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Old 09-27-2013, 07:23 AM
 
10,974 posts, read 10,883,781 times
Reputation: 3435

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Portland mayor: 'It'll take generations' to fix metro Atlanta's sprawl | Atlanta News & Opinion Blog | Fresh Loaf | Creative Loafing Atlanta

Hales: Portland's on the right planning track compared to other cities - Portland Business Journal

Quote:
"Atlanta's a mess... Sorry, but Atlanta's planned so poorly, it'll take generations to change the shape of the place."
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Old 09-27-2013, 08:56 AM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,620 posts, read 77,657,036 times
Reputation: 19102
Well, no offense, but he's 100% correct. With that being said Greater Atlanta certainly isn't alone in having a horribly built urban area. I lived in Northern Virginia for nearly two years, and the mess in and around Tysons Corner could certainly give many areas of your metro area a run for its money.
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Old 09-27-2013, 09:02 AM
 
28 posts, read 35,476 times
Reputation: 19
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteelCityRising View Post
Well, no offense, but he's 100% correct. With that being said Greater Atlanta certainly isn't alone in having a horribly built urban area. I lived in Northern Virginia for nearly two years, and the mess in and around Tysons Corner could certainly give many areas of your metro area a run for its money.
When you say poorly planned you mean?
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Old 09-27-2013, 09:04 AM
 
Location: Grant Park
139 posts, read 231,770 times
Reputation: 70
"Hot mess" is more appropriate.
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Old 09-27-2013, 09:06 AM
 
Location: Atlanta
5,242 posts, read 6,243,171 times
Reputation: 2784
We are a mess? I guess I love living in a mess then.

Sorry we weren't the affluent homogenous city you were expecting. THANK YOU, COME AGAIN.
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Old 09-27-2013, 09:07 AM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,620 posts, read 77,657,036 times
Reputation: 19102
Quote:
Originally Posted by avbanks View Post
When you say poorly planned you mean?
I mean having the majority of the population within your metropolitan area confined to areas where transit is either difficult to access or completely non-existent; where residential subdivisions will abut shopping centers but still not be within walkable proximity due to archaic zoning policies; where the majority still view widening a freeway as being a "solution" instead of a "band-aid"; where one must take life into their own hands if they want to bike anywhere significantly as a viable means of commuting; where neighborhoods already serviced by MARTA will still be home to immense congestion (i.e. North Buckhead) due to far too many people still living too far out and commuting in; where surface parking is still built in much greater quantity than multi-level and/or subterranean parking; where the cul-de-sac isn't seen as being outdated; etc.
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Old 09-27-2013, 09:10 AM
 
Location: Georgia native in McKinney, TX
8,057 posts, read 12,870,369 times
Reputation: 6323
I say sour grapes that his little northwest city will never be anything more than the largest town in Oregon.
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Old 09-27-2013, 09:10 AM
Status: "Pickleball-Free American" (set 9 days ago)
 
Location: St Simons Island, GA
23,478 posts, read 44,128,490 times
Reputation: 16881
Hey, Portland mayor: Mind your own business, fugstick.
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Old 09-27-2013, 09:15 AM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,620 posts, read 77,657,036 times
Reputation: 19102
Quote:
Originally Posted by tikigod311 View Post
We are a mess? I guess I love living in a mess then.

Sorry we weren't the affluent homogenous city you were expecting. THANK YOU, COME AGAIN.
I've seen this critique before that "rewards" Atlanta's urban sprawl because it has kept housing price in-check and, therefore, has permitted more lower-income minorities and immigrants to thrive. Portland is indeed a rather non-diverse metropolitan area. Guess what? So is my current home of Pittsburgh, and our cost-of-living is on par with Atlanta, if not even a bit less expensive. Pittsburgh has sprawl (even Portland does), but much of our new metropolitan growth in the suburbs is now being built via "Smart Growth" while urban neighborhoods are becoming even denser. Promoting sprawl will not necessarily keep an area "affordable" in the long-term, either. I moved to Pittsburgh from Northern Virginia, which was mile after mile of low-density urban sprawl that was ludicrously-priced.

What do I want to see more of in Atlanta? Atlantic Station-esque developments where people can live, work, shop, play, dine, etc. within walking distance (you know, the way people used to do only a few generations ago before cheap gasoline was all the rage?!) While some on this sub-forum balk at city neighborhoods like Lindbergh I foresee areas like that being "red hot" in about another decade due to their accessibility to transit and proximity to the urban core.

Widening every freeway to 16 lanes isn't going to solve Atlanta's traffic woes if that temporary "easy commute" just encourages another massive wave of further-out urban sprawl to creep up and eventually clog all 16 of those lanes.
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Old 09-27-2013, 09:17 AM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,620 posts, read 77,657,036 times
Reputation: 19102
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saintmarks View Post
I say sour grapes that his little northwest city will never be anything more than the largest town in Oregon.
You do realize that residents of MANY other cities admire Portland's commitment to environmental sustainability via its urban growth boundaries, right? You do realize that elected officials in MANY other cities tour Portland to learn more about how to better incorporate cycling infrastructure into their cities, right? You do realize that Portland continues to win many urban planning awards that cities like Atlanta will never win, right?
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