According to Money Magazine, Atlanta Is the Best Place to Live in the U.S.

[JMatl]

Originally Posted by cparker73

I've got to push back on your assertion that Atlanta wasn't instrumental in the Civil Rights Movement. It was actually ground zero for the planning of marches, protests and legal challenges that happened in those other states.

The infamous Bloody Sunday march from Selma to Montgomery was planned in part by Atlanta's Hosea Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference along with John Lewis of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Morehouse student Julian Bond was also a founding member of SNCC and went on to found the Southern Poverty Law Center before becoming president of the NAACP (one of his sons is on the Atlanta City Council today). Ralph David Abernathy worked with MLK Jr. and others to create the organization that led the Montgomery bus boycott (a street and and part of I-20 are named after him). Ambassador Andrew Young is another influential civil rights leader who was King's right hand man. He was literally standing next to King on the motel balcony when King was shot. Young was director of the SCLC and strategized the protests in Birmingham, St. Augustine, and Selma.

All of this planning happened because of the infrastructure in place in and around the Atlanta University Center comprised of religious institutions and colleges and the financial backing of many of Atlanta's prominent Black business owners in the Sweet Auburn district. So, without Atlanta, you really don't have the Civil Rights Movement.

Tell it!

[brickpatio2018]

Seattle does have sprawl. And it definitely has gridlocked traffic.

What distinguishes Seattle is that there is a huge area of neighborhoods from the early 1900s, with cottages and bungalows with porches and quaint little areas of restaurants nearby. Most cities lost those parts of town to crime and gangs but in Seattle those areas survived and are now becoming increasingly upscale. Modern midrise apartment buildings are built all throughout these neighborhoods. But as you get to the areas built in the 1970s and later the roads get increasingly wide and lined with strip malls just like everywhere else.

I wish these cities would build subways like cities in Europe. I simply could not live in a large metro area where it takes an hour to drive 5 miles.

[equinox63]

Originally Posted by brickpatio2018

Seattle does have sprawl. And it definitely has gridlocked traffic.

What distinguishes Seattle is that there is a huge area of neighborhoods from the early 1900s, with cottages and bungalows with porches and quaint little areas of restaurants nearby. Most cities lost those parts of town to crime and gangs but in Seattle those areas survived and are now becoming increasingly upscale. Modern midrise apartment buildings are built all throughout these neighborhoods. But as you get to the areas built in the 1970s and later the roads get increasingly wide and lined with strip malls just like everywhere else.

I wish these cities would build subways like cities in Europe. I simply could not live in a large metro area where it takes an hour to drive 5 miles.

I think the same can be said about Atlanta.

[MichiganderTexan]

Originally Posted by cparker73

I've got to push back on your assertion that Atlanta wasn't instrumental in the Civil Rights Movement. It was actually ground zero for the planning of marches, protests and legal challenges that happened in those other states.

The infamous Bloody Sunday march from Selma to Montgomery was planned in part by Atlanta's Hosea Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference along with John Lewis of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Morehouse student Julian Bond was also a founding member of SNCC and went on to found the Southern Poverty Law Center before becoming president of the NAACP (one of his sons is on the Atlanta City Council today). Ralph David Abernathy worked with MLK Jr. and others to create the organization that led the Montgomery bus boycott (a street and and part of I-20 are named after him). Ambassador Andrew Young is another influential civil rights leader who was King's right hand man. He was literally standing next to King on the motel balcony when King was shot. Young was director of the SCLC and strategized the protests in Birmingham, St. Augustine, and Selma.

All of this planning happened because of the infrastructure in place in and around the Atlanta University Center comprised of religious institutions and colleges and the financial backing of many of Atlanta's prominent Black business owners in the Sweet Auburn district. So, without Atlanta, you really don't have the Civil Rights Movement.

I agree with that... maybe I overstated what I meant but I'm just saying most of the historical events we think about that happened in the civil rights movement happened in other states not in Atlanta. Yes many of the leaders were from Atlanta of course. Mainly because the authorities in those other states were so brutal (Alabama, Mississippi), Atlanta while still in the South wasn't branding itself as a hateful city like some of those other places. When I think of one city that's history is aligned with the civil rights movement it's Birmingham though not Atlanta is what I think my point was. Not that Atlanta doesn't have a history with the civil rights movement, to clarify.

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by equinox63

I think the same can be said about Atlanta.

For sure, just not nearly the same extent as Seattle. Some of the far out burbs in Seattle (and Portland for that matter) actually remind me of some ATL suburbs with how green they are and the country roads.

Originally Posted by MichiganderTexan

I agree with that... maybe I overstated what I meant but I'm just saying most of the historical events we think about that happened in the civil rights movement happened in other states not in Atlanta. Yes many of the leaders were from Atlanta of course. Mainly because the authorities in those other states were so brutal (Alabama, Mississippi), Atlanta while still in the South wasn't branding itself as a hateful city like some of those other places. When I think of one city that's history is aligned with the civil rights movement it's Birmingham though not Atlanta is what I think my point was. Not that Atlanta doesn't have a history with the civil rights movement, to clarify.

I knew what you meant. ATL is home to many of the leaders of the civil rights movement, but many of the namebrand events we think of/have pictures of (bus boycott, sit-ins) happened in other states. Atlanta was like the financial machine for the movement though.

[demonta4]

Originally Posted by DaBears02

I don’t think any of the three cities has the right to call out the others for this when they’re relatively in a similar category with regards to walkability. Atlanta’s core is slightly more walkable than Houston’s but barely tbh. Difference is not night and day and it’s not like any of these cities are Chicago.

Just because Atlanta isn't nearly as good as Chicago, doesn't mean that Houston isn't far behind us (and Dallas for that matter). I mean I can map almost 4 miles of pedestrian-oriented development outside of the CBD (so excluding core Midtown and Downtown Atlanta) from Piedmont Park to Glenwood Ave. I can't think of a 4 mile stretch in Houston that's similar. Houston's downtown has almost no street interaction at all. Midtown Houston is a bit better but still is full of car-oriented lots. Montrose does have mixed uses sprinkled throughout but the pedestrian infrastructure is pathetic even compared to here. Houston's doing better than before but Atlanta is certainly a better place to exist as a pedestrian than Houston. I haven't even touched transit systems yet, but MARTA rail is far more useable than Houston Metro even considering that they have a better bus system.

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by demonta4

Just because Atlanta isn't nearly as good as Chicago, doesn't mean that Houston isn't far behind us (and Dallas for that matter). I mean I can map almost 4 miles of pedestrian-oriented development outside of the CBD (so excluding core Midtown and Downtown Atlanta) from Piedmont Park to Glenwood Ave. I can't think of a 4 mile stretch in Houston that's similar. Houston's downtown has almost no street interaction at all. Midtown Houston is a bit better but still is full of car-oriented lots. Montrose does have mixed uses sprinkled throughout but the pedestrian infrastructure is pathetic even compared to here. Houston's doing better than before but Atlanta is certainly a better place to exist as a pedestrian than Houston. I haven't even touched transit systems yet, but MARTA rail is far more useable than Houston Metro even considering that they have a better bus system.

Atlanta offers the better pedestrian experience for sure but your take on Houston is a bit outdated. Dallas does a better job than Houston because like Atlanta, it's neighborhoods are small. Neighborhoods like Midtown Houston are gigantic. Collectively Houston has the larger core of the 3 which makes sense because it's the largest city. Because of that Houston has had more to fill in to make a cohesive experience.

As far as transit, MARTA is useful if you live near one of the lines. If your past that walkable drop off (and lucky enough to have sidewalks), it is like MARTA doesnt exist, especially with the poor bus system.

But no question ATL has the most lively core if we're talking about Midtown, downtown, five points, etc.