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It was awesome that Atlanta hosted the Olympics. I actually attended some of the Olympic events in Atlanta and was happy to get the opportunity to do so. But the Olympics were a two week even that happened sixteen years ago. The Olympics did leave some lasting history in Atlanta (most particularly Centennial Olympic Park and Turner Field), but the city can't hang its hat just on that.
What about the city stands out on a world class level today? Atlanta is definitely a major American city, and should certainly be in the discussion for being a world class city, but IMO it falls a bit short (and believe me, I'd love for it to get there). When I'm in Atlanta I don't get a feeling comparable to places like NYC, LA, Chicago, SF, or DC (and yes, I've been to all of the places in question).
Infrastructure:
Rail: great that Atlanta has MARTA, but the rail transportation is def not world class. It is a starter line compared to those in other major cities.
Airport: Atlanta is world class here.
Architecture: Some great skyscrapers, although a bit spread out. Fewer and less dense historic structures than other cities. Not world class.
Public Institutions:
Universities: Emory, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Morehouse and Spelman: Fine institutions, prob not world class
Art: High Museum: good, not great.
History: MLK site, Carter library, Olympics: arguably world class
Economy: Decent, but not a world beater.
Vibrancy: Good, but not world class. Walk around the downtowns of the cities I listed and the difference is obvious.
Atlanta is a great city and in the top 10-15 for America, but not quite world class level. World Class is places like NYC, London, Paris, Tokyo. I actually think people do a disservice to Atlanta when they try to compare it to places like that. It doesn't quite measure up. Nothing wrong with that. Compare Atlanta to other Southern cities and you can see it shine. See how Atlanta has surged ahead of places like New Orleans, Charleston, Birmingham that used to be competitors. Atlanta is a great success story, don't make it look bad by holding it up to cities in other weight classes.
I doubt anyone is trying to compare Atlanta with NYC or London - at least I hope not. But a city can be world-class without being NYC or London. You're talking top-of-the-line there...I mean, a C-Class Mercedes is not on the level of an S-Class, but they are both still Mercedes.
I doubt anyone is trying to compare Atlanta with NYC or London - at least I hope not. But a city can be world-class without being NYC or London. You're talking top-of-the-line there...I mean, a C-Class Mercedes is not on the level of an S-Class, but they are both still Mercedes.
Boston, Montreal etc. are C-Class. Compact and elegant. Atlanta is more like a Ford F-150 pick up truck. Massive and senseless.
Who ever put omaha on here but not kc, cincinnati, indianapolis, austin, san antonio, sacramento, nashville or st.louis is a retard. These cities are ranked as gamma- (most of them are), omaha doesnt even fly far enough to reach the radar.
NYC is hardly the only world class city in this country, yet I'm seeing quite a few post suggesting it is. Please. This is the richest nation on Earth with economic powers spread all over. California is the most powerful state in the union with a $1.9 trillion economy--that some think it has NO world class cities is absurd. There's no maybe about L.A., San Francisco and Chicago being world class cities.
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