Atlanta's future sidekick... (Sandy Springs, Roswell, Marietta: neighborhoods, zoning, law)

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

If there is such a term as a sidekick city, the unifying factor I see in the OP's list is that each of the sidekicks has at least a bit of history as an important city unto itself independent of the main city. I don't see any of these as historical suburbs. There are plenty of American suburbs that rival the city of Atlanta for population but you don't see them as "sidekick" cities to their central cities (Mesa, AZ over 400,000, Arlington, TX closing in on 400,000). These are just huge suburbs.

I can't see any of Atlanta's suburbs being considered a "sidekick" city except in use in population statistic for the census bureau. All the other sidekick city possibilitites that have some history are too far away.

Decatur could have been that city if it had expanded its boundaries to match suburban growth after WWII.

Perhaps that could be the subject of a new thread. What if Decatur had stopped Atlanta at the DeKalb County line all those years ago and all of Atlanta in DeKalb had been in the city of Decatur? If Decatur had then annexed the same proportion of land within DeKalb as Atlanta had in Fulton, we would now have twin cities in the south on par with the northern version.

(see highlighted above)

Valid point...I think the same scenario/idea could be made for Marietta (during/after WWII, Bell Plant, Lockheed, etc.).

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by aries4118

(see highlighted above)

Valid point...I think the same scenario/idea could be made for Marietta (during/after WWII, Bell Plant, Lockheed, etc.).

Or the same could have possibly happened with any of the older incorporated suburbs around Atlanta...Stone Mountain, Lawrenceville, Chamblee, Smyrna, College Park, etc. I think they all sat in the shadows of Atlanta as it boomed in population and very quickly became the center of the region.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by DeaconJ

Or the same could have possibly happened with any of the older incorporated suburbs around Atlanta...Stone Mountain, Lawrenceville, Chamblee, Smyrna, College Park, etc. I think they all sat in the shadows of Atlanta as it boomed in population and very quickly became the center of the region.

Well, not really...

The reality is that Marietta and Decatur were large towns/decent-sized cities without "Atlanta influence"...a la Gainesville, Cartersville, Griffin, Athens, etc...

So, they could have (maybe!) have grown more (and similar to Atlanta) if they had annexed like Atlanta did before and after WWII.

[JoeP]

Atlanta does not and will not have a comparable "sidekick"

It's irrelevant anyway. It would mean nothing other a longer metro area name.

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by aries4118

Well, not really...

The reality is that Marietta and Decatur were large towns/decent-sized cities without "Atlanta influence"...a la Gainesville, Cartersville, Griffin, Athens, etc...

So, they could have (maybe!) have grown more (and similar to Atlanta) if they had annexed like Atlanta did before and after WWII.

At one time they were all about the same size...even Atlanta. Decatur still isn't much larger than any of the other towns. But there are several Atlanta suburbs that are as old as Decatur and Marietta that were once prominent, independent towns - and weren't always part of Atlanta like they are today.

[blondandfun]

I honestly hope that it's the "City Of Gwinnett"

The poor planning of the county is really going to kill it when peak oil hits.

[Exult.Q36]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

If there is such a term as a sidekick city, the unifying factor I see in the OP's list is that each of the sidekicks has at least a bit of history as an important city unto itself independent of the main city. I don't see any of these as historical suburbs. There are plenty of American suburbs that rival the city of Atlanta for population but you don't see them as "sidekick" cities to their central cities (Mesa, AZ over 400,000, Arlington, TX closing in on 400,000). These are just huge suburbs.

I can't see any of Atlanta's suburbs being considered a "sidekick" city except in use in population statistic for the census bureau. All the other sidekick city possibilitites that have some history are too far away.

Decatur could have been that city if it had expanded its boundaries to match suburban growth after WWII.



Perhaps that could be the subject of a new thread. What if Decatur had stopped Atlanta at the DeKalb County line all those years ago and all of Atlanta in DeKalb had been in the city of Decatur? If Decatur had then annexed the same proportion of land within DeKalb as Atlanta had in Fulton, we would now have twin cities in the south on par with the northern version.

"Great point"

[Yeahitsme]

Originally Posted by Southlander

Decatur.

Douglasville.

Stone Mountain.

Alpharetta.

Birmingham?

I don't see any of those cities, except for B'ham which is TOO far away, growing at pace that would have them be a sidekick to Atlanta and I don't see them ever having true skylines. Gainesville will have a true skyline before Douglasville or Stone Mountain.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by DeaconJ

At one time they were all about the same size...even Atlanta. Decatur still isn't much larger than any of the other towns. But there are several Atlanta suburbs that are as old as Decatur and Marietta that were once prominent, independent towns - and weren't always part of Atlanta like they are today.

If I remember my history correctly, Decatur is older than the city of Atlanta. Atlanta owes its existence to the fact that Decatur did not want the railroads that made Atlanta come into existence. Had Decatur's early fathers had any foresight, we would now be on the Decatur thread and not the Atlanta thread.

I think Decatur alone had the chance to be a rival city to Atlanta. Atlanta's earliest suburbs crossed the Dekalb line as early as the turn of the previous century. Had Decatur held the line and annexed to the county line and encouraged growth that was going to the city of Atlanta, it could have been the St. Paul to Atlanta's Minneapolis.

Marietta didn't really boom until WWII, but Decatur could have already been a sizeable city of over 100,000 prior to WWII had they been a little more proactive in taking some of the region's growth instead of acquiescing it all to Atlanta.

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

If I remember my history correctly, Decatur is older than the city of Atlanta. Atlanta owes its existence to the fact that Decatur did not want the railroads that made Atlanta come into existence. Had Decatur's early fathers had any foresight, we would now be on the Decatur thread and not the Atlanta thread.

I think Decatur alone had the chance to be a rival city to Atlanta. Atlanta's earliest suburbs crossed the Dekalb line as early as the turn of the previous century. Had Decatur held the line and annexed to the county line and encouraged growth that was going to the city of Atlanta, it could have been the St. Paul to Atlanta's Minneapolis.

Marietta didn't really boom until WWII, but Decatur could have already been a sizeable city of over 100,000 prior to WWII had they been a little more proactive in taking some of the region's growth instead of acquiescing it all to Atlanta.

All I'm saying is that there are other Atlanta suburbs that are as old and historic as Decatur, and that were at one time as prominent. Stone Mountain, Chamblee, Roswell, Lawrenceville, Fayetteville, Jonesboro, and others were thriving towns prior to the Civil War, partly due to having a railroad connection to the rest of the state and the South. Other towns like Douglasville, East Point, Hapeville, and several more were founded in the 1870s...they boomed and industrialized by 1900 were important cities and towns. Decatur was truly only one of the many towns near Atlanta and had lots of rivals in size and importance.

Marietta Square was laid out in 1833, and by 1850 there were hotels, taverns, banks, a tailor, general stores, a bakery, and other businesses lining the square. "By the time the Civil War began in 1861, Marietta had recovered from the fires and was booming." (Community - History (http://www.mariettaga.gov/community/history.aspx - broken link)) The Marietta school system was established in 1892; industrialization began to rise in 1870, and by 1900 there were several factories and industrial businesses; by 1899 there was a Marietta telephone company and city street lights throughout downtown. Marietta boomed long before WWII.

"Lawrenceville was a major city in early north Georgia, on an east-west trading path. Named for James Lawrence, the town was deeply embroiled in the Trail of Tears." (Cities of Georgia)

"Roswell was the site of a cotton mill and the homes of many wealthy citizens. It was a major target of Sherman's Atlanta Campaign and in 1905 President Teddy Roosevelt visited the city." (http://roadsidegeorgia.com/city/).