Define intown (Atlanta, Dunwoody, Decatur: homes, neighborhoods, college)

[ATLTJL]

On this board we talk about intown a lot.

I'm just curious, when you say intown, what do you mean?

A lot of people talk about ITP versus OTP, but I think that is a silly arbitrary line. For example, I don't consider Chamblee to be intown. I don't consider Hapeville intown. I don't consider Cascade intown. I don't consider Vinings intown. Yet all of these places are ITP.

Where do you draw the line?

I've never really thought about it, but I would say that nothing east of Clairmont would be considered intown. And maybe nothing south of Langford. I don't know, though, which is why I'm asking.

[Onthemove2014]

All those areas are considered intown though their density varies due to the fact that they all share a lot of the same amenities. The biggest on being the city core and all it has to offer vary close by as well as transit.

[cqholt]

Any of the old streetcar suburbs, eg: Decatur, Inman Park, Edgewood, Virginia-Highlands, East Lake, Vine City, Knight Park, etc. And Atlanta central business districts, eg: downtown, midtown, and Buckhead.

[DTL3000]

Defining intown in Atlanta is like defining obscenity.

[Mal93]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

On this board we talk about intown a lot.

I'm just curious, when you say intown, what do you mean?

A lot of people talk about ITP versus OTP, but I think that is a silly arbitrary line.

I don't consider Cascade intown. Yet all of these places are ITP.

Where do you draw the line?

I've never really thought about it, but I would say that nothing east of Clairmont would be considered intown. And maybe nothing south of Langford. I don't know, though, which is why I'm asking.

I agree with the old streetcar model.

I think in the near future (10-15 years) "intown" will be defined by the beltline neighborhoods, which include not only those in the "ring" but the historic nodes that are also linked to the beltline itself like Adams Park & Fort Mac. Although some people think of intown as the central core around the connector, to me sometimes "intown" can be as vague saying "Manhattan" or "New York City" versus "The Financial District." Cascade, South Atlanta, NE Atlanta/Chamblee, Polar Rock, and Whittier Mill may not come to mind as easily as Midtown/Downtown/Buckhead and the adjacent communities like Va-Hi-- but to me that's like thinking NYC is only Central Park & Times Square while forgetting that Battery Park, Fort Tryon, Alphabet City, and Hell's Kitchen are part of the same concentration. I think the definition of "intown" will expand as we see the original early south ATL neighborhoods/"ring" suburbs get reconnected to the city proper.

1902 "9 mile trolley route" map-- to me this essentially shows "intown" and also roughly fits your definition



1924 streetcar map showing ATL city limits (note, most of Virginia Highlands wasn't officially part of ATL until 1929!)


1952 annexation, adding "wealthy" areas of Buckhead and Cascade Heights/South ATL:

[Onthemove2014]

Originally Posted by DTL3000

Defining intown in Atlanta is like defining obscenity.

How are things in the DC forum? Do you ever post there?

[10 feet tall]

It is somewhat silly to me what gets defined as what. For instance, Dunwoody and Brookhaven/Ashford have essentially the same housing stock built by the same builders in roughly the same years (the exception being Historic Brookhaven with the $1 million homes, which is more like/adjacent to Buckhead anyway than the area in between pill hill and Chamblee). But if you ask around Brookhaven is cool and Dunwoody is lame, all because an interstate runs in between them.

[Onthemove2014]

It's all about shared access.

[bryantm3]

hmm. someone mentioned the beltline, maybe that's a good rough guide as to what's intown and what's not.

of course being "in town" is just a matter of perception. for example parts of sandy springs seem just as, if not more "in town" than cascade, for example, despite the disparity in proximity to the urban core.

it still bugs me that some people still consider chamblee, dunwoody, decatur, sandy springs, college park, hapeville, etc. to be "suburbs" in the traditional sense. these days they're really more like "boroughs".

[arjay57]

"Intown" is always a changing concept and different people have different ideas. Traditionally it simply meant "within the city limits." But it also denotes closely associated areas like Emory and Druid Hills. These days many people would include Chamblee, East Lake and the Decatur neighbhorhoods.