5 points? Underground (Atlanta, Columbus, Sandy Springs: crime rate, to buy, movies)

[stvincent]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Although in a city known as America's Black Mecca it would be pretty weird if the street life wasn't predominantly African American! No one would consider it unusual if photos of downtown Seattle or San Francisco showed a lot of white people walking around. Every city has its own defining norms.

Common Sense sometimes can be so ingenious!!

[BringBackCobain]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

Why? Because there are a lot of black people in the photos? After reviewing them I'm afraid I can infer no other meaning in your comment. The neighborhood certainly looked clean in the photos, and no one was getting mugged.
These pictures make Five Points look innocuous enough and more diverse than most people assume. I was rather reminded of my old neighborhood in Brooklyn.

No, not because its was all black people.

It was the black people that are just standing around on a street corner + the shops with the protective gaurding + the abundance of weave, sports apparell, gold teeth stores + the clothes the people were wearing and how they were wearing them (isnt sagging supposed to be outlawed?) + the homeless crackhead...

I mean, these do not paint Atlanta in a good light. In fact I was cracking up while looking at these pics.

Not to mention the stuff that wasnt photgraphed - the aggressive panhandling, the crime, the smell of urine, the Mall at Peachtree where fake ids are sold...

And Five Points is the heart of Atlanta simply for historical reasons. The majority of Atlantans moved on decades ago, and the central focus has shifted northward. Its not the Central Business District either, the poster is an idiot. Peachtree Center area is the only business district downtown. The rest of the businesses moved out of 5 Points long ago (besides Georgia Pacific).

5 Points is a ghetto neighborhood. Anyone can see that. I hope it changes, but im thinking that is decades away.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by waronxmas

While agree things like mugging and graft are common in every urban environment, the link you posted is unrelated to that. It wasn't a random person that was knifed, but police believe it was a gang related fight or a dispute over something that bubbled over.

How does this dispute the fact that there was a recent criminal incident of violence at Underground?

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by xsdc32

You guys need to travel more and post less.

A) every urban environment isn't chock full of crime
B)Seattle and San Fran would not be all white
C) Atlanta bears little resemblance to LA or Brooklyn or other

Travel more, post less.

Shhh. Every city is just like Atlanta in every way. That's why some Atlanta residents see nothing wrong with their city ... every other city is in exactly the same situation, and you can't "fix" the inevitable qualities that every city shares.

*shakes head*

I like the City of Atlanta, but some areas of the city do have issues. Atlanta Underground has seemed like a cool place for my wife and I to go, but I don't recommend to my elderly parents that they visit there unaccompanied, mainly because my Dad's appearance stands out and shouts "unsuspecting tourist" in a five-block radius.

I've also been to other cities (some smaller than Atlanta, and some quite a bit larger) where I would have no concern at all for them.

[MikeandIke27]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Although in a city known as America's Black Mecca it would be pretty weird if the street life wasn't predominantly African American! No one would consider it unusual if photos of downtown Seattle or San Francisco showed a lot of white people walking around. Every city has its own defining norms.

I wasnt saying that like its a problem. Im black and Im never scared to walk thru 5 points at anytime of the day its mostly the caucasin people who are so terrified. 5 points is bustling everyday especially on the weekends. With students, workers, and people who just live downtown.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by MikeandIke27

I wasnt saying that like its a problem.

Sorry, I know that and didn't mean to imply that you were saying it was a problem. I'm just pointing out that in a city that's predominantly black we should expect the street life to reflect that.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by JPD

How does this dispute the fact that there was a recent criminal incident of violence at Underground?

It doesn't, but it didn't involve a random person on the street. The people who were involved (both the victim and the perps) knew each other. It just so happens that it went down at this event taking place at Underground. If it didn't happen there, it would have happen elsewhere. My point was that if this was say some random person who got knifed during a mugging or just someone who got knifed it would lend more weight to your argument.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Shhh. Every city is just like Atlanta in every way. That's why some Atlanta residents see nothing wrong with their city ... every other city is in exactly the same situation, and you can't "fix" the inevitable qualities that every city shares.

*shakes head*

I've heard people make this claim you are and it is, respectfully, hogwash. If someone says that bad things do happen in urban Atlanta as well as other cities, it's not meant to say it's "ok" but not abnormal. These same things people say makes Atlanta "such a bad place" happen in most large cities. It doesn't make it right, but it's just the way our society is.

Of course it would be great if this could be remedied, but that's not such an easy proposition. In the mean time, it's better to be realistic and deal with it rather than be afraid of it.

[atlantagreg30127]

My two cents: I saw some bags, but that doesn't mean there are books in them or that just because someone is carrying a backpack that it means they're a student, or a brown bad with a handle means they're a shopper. There's also an excessive amount of loitering going on in that area (as has been for YEARS, and it's not people waiting on buses), that doesn't seem to be addressed by the City. Supposedly the panhandling issue has been addressed, but those I know who work downtown say it's still a problem that is "above average". I could care less if everyone walking around an area is White, Black, or has stripes falling out of their rears - loiterers and panhandling won't get me to a place to walk around.

I think the whole section of the City could use a steam cleaning and some redoing of the building and shop facades in a big way. It does look dumpy, but it always has since I moved here 26+ years ago so there's nothing new there. There's a reason the City has been focusing on making the Aquarium/Centennial Park area the place where they not-so-secretly steer the tourists and conventioneers to these days. No one wants visitors (with money to spend) to walk around in an area that looks like a stage set from Thunderdome.

As per the norm for the room anymore, there are people on both sides of the fence who are starting to turn this into purely a race-based issue. Stop. Discuss the photo link and what you think about those photos in an honest yet civil manner. If it turns into yet another race fight, the thing will be shut down. Thank you.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by BringBackCobain

No, not because its was all black people.

It was the black people that are just standing around on a street corner + the shops with the protective gaurding + the abundance of weave, sports apparell, gold teeth stores + the clothes the people were wearing and how they were wearing them (isnt sagging supposed to be outlawed?) + the homeless crackhead...

Couple of points here:

-You start off by saying it's "not the black people" and then proceed to single out the black people. Why is their color of any importance?

-Loitering is indeed a big problem for Five Points (especially for the stretch of Peachtree between Alabama St. and MLK), but a lot of people are indeed just waiting for the bus. Five Points is the terminating point for 12 bus routes with most of them going to southside neighborhoods on some of the highest used routes and there is no busway. If you are connecting to a bus there you have no choice but to stand on the street corner to wait for the bus.

-What relevance does the clothes their wearing have? Those are popular styles for kids that age from the neighborhoods their from.

-Banning saggy pants was a proposal, not actually passed into law.

Originally Posted by BringBackCobain

I mean, these do not paint Atlanta in a good light. In fact I was cracking up while looking at these pics.

Not to mention the stuff that wasnt photgraphed - the aggressive panhandling, the crime, the smell of urine, the Mall at Peachtree where fake ids are sold...

And Five Points is the heart of Atlanta simply for historical reasons. The majority of Atlantans moved on decades ago, and the central focus has shifted northward. Its not the Central Business District either, the poster is an idiot. Peachtree Center area is the only business district downtown. The rest of the businesses moved out of 5 Points long ago (besides Georgia Pacific).

Aside from your disparaging remarks, you have hit on a valid point about the biggest problem with Underground/Five Points. All of the big named retailers moved out a long time ago. In their place, lower scale stores filled the void. It's classic capitalism in action. Whether or not you think that those establishments are "ghetto" is irrelevant to the fact that if they weren't there it would be completely dead. Having those businesses there is better than having nothing but boarded up windows.

And Downtown isn't the main CBD? Yeah, the banks have moved but Georgia Pacific is far from being the only major employer there. There are still plenty of law firms, insurance companies, and not to mention all of the Federal and State employees and other businesses large and small. Government employees may not be private enterprise, but combined with the private businesses and the employess of GSU, Downtown is still the metro's single largest employment center in terms of working population.

Originally Posted by BringBackCobain

5 Points is a ghetto neighborhood. Anyone can see that. I hope it changes, but im thinking that is decades away.

Five Points/Underground is far from being ghetto or rundown. THIS is a ghetto neighborhood (http://mccammon.ucsd.edu/~dminh/nyphilly/images/nyp-15.jpg - broken link). Five Points/Underground needs some cleaning up and some new higher end retailers, but calling the area "ghetto" is completely inaccurate.