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Being an Atlanta native and loving all things Atlanta, I don't necessarily want it to grow that fast. There are enough problems with the growth as it is. Not having another core city in the immediate area to absorb more dense growth means that much more sprawl. In this case, only Houston is comparable as Dallas has Fort Worth, DC has Baltimore, Bay area has several core cities, even South Florida has more core cities. In Atlanta, it is just Atlanta and then the burbs.
Now if Atlanta proper continues the trend and becomes that much more urban and dense, then all the better. The proposals for the Beltline around the center are exciting. Much growth has already taken place as the city has gained over 100,000 since the 2000 census after years of decline. If the growth will become more dense along transit lines and the ever increasing sprawl would abate, than go ahead and take out DC, Houston, Philly, etc.
But don't really care to see it become the size of LA or Chicago. Let those guys stay their big bloated selves fighting with New York over who is the greatest. I actually prefer for more of Atlanta's growth be shared with the rest of the state and see Savannah, Augusta, Columbus and Macon become much larger and prominent within the state. This is the pattern of growth I see in North Carolina and in Florida, several large and medium sized cities instead of one massive city and much smaller second cities.
But Atlanta's position on the national and international stage has been that it has had such massive growth in one place. If it had stayed the size of Charlotte and Savannah was like Raleigh, then it wouldn't be what it is today. So there are trade offs for sure. Will quit now before I talk myself out of my own premise
I will be interested to see the growth statistics for Atlanta over the next couple of years, because anecdotally, growth in metro Atlanta seems to have come to a standstill. In Gwinnett County, every month there used to be request after request for rezonings for subdivisions every month. There has not been a new subdivision request in several months. The Homefinder section of the AJC used to be page after page of ads for new subdivisions, now it is so thin as to barely even be worth printing. We also have many lots that were cleared for developments, most with sewer lines laid out, that are now vacant - I can think of at least 5 of these within a short distance from my house. There was also an AJC article about intown condo complexes having to switch over to apartments due to poor sales - I'm sure that the intown building boom will also slow somewhat, although maybe not at the same rate of the suburbs. It will be interesting to see how these observations line up with the data as it comes out, and what trends will occur in metro Atlanta's growth over the next couple of years.
Well, Atlanta is a metro area that was hit much harder in this housing/credit crunch than DFW and especially Houston (which kept churning with huge job growth because of the oil industry in the SE side of town).
Quote:
Originally Posted by popalnet
I just did a google maps and it shows that downtown Dallas is about 34 miles from Downtown Fort Worth. Downtown DC is 38 miles from Downtown Baltimore. But it sounds like actual city borders between Fort Worth and Dallas are a lot closer than DC and Baltimore.
If you look at it from an MSA standpoint, Dallas Fort Worth and Atlanta may already be ahead of DC metro. We'll find out in the 2010 census.
But I think the CSA population is much more appropriate for DC and SF. There is a huge commute pattern between DC and Baltimore. Just as there is between SF and San Jose. That's why the BaltWash Parkway and I-95 are so jammed during rush hour between DC and Balto..
According to Google, DC and Baltimore are 39 miles apart and it would take 55 minutes to drive it. Then, Dallas and Fort Worth are 33 miles apart and it would take about 37 minutes.
You're right, Metro Atlanta may already be ahead of Metro DC. DFW has been ahead for a while now. While Metro DC is at 5.3 million, DFW is at 6.1 million.
I laugh at those who say Atlanta's population could surpass LA or NY's...lol
Nobody here has said that, LOL!
Like Saint Marks, I honestly don't want us to get much larger in Metro population. I too am loving that the City is bulking up and getting denser, and we have added more population to the City in the last 7 years than any other place in the country.
BUT, that being said, I do think we will probably pass up Miami on the 2010 Census, and perhaps Houston. At this exact point in time however, I think Houston is probably pulling ahead due to their economy being in better shape. The 2010 Census will be very, very interesting to be sure.
I also agree that it is weird that D.C./Balto and S.F./S.J. are not considered the same Metro areas. The commuter threshold has certainly been met.
We are talking metro areas, which mean "MSA" and not CSA (which are combined statistical areas). And yes, Atlanta has a chance on passing DC's MSA. It's only about 100,000 behind. Here:
Yeah, but that is very debatable since you leave out like Anne Arundel and Howard Counties in MD (technically part of the Baltimore Metro), but are a lot closer and probably have more commuters going into DC than lets say Stafford or Spotsylvania Counties in Va. MSA may not always be accurate, and I don't think they should be taken too seriously especially in cases like these.
Notice in the map that Fredericksburg is actually 52.8 miles from DC versus Columbia which is only 24.9 miles from DC. Fredericksburg is part of the Washington MSA, while Columbia is part of the Baltimore MSA, but I guarantee Columbia has more commuters going into DC, but the only reason they are because they more commuters going into Baltimore. It's just the census playing with numbers.
They do the same thing with Raleigh-Durham for some odd reason, even though there is a ton of cross border traffic between the two. Even Research Triangle Park, the largest employment center in the area straddles both Wake and Durham counties, which are in totally different metropolitan areas according to the census, go figure.
Yeah, Atlanta's city growth was amazing the past seven years. Fastest (growth rate wise, not raw numbers) in the country I believe. All those condos and mixed-use developments. Only problem now is, some aren't getting of the ground (for example, Trump). The economy, but it's good that people are coming back into the city (which, I guess is because of the economy as well).
Well, I entered into google directions "downtown DC to "downtown Baltimore" and that is what I got. I Just did a google directions from: 33rd place NE DC to Mallview rd. Baltimore Maryland, and google says the distance is 33 miles exactly. But it sounds like you posted the farthest distance between DC and Baltimore. I usually make it from downtown DC to downtown Baltimore in 40 minutes - in no traffic of course. And there are tons of people in DC metro that will tell you the same.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Angel713
Well, Atlanta is a metro area that was hit much harder in this housing/credit crunch than DFW and especially Houston (which kept churning with huge job growth because of the oil industry in the SE side of town).
According to Google, DC and Baltimore are 39 miles apart and it would take 55 minutes to drive it. Then, Dallas and Fort Worth are 33 miles apart and it would take about 37 minutes.
You're right, Metro Atlanta may already be ahead of Metro DC. DFW has been ahead for a while now. While Metro DC is at 5.3 million, DFW is at 6.1 million.
Atlanta is currently the 9th largest metro with a population of about 5.2 million. Which of the above metros do you think Atlanta could surpass? I think it could move up to 4th or 5th and rival Dallas and Houstons metros
Rival it in which way?
By how many cheap tacky subdivisons can be built.Sunbelt regions, be careful what you wish for. Growth is irrelevant its the quality of growth, quality of planning, which will be the legacy of a region.
Atlanta subdivision Atlanta grew by 327 % since 1990 uggh. Rampant growth is tough on design.
Dallas sprawlWhew who is going to be occupying that monotonous aging sun parched mess in 60 years?
Philadlephia suburban sprawl Its growing by only 2% by design, perhaps influenced by Philadlephias extreme urban denseness. Same can be said for the Boston suburbs. Having tons of people moving to your region is not necessarily a great thing, quality is the key. LA populated itself right into a second class region with its 18% metro poverty rate not including 980,000 illegal aliens hiding away in the aftermath of overpopulation.
By how many cheap tacky subdivisons can be built.Sunbelt regions, be careful what you wish for. Growth is irrelevant its the quality of growth, quality of planning, which will be the legacy of a region.
Atlanta subdivision Atlanta grew by 327 % since 1990 uggh.
Dallas sprawlProbably not going to age well
Philadlephia suburban sprawl Its growing by only 2% by design, perhaps influenced by Philadlephias extreme urban denseness. Same can be said for the Boston suburbs. Having tons of people moving to your region is not necessarily a great thing, quality is the key. LA populated itself right into a second class region with its 18% metro poverty rate not including 980,000 illegal aliens hiding away in the aftermath of overpopulation.
those pics you posted are an unfair comparison. i've been to Dallas several times and that pic you posted just does not represent the city at all.
how retarded is that...it should be the 4th ranked metro with 7.5 + million people ....the way these metros are calculated is really dumb
The Bay goes from the tip of SF , wraps around the south bay and up to the east bay with absolutely no drop in development/field/farms/etc
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