What do you think Atlanta's population will peak at? (Sandy Springs: middle-class, foreclosures)

[SoBuKev]

Over 1 million.....easy. Probably 2 million at peak.

[KevK]

The population here doubles about every 10 years so it only stands that the city will follow. If it is 550,000 now by 2018 it will be 1.1 million and by 2028 about 2.2 million while the metro will be 10 million by 2018 and 20 million by 2028 (and you think traffic is bad now!)

[southgeorgia]

Originally Posted by KevK

The population here doubles about every 10 years so it only stands that the city will follow. If it is 550,000 now by 2018 it will be 1.1 million and by 2028 about 2.2 million while the metro will be 10 million by 2018 and 20 million by 2028 (and you think traffic is bad now!)

you guys better get the water situation figured out before even thinking about that type of expansion.

i'm not an advocate of throttling growth, but it seems as though maybe atlanta should consider doing it until they get the infrastructure and resources under control before trying to expand to that size.

[skywatcher75]

Originally Posted by KevK

The population here doubles about every 10 years so it only stands that the city will follow. If it is 550,000 now by 2018 it will be 1.1 million and by 2028 about 2.2 million while the metro will be 10 million by 2018 and 20 million by 2028 (and you think traffic is bad now!)

Ha!! 20 million by 2028. All Counties MUST have mass transit. And 4 International Airports.

I'll be 53..whew! I wont drive around Atlanta at 53~

[Sandy Springs Rep.]

Originally Posted by BringBackCobain

It will also be interesting to see if the growth the city is seeing intesifies or stays stable as the years pass. The metro region is predicted to be the 6th largest metro in 2030, so if the city keeps catching a larger percentage of the growth then it could be huge. This is an interesting file compiled by the ARC on the subject:

http://www.atlantada.com/media/Aconv...growth_002.pdf

They are already outdated though because they have the 2010 population at 450,000. They say if the city captures 20% of the metros growth, it could be 850,000 by 2030.

Yeah, that page is WAY off. The metro population is already as high as they projected it would be in 2020!!

I don't know when the city's population will peak, but I think a million is probably a stretch unless Atlanta annexes more land in Dekalb or Vinings or something.

[brbarlow5]

Atlanta don't need to annexes more land to grow. Skyscrapers and more condo/townhomes can easy push Atlanta population over a million. BTW Atlanta isn't getting anymore land from Dekalb and if Atlanta annexes the rest of South Fulton that would give Atlanta 40k to 60k more people.

[FromCLTtoATL]

There are so many variables, it's hard to even guess:

1. As already mentioned, water is a big issue.

2. Which cities will be the winners and which the losers after this economic debacle ends? I think we're in for many seismic changes in our society in the next five years. This is the tip of the iceberg. Right now, Georgia in general doesn't appear poised to be one of the bigger winners emerging from this mess.

3. Will they expand and improve public transit? It's hard -- and nightmarish -- to imagine us beyond a million and no real public transit improvements/additions. That maze of ill-designed streets in downtown is one tangled, bungled, multi-layered mess already.

4. Fulton County is such an oddly shaped county, skinny in the middle with that bulbous nob on top. You can drive from the heart of the city to DeKalb County in just a few miles. So there are county borders that make a gigantic population boom in the city proper difficult because the heart of Atlanta lies in a really skinny part of the county.

4. I think the story will be told to the south and west. As already mentioned, only so much more will get crammed in north and east. I don't envision skyscrapers in Grant Park or Va-Hi, for instance, because of the nature of what's already there. More skyscrapers aren't a problem in north Atlanta since it already has them, but at some point, the traffic issues will choke that there.


If high-density projects are put up in those areas to the west and south where opposition would be less likely, and if we don't get crushed by this recession, and if transportation and water are semi-solved, I can see us getting up to a million in the city proper in 20 to 30 years, and without an ensuing loss of quality of life.

[FizEdCoach]

There is plenty of space in the city of Atlanta for huge population growth in the future...and without invading neighborhoods like Grant Park with highrises. There are 132 square miles/520,000 people in Atlanta's city limits, compared to Chicago with 220 square miles/3 million people or Detroit with 138 square miles/1 million people. I can see Atlanta's population being 1 million+ in 20 years.

I wouldn't assume that there would be less opposition in neighborhoods on the west/south sides of Atlanta. There are very strong, organized neighborhood associations in some of those areas that grew out of opposition to urban renewal and highway/stadium construction. There are many neighborhoods scattered throughout all sides of the city that would loudly oppose construction that is not within the character and style of the neighborhood - even if they aren't as high profile as neighborhoods in Dunwoody.

[Atlantasfinest]

I don't think the West Side and South Side of Atlanta would be opposed to any type of redevelopment and higher density and investment in their communities during these hard times and after we get out of this recession.

I believe community leaders in Vine City/English Avenue would welcome developers and builders to add density and commercial and housing developments to these areas which have been neglected and are so close to the city. These areas offer the best location to what the city has to offer via Northside Drive running North & South and North Avenue/Ivan Allen-Simpson Road/Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. running East & West and great highway access on these said roads as well.

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by FizEdCoach

There is plenty of space in the city of Atlanta for huge population growth in the future...and without invading neighborhoods like Grant Park with highrises. There are 132 square miles/520,000 people in Atlanta's city limits, compared to Chicago with 220 square miles/3 million people or Detroit with 138 square miles/1 million people. I can see Atlanta's population being 1 million+ in 20 years.

But there are cultural differences between those cities and here. It's not the "Atlanta-way" to have packed sidewalks and tiny restaurants/shops in old early 1900s buildings. If asked if you would like to live in the heart of Chicago or the heart of Atlanta, the common urbanite will EASILY say Chicago because the amenities and urban lifestyle is there already. That is not the case here in Atlanta - it's a "build it and they will come" mentality, which is vastly different. So, you cannot just compare numbers and say that Atlanta has plenty of room for growth because, truth be it, the quality of life here and what the typical Georgian wants is just very very different.