb, Gresham Park, etc.)

Moreover, a prime example (really representative of the entire Metro) is the great map of Cobb County that rcsteiner provided on page 1 of this thread.


I feel a lesson in incorporated vs. unincorporated may be coming on (Saintmarks...where are you? They will attack soon! Need backup ...).

You are right...only about 800 square miles of the Atlanta Metro area are incorporated, leaving about 7,500 square miles of unincorporated land. I never realized it was like that.

Although there are areas where the city of Atlanta could expand, I don't see it happening anytime soon. IMO the city is large enough in area already, and has plenty of room to grow within the existing boundaries.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by JPD

Sorry to nit-pick, but Tucker is UNincorporated.

If you look at the city limits of the places that ARE incorporated, such as Decatur, Lawrenceville, Lilburn, Snellville, etc. you see that they are very small portions of the areas that "call themselves" Decatur, Lawrenceville, etc.

So, even though that are zillions of cities in the Metro Atlanta area, that can be misleading as the actual city limits in many cases are fairly small areas.

My point exactly.

There are many that do not understand...

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by DeaconJ

You are right...only about 800 square miles of the Atlanta Metro area are incorporated, leaving about 7,500 square miles of unincorporated land. I never realized it was like that.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the Atlanta metro is kinda weird.

That isn't always a bad thing, tho. It certainly makes for interesting adjustments for transplants as well as interesting discussions here on C-D.

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by JPD

Sorry to nit-pick, but Tucker is UNincorporated.

If you look at the city limits of the places that ARE incorporated, such as Decatur, Lawrenceville, Lilburn, Snellville, etc. you see that they are very small portions of the areas that "call themselves" Decatur, Lawrenceville, etc.

So, even though that are zillions of cities in the Metro Atlanta area, that can be misleading as the actual city limits in many cases are fairly small areas.

It's not simply that areas "call themselves" by a city name, but it's more that the post office assigns a large area of unincorporated Dekalb County a Decatur address. Most people should know that most of the area isn't actually the city of Decatur in the same way that most people DO know that most of Metro Atlanta isn't actually the city of Atlanta.

College Park is a great example. The city of College Park is only 9 square miles, but the areas with a College Park address stretch all the way to Union City and out Old National Highway. It's one reason that College Park has a reputation for crime...the city of College Park is actually very nice, but there are areas outside of the city that are more dangerous.

[LovinDecatur]

Example:
The 'incorporated' area of the city of Decatur falls within zip code 30030. There are four more zip codes that are assigned a Decatur address, although they are actually unincorporated DeKalb County.

2007 population estimates:

30030: 26145 (includes areas not within the city of Decatur)
30032: 59912
30033: 28130
30034: 46718
30035: 19918

[BringBackCobain]

This discussion is pointless anyway. Even if the City of Atlanta got its stuff together with the next mayor, it would probably be at least a decade for atlanta government to shake the horrible repuation it has of mismanagement, inefficiency, and corruption.

A lot of things would have to change for the wealthy northern areas of ITP North Dekalb (briarcliff, north druid hills, north decatur), Brookhaven, Vinings, or emory/druid hills to even agree to vote on being annexed by Atlanta.

By the time this even is a remote possibility, these places will probably already be incorporated, because that seems to be the growing trend.

Also, for Atlanta to annex into Dekalb or Cobb is a tricky situation, because I am pretty sure that according to state law the largest city in that county must agree to it (in Dekalb that would be Dunwoody). I could be wrong about this though.

Lastly, I am not sure the current leaders of Atlanta would want to "dilute" their constituent base by annexing areas that are largely middle-class.

The southside could be a different story, and I see that as the only place Atlanta could potentially grow. But even that does not seem likely to me.

Overall, atlanta should be lucky that even the 1952 annexation passed (Buckhead, Adam's Park, Cascade & Lakewood). Without it, the city would cover less than 100 sq. miles.

The city is big enough, and there is lots of room for more density. By comparison, Detroit has 143 sq. miles, but managed to fit in 1,514,063 residents in 1970.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by aries4118

Not true...take a look at the entire Metro Area...

Many ITPers don't realize how unincorporated OTP is...and many parts of ITP are unincorporated as well (Vinings, North Atlanta, most of Brookhaven, most of Druid Hills, Emory, Sage Hill, Briarcliff, Greater Oak Grove, North Decatur, North Druid Hills, Scottdale, Rehoboth, Embry Hills, inner South DeKalb, Gresham Park, etc.)

Moreover, a prime example (really representative of the entire Metro) is the great map of Cobb County that rcsteiner provided on page 1 of this thread.


I feel a lesson in incorporated vs. unincorporated may be coming on (Saintmarks...where are you? "Those That Do Not Know" will attack soon! Need backup ...).

Is there really a North Atlanta? I only lived along the 400 corridor for 28 years but I never heard of an actual North Atlanta(Buckhead, Chastain, Powers Ferry?). And one answer to someone looking for the Tucker City Hall is as follows:

Answer:

Tucker City Hall is in the minds of the citizens of Tucker. It does not exist. Tucker is currently unincorporated and gains its services from DeKalb County and Gwinnett County. It is a mistake to think that because you have a Tucker mailing address you get your services from the City of Tucker. Your services come from the county you are in, in your case, Gwinnett. We called Gwinnett County Planning Services and got the information you need to get your permit. Call 678-518-6000.



Who Knew??? Bet a bunch of folks working/living in Tucker sure thought they were in a city.

Sorry about the mis-information...sometimes I type so fast, I say things I haven't thought of yet.
I'll leave it to y'all, now. Adios.

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

I guess I really didn't say what I wanted to say...Much of the immediate area(of the Atlanta metro) that SURROUNDS the city proper(and would be included in the population stats) IS incorporated.. I'd dare say most folks in Cherokee and Forsyth don't believe they live in "Atlanta"(Rockdale is a pretty good stretch). 'Metro Stats' might now include those areas but as others have mentioned, the 'metro' area of just about any city has fuzzy boundaries.

I'll bet that when Cherokee and Forsyth residents tell out-of-state acquaintances where they live, they mention "Atlanta", in much the same way as we tend to think of a resident of Huntington Beach, CA, as living in greater Los Angeles. I live in East Cobb (unincorporated), in the portion of the 30075 (Roswell) zip code that lies in Cobb. To locals, I'll usually say I live in East Cobb, since claiming to reside in either Roswell or Marietta is misleading. To out-of-towners, I'll say "Atlanta suburbs".

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Is there really a North Atlanta? I only lived along the 400 corridor for 28 years but I never heard of an actual North Atlanta(Buckhead, Chastain, Powers Ferry?). And one answer to someone looking for the Tucker City Hall is as follows:

Answer:

Tucker City Hall is in the minds of the citizens of Tucker. It does not exist. Tucker is currently unincorporated and gains its services from DeKalb County and Gwinnett County. It is a mistake to think that because you have a Tucker mailing address you get your services from the City of Tucker. Your services come from the county you are in, in your case, Gwinnett. We called Gwinnett County Planning Services and got the information you need to get your permit. Call 678-518-6000.



Who Knew??? Bet a bunch of folks working/living in Tucker sure thought they were in a city.

Sorry about the mis-information...sometimes I type so fast, I say things I haven't thought of yet.
I'll leave it to y'all, now. Adios.

First of all, you need to calm down and learn.

Yes, there is officially a "North Atlanta." It was formerly its own city. It is roughly the area bounded by the DeKalb/City of Atlanta line on the west, I-285 on the north, the Chamblee city limits on the east, and Buford Highway on the south. The area along Ashford-Dunwoody Road south of I-285 and Perimeter Mall is really the heart of North Atlanta. The neighborhoods of Brookhaven and Ashford Park can be considered a part of North Atlanta.

North Atlanta, Georgia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


And knowing that Tucker is not incorporated is not rocket science...

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by aries4118

First of all, you need to calm down and learn.

Yes, there is officially a "North Atlanta." It was formerly its own city. It is roughly the area bounded by the DeKalb/City of Atlanta line on the west, I-285 on the north, the Chamblee city limits on the east, and Buford Highway on the south. The area along Ashford-Dunwoody Road south of I-285 and Perimeter Mall is really the heart of North Atlanta. The neighborhoods of Brookhaven and Ashford Park can be considered a part of North Atlanta.

North Atlanta, Georgia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


And knowing that Tucker is not incorporated is not rocket science...

Hey, I didn't know that North Atlanta used to be incorporated. You learn something new every day - if you want to, that is.