Why is Atlanta's population only 500k? (Sandy Springs, Roswell: college, calculation, live in)

[am2]

It came as a surprise to me, I always thought Atlanta dwarfed Charlotte and Jacksonville but come figure out that ATL just has 500k while CLT has 700k and JJAX has 800k. Is Atl "unincorporated"

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by am2

It came as a surprise to me, I always thought Atlanta dwarfed Charlotte and Jacksonville but come figure out that ATL just has 500k while CLT has 700k and JJAX has 800k. Is Atl "unincorporated"

Atlanta does dwarf Charlotte and Jax...

The 500,000 is only the population of the city proper/center...

The Metro Area is the true/real measure of a city.

And yes, most of Atlanta's Metro Area is "unincorporated."

[mrdkb]

Gwinnett has almost 800,000 people; Cobb 775,000

[noah]

Look at the size in square miles of the city limits. Jacksonville has the largest city limits in the country. By other measures Atlanta is much bigger (Pro sports teams, museums etc)

[johnatl]

Jacksonville - 874 sq. miles

Charlotte - 242 sq. miles

Atlanta - 132 sq. miles

There you go!

[darkone]

City limits are rather arbitrary (or historical or geographical) artifacts. That is why there are census-designated MSAs and CMSAs which convey the true size of a "city". Boston and San Francisco are classic examples of large metro areas with small city proper areas.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by aries4118

Atlanta does dwarf Charlotte and Jax...

The 500,000 is only the population of the city proper/center...

The Metro Area is the true/real measure of a city.

And yes, most of Atlanta's Metro Area is "unincorporated."

Most of the Atlanta metro IS INcorporated...just by other munis...Roswell, Sandy Springs, Marietta, etc. ATL is surrounded by cities whose populations don't show up in stats for the City of Atlanta. Not much likelihood of annexation other than some slight possibilities on the south side---wouldn't expect much change even there.

[reet4587]

Originally Posted by johnatl

Jacksonville - 874 sq. miles

Charlotte - 242 sq. miles

Atlanta - 132 sq. miles

There you go!

How interesting. I had no idea that the city of Atlanta was so much smaller in area than the city of Charlotte. I think I sometimes look at the city limits on maps and Atlanta, Decatur, College Park and East Point all kind of run together. it's sometimes hard to pick Atlanta city limits out.

In fact, I wonder how common that is -- a major city having other cities bunched up against it like that -- and if it causes any particular problems with the governace of an urban area being divided in that way.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by reet4587

How interesting. I had no idea that the city of Atlanta was so much smaller in area than the city of Charlotte. I think I sometimes look at the city limits on maps and Atlanta, Decatur, College Park and East Point all kind of run together. it's sometimes hard to pick Atlanta city limits out.

In fact, I wonder how common that is -- a major city having other cities bunched up against it like that -- and if it causes any particular problems with the governace of an urban area being divided in that way.

Pick your poison...traffic, public trans, zoning, water supply/treatment...
volumes could be(and have been) written on the topic. Kinda makes you go hmmmm...what if...?

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Most of the Atlanta metro IS INcorporated...just by other munis...Roswell, Sandy Springs, Marietta, etc. ATL is surrounded by cities whose populations don't show up in stats for the City of Atlanta. Not much likelihood of annexation other than some slight possibilities on the south side---wouldn't expect much change even there.

I don't think that's true.

If you look at Cobb County, for example, the total population of the county is over 600,000 according to City-Data (County population in July 2007: 691,905 [99% urban, 1% rural]), but the combined population of the only incorporated cities which are located in Cobb is much smaller:

Austell: 7,062
Acworth: 19,476
Kennesaw: 31,628
Marietta: 67,562
Powder Springs: 15,614
Smyrna: 49,854

Total of above: 191,196

By my quick calculations, only 27.63% of the people in Cobb County (191,196 of 691,905) actually live in an incorporated area. The rest of us live in unincorporated suburbia. East Cobb, Vinings, Cumberland, Mableton, and West Cobb have no city level of government.

And here's a map of Cobb County showing the incorporated cities in yellow. The rest of the county is suburban but unincorporated. The incorporated bits seem to be a pretty small percentage of the total county by area, too, at least when you eyeball it.