New city population estimates from the census put Atlanta's population at 463,878 (Sandy Springs: 2015, construction)

[wilful]

Originally Posted by wasel

Hartsfield is not in City of Atlanta

Technically correct, but do you think it would have been built in the first place, had not ATL been as vibrant a city as it was and about to become? Also, no coincidence it was built within close proximity of ATL and officially it's called Hartsfield - Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

[atler8]

Originally Posted by bu2

Well the boosters got involved and convinced the Census Bureau to raise their estimates. There were some articles on it in the AJC at the time the census came out.

As I understand the situation, the "boosters" were deceived by the huge increase in residential building permits within the city limits during that decade & convinced the census bureau to adjust their population estimates upward.
The failure on the part of the "boosters" & the data interpreters at the census bureau was to realize the number of housing units that were torn down or that correspondingly went vacant in large swaths of the city. The loss or vacant status of those many units basically canceled out what should have been a robust period of city population growth if going by building permit unit numbers alone were an accurate predictor of growth.

[fourthwarden]

Originally Posted by bu2

The example is:

Well what if Cobb, Gwinnett, Cherokee and Forsyth were just going take over MARTA?

There's a whole thread filled with hostility about that.

The hostility isn't over the counties joining, or even having a voice and influence. In fact, the resounding opinion here is that Gwinnett and Cobb should join, and negotiate what they see fit for their counties.

The hostility comes from a certain Gubernatorial candidate seeking to bribe his way into controlling MARTA, on behalf of interests that just so happens to come from the northern metro counties. Surprising, how a take over of something that the state has, until very recently, shunned, is seen as suspicious.

Originally Posted by jsvh

Part of it is and it is owned and run by CoA.

Not to mention all the Atlanta Fire and Rescue Stations as well as the Atlanta Police Precinct spread around the airport, despite not being in city limits, specifically to support it.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by wilful

Technically correct, but do you think it would have been built in the first place, had not ATL been as vibrant a city as it was and about to become? Also, no coincidence it was built within close proximity of ATL and officially it's called Hartsfield - Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

It is literally built, owned, and run by the City of Atlanta. And part of it is in the city limits (where the original terminal was). Map with CoA boundaries (note the "island" of CoA city limits that takes part of the airport, that is the original site of the terminal): https://www.google.com/maps/place/At...!4d-84.3879824

If Mayor Reed decided tomorrow the airport would look better painted pink with purple polka dots, he could do it. (But they let the CoA airport authority do their own thing since they are self-funding)

[cqholt]

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Int'l Airport is 100% owned and operated by the City of Atlanta. Just like CoA owns property in Dawson and Paulding Counties if a second airport is needed, they have the land.
Georgia Forestry Commission (/forest-management/state-forest-management/state-managed-forests/dawson/index.cfm)

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

Theoretically, COA can annex unincorporated territory within Cobb County; lots of cities have territory in more than one county (and Atlanta already does as the city extends a little into Dekalb). That hardly means that COA is trying to "take over" Cobb. But as it was stated, one city can't annex territory that's already incorporated.

Right, but I'm not talking about the technicalities of annexation.

Cobb has been criticized for resisting the potential expansion of Atlanta into Cobb, and I'm simply pointing out that those feelings are no different from any other jurisdiction that doesn't want to become part of or governed by an adjoining jurisdiction.

Do you think the city of Atlanta would be okay with being made part of Cobb county, Sandy Springs or any other jurisdiction? Of course not. So why should Cobb be singled out for criticism?

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by DJDeadParrot

So, extending MARTA into Cobb means CoA wants to take over Cobb?

No, they're not the same things.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Do you think the city of Atlanta would be okay with being made part of Cobb county, Sandy Springs or any other jurisdiction? Of course not. So why should Cobb be singled out for criticism?

I would be supportive of consolidating all those areas under one regional government entity. I assume there would still be mechanisms to still allow local control too.

[fourthwarden]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Right, but I'm not talking about the technicalities of annexation.

Cobb has been criticized for resisting the potential expansion of Atlanta into Cobb, and I'm simply pointing out that those feelings are no different from any other jurisdiction that doesn't want to become part of or governed by an adjoining jurisdiction.

Do you think the city of Atlanta would be okay with being made part of Cobb county, Sandy Springs or any other jurisdiction? Of course not. So why should Cobb be singled out for criticism?

Because there's a difference between an county establishing a fake city to keep a legitimate one from annexing unincorporated land, and a real city attempting to annex a part of another real city.

It's not really equivalent.

More so, and annexation requires the majority of those living there to approve of it, before it can go forward. If Atlanta tried to annex parts of unincorporated Cobb, or anywhere else, I needs the petitions to do so. It can't just say "ANNEX!" and poof, the county is in the city.

Same goes for city to city.

What Cobb did, was make a fake, 10ft wide stretch of city, called Chattahoochee Plantation for the express purpose of keeping Atlanta out of unincorporated county land. That wasn't a decision made by the people who lived there. It was a decision made by the county.

[atler8]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Only on CD, when I worked at Cobb County DOT, there was a lot more shade being thrown towards Atlanta.

I'd have to say that what you cited as your own experience is quite believable. Some folks here are not looking at the "shade" factor through a long term lense or understanding what the diatribes against the City of Atlanta were like here at one time.
Looking with my long term perspective of 36 years, I remember my early days here & then on through the 1980's, the 1990's & for a while after that when the City of Atlanta was a CONSTANT & favorite whipping boy subject on local talk radio. It was constant & nauseating!
Back then when I sat in a cubicle environment, our office did not tell folks to turn off or lower their radio volumes so I had no choice to hear that d****d crapola floating over the cubicle walls.
What comes off the pages here today on CD is a far more balanced 2 way flow of back & forth ITP/OTP opinion then what was all too common through those years I just cited. It is now much more common to hear people speak up on behalf of the City of Atlanta than was previously the case & that is a welcome change imho.