Which city feels larger: Atlanta or San Diego? (life, cons, downtown)

[nb1968]

Originally Posted by willrusso

The Atlanta Metro area is MUCH larger than San Diego's. Like the previous poster said, Atlanta is over 5 million and San Diego is around 3 million. Atlanta's city proper population is misleading. Its so small due to the fact that the city cannot annex any of the adjacent neighborhoods like San Diego can. San Diego's city limits cover 372 square miles versus Atlanta's 132 square miles. It's kinda like drawing a small square around central San Diego and saying everything inside the square is now the city and everything else is the burbs. It would make San Diego look much smaller although we know this is NOT the case.

Atlanta also has 5 skylines. Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead, Sandy Springs, and Cumberland. Downtown and Midtown are basically one 2 mile long skyline seperated by North Avenue. Buckhead is a couple of miles to the North. At the current rate of construction, we may see Downtown/Midtown and Buckhead merge into one 6 mile long linear skyline along Peachtree Street.

The following pictures were taken from the top of Stone Mountain in the eastern suburbs.

Scroll >>>>>>>>>>>>

Downtown



Midtown



Buckhead



The entire skyline panorama... SCROLL>>>>>>>>>>>>>>




Part of Sandy Springs skyline:



Cumberland:

Awesome photos.
I would like to see how many additions there have been in 2 years.

[timeofseasons]

Originally Posted by SEAandATL

I got the idea from the other thread asking the similar question between Atlanta and Boston. Now between Atlanta and San Diego which city do you think feels larger, feels more urban, and has a bigger downtown area? Both are sprawling cities. Population wise, San Diego proper has more than double of Atlanta city limits. However, most of San Diego's 1.2 million residents live in suburban style neighborhoods and there is only 1 centalized urban core, and it doesn't appear that big. One reason is San Diego's buildings in downton aren't as tall due to the 500 ft. restriction being close to the airport. The San Diego city limits as a whole can be divided into small sub-cities, which have characteristics of invidual cities, such as La Jolla, Clairemont/Mesa, Mira Mesa, Mission Valley, etc. Atlanta has three major urban areas, Downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead, which have their own skylines, in addition to other unique neighorhoods/districts such as Virginia-Highlands, Little Five Points, Grant Park, Atlantic Station, etc. Atlanta has taller buidlings, especially in Midtown, and has more of an urban atmosphere than San Diego.

Both have the large city feel but San Diego feels much larger, I'm attracted to San Diego, though both cities are also victims of suburban sprawl.

[R1070]

Houston

[pw72]

Atlanta. No question.

Don't get me wrong, I love San Diego. It is probably the most desirable city in the U.S. when you take into account size, weather, beauty, beaches, etc.

But Atlanta feels like a big city. San Diego, despite nice growth downtown, does not.

It starts with the airport. Atlanta is a major hub, mostly due to geography, San Diego is a small city airport, also due to geography.

Atlanta has major skyline districts, San Diego really does not, although again, the growth downtown has been impressive.

Both are very impressive and desirable cities, for different reasons.

[coldwine]

Atlanta feels vastly larger, although I think it has much more to do with sprawl and culture.

Atlanta itself is one giant, gridlocked sprawling area. Endless miles of suburbia, little office districts, etc. And again, the traffic, which is pretty rough.

San Diego is actually very large, but it's very "Californian" for a city. Meaning, you can be anywhere there and never feel as though you're in a populated area. The downtown is actually block upon block of very low-rise urban character, but it's landscaped and planned in such a way that it's very quiet. Very small, focused, private. And what amazes me most of all, you can turn a block after walking through commercial real estate and suddenly be confronted by giant trees and a nature scene out of Eden.

I really, really love San Diego. I plan on retiring there

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by coldwine

And what amazes me most of all, you can turn a block after walking through commercial real estate and suddenly be confronted by giant trees and a nature scene out of Eden.

Hmm...from where I'm sitting, this sounds like it could be a description of Atlanta as well.

[Calisonn]

Originally Posted by kettlepot

Atlanta should feel bigger, because the Atlanta metro area IS bigger. 5m vs 3m. That's 67% more people than the population of San Diego.

As for skylines, San Diego has two centers of tall buildings, Downtown, and University City which is located north of the 52 freeway and east of La Jolla. Much of San Diego is also governed by development restrictions put in place by the California Coastal Commission which limits development in the coastal zone to only 30 feet.

You are very much correct in your description of San Diego as consisting of many sub-cities. The city has been actively encouraging development along the lines of "a city of villages" to discourage the need to drive everywhere to get anything done.

I'm unsure of the topography of Atlanta, but San Diego is bisected by many canyons and valleys which naturally subdivide the city into smaller sections. This allows San Diego's many neighborhoods to maintain distinct differences from each other, and give the city a smaller feel and a more human scale than a city of its size would otherwise have.

That's 40% not 67%

[sav858]

Originally Posted by Calisonn

That's 40% not 67%

LOL, you went to public school in CA didn't you?

[Shakeesha]

Atlanta feels much larger.

[Need4Camaro]

Atlanta easily.

A better one would have been What feels bigger between Atlanta and San Francisco.