Atlanta's not a world class city[CL Article] (Decatur: radio, rating)

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by Cameron H

It always strikes me as odd that the cities that are not "world class" are the ones that are growing the fastest, while the populations of "world class" cities like New York would be declining if not for immigrants. It almost seems as though most people prefer spacious residential neighborhoods, a good climate, low cost of living, and robust, diversified economies over the features that are typically described as essential to "world class" cities.

My impression is that the term has been hijacked by the left. Seems as if those cities adhering to liberal values and practices the best get the label of "World Class". But if you are market driven then you get terms like "sprawl" and "over-developed" and any other denigrating terms.

[glovenyc]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Because you know you're wrong.

Of course traffic is unavoidable. But when it's the number one or two complaint by the vast majority of people who visit or live in an area, that means it's something that you really need to do something about. As opposed to what we do about it, which is basically nothing. We don't even have properly timed traffic signals on most major arteries.

Every great city has pollution, but does that mean we shouldn't have emission checks?

Every great city has crime, does that mean we don't need police?

The fact that a problem is inherent to city life is no excuse not to address it. Especially when tourists and residents constantly tell you it's one of your biggest problems.

I agree, every "world-class city" has traffic issue. London, NYC, Paris,etc...that's part of the game. However what Atlanta lacks are viable transportation options. MARTA is a start, but extremely limited. With a majority of the metro living in the "burbs" and there is no commuter rail system is assinine. I understand why in the past MARTA wasn't built out to my beloved county of "Cobb" and Gwinnett. It's unfortunate that being short-sighted has/will prove to be extremely expensive.

[Staysean23]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

Ugh, I'm in and out of that restroom as fast as I can.

You dont live in Atlanta anymore and if you knew anything they renovated the restrooms there. They are.much nicer.than.they once.were

[jero23]

The point of this article is aimed at the entire region not just the City of Atlanta...

Oh yeah part of the problem is the apprehension of many to allow in the past and present for the city of Atlanta to expand its city boundaries. Also in many suburbs, the anti-urban behavior of many decades has caught up to them. It's a combination because Atlanta municipal government is not the sole responsible party in this parade called "Atlanta".

[jero23]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

My impression is that the term has been hijacked by the left. Seems as if those cities adhering to liberal values and practices the best get the label of "World Class". But if you are market driven then you get terms like "sprawl" and "over-developed" and any other denigrating terms.

It's been hijacked by both. A city is meant to be a diverse place.

[Nema98]

Atlanta has made strides especially with the 1996 Olympics, however it still far short of New York City and Los Angeles. Those are world class cities.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by jero23

It's been hijacked by both. A city is meant to be a diverse place.

"Diverse" is a Liberal value and what the left preaches.

[JC84]

Don't forget that Atlanta is a HUGE business and conference powerhouse. That factor alone points to a very much emerging "world class" status.

Plus we have Emory, GA Tech

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by Ant131531

I pretty agree with this article. Small Excerpt below with link to full article.

Atlanta's not a world-class city | Opinion | Creative Loafing Atlanta




You can't tell me Atlanta's a world class city when:

1)Downtown is dead past 5:30
2)Lack of vibrant urban, walkable neighborhoods.
3)25%+ of your downtown is just parking lots.
4)Subpar public transportation system that struggles with corruption and improvement
5)Half of the downtown area won't get development because of the 'riff raff' element

That article you linked to noted Atlanta's propensity for building "iconic," "transformative" and "catalytic" projects at the expense of the little things that improve daily life. This is the exact same mistake that Cleveland has made over the years, with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame being the quintessential example of this. Honestly, Atlanta and Cleveland both seem to have a desire to be "liked" by others that borders on irrational sometimes. Atlanta's too busy looking for a silver bullet that'll make it a "world-class city" without question, and Cleveland is too busy looking for a silver bullet that'll make its national reputation change for the better. They're trying to sell themselves, but they just sell themselves out instead.

There's nothing wrong with a city promoting itself through cultural assets and tourism, but the mundane for the residents of the city has to be taken care of first. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame brings plenty of tourists and revenue to Cleveland, but it does nothing to stop the decline of neighborhoods on the city's East Side, let alone improve daily life anywhere. And whatever Atlanta has built in the last 20 years hasn't made the areas south of I-20 or west of Metropolitan Parkway any more livable either. Focusing on the small things like enhancing neighborhood business districts and beautifying major thoroughfares will do much more to help Atlanta become a world-class city than any large project.

[hautemomma]

I think that the 90% of Metro Atlanta's population residing in the surrounding burbs, cities and counties is at the crux of many of the other tangential issues and concerns. The COA is co-dependent on the population, economies and patronage of the approx. 5 million people who surround the city central. Leveraging and elevating Atlanta will require continued and sustained investment OTP, namely connecting the burbs (which are, increasingly, job centers unto themselves) with viable mass transit options. From Acworth, Roswell, Lawrenceville, Duluth, Alpharetta, McDonough and on and on should all be connected to each other, and connected to the COA via high-speed rail.