Metro Atlanta struggling to regain lost momentum (Dallas, Jackson: 2015, foreclosures)

[Airforceguy]

Metro Atlanta doubled its population every generation and spread to Alabama and nearly to Tennessee.

But today, Atlanta may have lost its New South capital crown to Dallas, whose motto is “Big Things Happen Here.” And Charlotte, the Queen City nipping at Atlanta’s heels, relies on solid planning and leadership to one day, possibly, one-up Atlanta.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tallied a dozen economic and social welfare indicators – jobs, wages, foreclosures, commute times, population growth and more – to determine how the three Sunbelt giants fare against each other five years after the recession.

Metro Atlanta struggling to regain lost momentum | www.myajc.com

[aries4118]

If you read a lot of Joel Kotkin, you will get a sense that he is very anti-Atlanta.

[Atlwarrior]

This is such a laughable thread. Yes compare us to Dallas in some respect, but please stop the comparison with Charlotte. Everyone knows that Atlanta housing market took longer to recover because of all the overbuilding for being the number market for such a long time. Also a slow was no a bad thing, which gave the region time to recover. Also let's see how Texas fairs if low oil prices continues. The Article does not consider how Atlanta is geographically bless, and Alabama Aviation industry, and Florida economy growth also feed in Georgia and Atlanta economy also. The AJC wonders why their subscriptions keep dropping.

[Airforceguy]

I agree that the AJC needs to stop with the Atlanta vs Charlotte angle. Charlotte is not even in Atlanta's league.

[jpk1292000]

This article is mostly a joke. It completely ignores the momentum and job creation in Atlanta over the past 18 months. It does raise attention to the transportation issue, which the region and state absolutely must address.

[mattee01]

Okay seriously? Comparing Atlanta to Charlotte is like comparing New York to Jackson, Missippi... Like really, b**** really? And Dallas? They make Atlanta's sprawl look like a neighborhood extension. Seriously, its urban environment isn't a quarter the size or impression of Atlanta...there are triple the highways though!

Honestly, only thing holding Atlanta back is itself. If we were building the right size homes and enough stock to keep up, the contractor jobs alone would reduce our unemployment a percentage point.

[chuckshere]

I don't want to appear to be negative towards North Carolina, because I think it's a great state. But there are a number of things that belie this "struggling to regain momentum" idea. Here are a couple that come to mind immediately. Recently, Mercedes made its choice between the two states. And Atlanta is getting the film business North Carolina once had. If things like this indicate struggling, then my understanding of the word is different from the article's author. And the author says that people have turned their backs on Atlanta. Obviously, he missed, or didn't understand, the following article I'm linking. http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/n...stination.html

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by mattee01

Okay seriously? Comparing Atlanta to Charlotte is like comparing New York to Jackson, Missippi... Like really, b**** really?

Come now, don't be silly. Charlotte and Atlanta are economic competitors and metro Atlanta is only 2.5 times bigger than metro Charlotte. This is in no way similar to a NYC/Jackson comparison. That said, overall the two cities are certainly in different leagues and long-term comparisons of Atlanta with other cities will always be skewed because of the drastic impact the recession had on Atlanta in particular.

[J2rescue]

Originally Posted by jpk1292000

This article is mostly a joke. It completely ignores the momentum and job creation in Atlanta over the past 18 months. It does raise attention to the transportation issue, which the region and state absolutely must address.

I agree. The article itself feels like a time warp. There is no question that Atlanta lagged most of the country in coming out of the recession but that data has clearly changed in the last year and 1/2. I do think however, that the effects of the last recession should be a wake up call to local "leadership" that regional planning and cooperation is a necessity for Atlanta. And I think some of the transit talk coming out of the gold dome is evidence that this reality is becoming unavoidable.

[travbo]

I agree this article is a bit dramatic in stating that Atlanta has struggled to regain momentum. However, I think the comparisons to Charlotte should not be overlooked. Charlotte is seeing similar growth patterns and the population of the metro area of Charlotte today is similar to what Atlanta's metro population was in the mid 80's. While Atlanta is likely to maintain it's status as the "Chicago of the South" for at least the next 20-25 years, what Charlotte has accomplished in the past 10 years is quite interesting. Charlotte's transportation infrastructure is much better than Atlanta's was at this point in Atlanta's growth history and if Atlanta fails to implement certain portions of the BeltLine plan in a timely manner (APS vs. City of Atlanta) I could see Charlotte's Lynx system competing directly with federal bonds and subsidies.