Just back from Atlanta, some comparisons to Austin (Houston, Spring: transplants, apartments)

[cBach]

I know a lot on here have compared Austin to Atlanta, saying they are both green and have lots of hills. Well, I just got back from a business trip to Atlanta, in the northern suburbs, around the Sandy Springs area.

I have to say that Atlanta as a whole felt much much greener and cleaner than Austin. I was in a building that had trees towering over the whole building, we were on the second floor and barely any sunlight reached where we were just green trees and shade. It appears that in Atlanta, they preserve trees when building as much as we do. The trees are taller and much more healthy looking, more deciduous and less evergreen (cedar).

The freeways are of much better quality and they all seemed to have sound walls. However, I do have to say that 75/85 downtown at rush hour was a nightmare. There are 16 lanes (8 in each direction) and they still have bumper to bumper traffic. It made me think that any improvements we make to our puny I-35 will not have any effect.

The public transportation is excellent in Atlanta as well. I really didn't need to rent a car as I could have ridden the MARTA from the airport to the Dunwoody station and walked from there to the hotel.

All of the buildings appeared strong brick structures and in good architectural designs. I didn't go downtown, but Buckhead and Midtown Atlanta were thriving, with very nice lofts, apartments, world class restaurants, and a great vibe. It actually looked more liveable than downtown Austin.

Then I came back here and as I was driving from the airport, I saw the multitude pawn shops and trailers. From the airplane I saw all the old mines in the east side of town (mining what, sand?) Folks, do we just have our head in the sand?

Listen, I love Austin but I was trying to approach this from a realistic point of view. Why do we treat the east side of town like trash, relegating it to dumps, mines, industrial plants, and other things. We've divided our town into Mississippi to the east and Bellaire to the West.

Unless we start improving the east I don't think F1 visitors will be impressed.

[Idlewile]

This is a great summary and I agree with you.

I lived in Atlanta for almost 3 years. It is very green, beautiful. I will say Atlanta does have that old city charm to it, the kind that, really, only east coast cities offer. The southern hospitality on top of it makes it special.

The shopping in Buckhead and surrounding areas is amazing actually, and I say this as someone who lived most of her life in LA and the Bay Area. Atlanta has an astounding number of independent, cool stores and boutiques AND first class shopping malls.

I worked downtown and it's nice, as is midtown. Having had the Olympics there makes it fairly pedestrian friendly, scenic.

MARTA is great.

Traffic is bad BUT there are usually several alternative routes to get somewhere if one is backed up. (Last night, we we trying to get downtown at 6:30 and Mopac was at a stand still for what appeared to be no reason. We tried to cut through the middle of town Lamar, etc. and it was bumper to bumper. Frustrating.)

Glad you had the opportunity to visit.

[centralaustinite]

Austin does not equal Atlanta, I shudder at ever even comparing them. The trees are taller because the climate and tree types are different! Talk to any developer, no city has the routine protections of trees that we do, never mind the Heritage Tree ordinance. Plus you were in a very specific part of Atlanta, trust me, you did not see it all!

Buckhead and Midtown are hardly representative.

And the brick! Vernacular architecture! There are fundamental reasons of geology and climate (not to mention history) as to why some part of the US have predominately brick buildings and Austin does not!

Anyway, your impressions are interesting but reflect a lack of local knowledge about Austin (history, geology, native plants, economics, etc) that surprises me.

[G Grasshopper]

Originally Posted by cBach

Unless we start improving the east I don't think F1 visitors will be impressed.

Thanks for your observations. I don't doubt them. But if improvements are made, they should be made for reasons other than impressing F1 visitors. They should be made to improve the quality of life for people living here and to improve the long term sustainability of the area (economic and environmental.) If we make meaningful improvements targeted at the long term goals, not just at impressing people, thoughtful visitors will notice that.

[love roses]

You hit the nail on the head. I noticed that when they decided to run those massive power lines out here. Can't dirty up the west side now can we? On a more positive note, I'm hoping the F1 track will eventually change a lot of that. The track DID choose the East side after all and is putting in an amphitheatre as well, so that's good. Restaurants and hotels and clubs/nightlife will follow suit eventually. Possibly even more cool business ventures and nicer neighborhoods.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

Austin does not equal Atlanta, I shudder at ever even comparing them. The trees are taller because the climate and tree types are different! Talk to any developer, no city has the routine protections of trees that we do, never mind the Heritage Tree ordinance. Plus you were in a very specific part of Atlanta, trust me, you did not see it all!

Buckhead and Midtown are hardly representative.

And the brick! Vernacular architecture! There are fundamental reasons of geology and climate (not to mention history) as to why some part of the US have predominately brick buildings and Austin does not!

Anyway, your impressions are interesting but reflect a lack of local knowledge about Austin (history, geology, native plants, economics, etc) that surprises me.

I understand that we cannot grow the same trees as in Atlanta. I understand that the architecture there will be different, in some ways I prefer Hill Country limestone to the brick architecture seen there.

It doesn't matter if zoning is better for preserving trees here than in Atlanta, they seem to be preserving them even if they have less zoning, and because the trees are taller, it is prettier.

Atlanta seemed to have some very nice parks as well (Piedmont Park). Much better maintained and seemed bigger than Zilker as well.

It's true that Atlanta doesn't have our greenbelts nor does it have Hippie Hollow or other funky things like we do, but the bottom line is we only seem to have niche attractions. They have all four pro sports, the best aquarium in the country, the largest airport in the US, etc... We don't even have a mediocre zoo.

Listen, I wouldn't live in Atlanta, but let's at least try to make objective comparisons. We fall short in many areas.

[sxrckr]

I have never heard them compared before. Atlanta has always been much greener (now, I have heard people say Austin's landscape looks like an uglier, more sparse Pittsburgh), more corporate, and more centered around Black and southern culture.

[Gingersnap92]

Austin has towering trees, good soil and greenery, its just on the east side of 35. The ugly desert part of austin is west of mopac.

[sxrckr]

Originally Posted by Gingersnap92

Austin has towering trees, good soil and greenery, its just on the east side of 35. The problem is the west side of town trying to steer development away from the area. ex: Its bad, stay away, its all mexicans, etc. The ugly desert part of austin is west of mopac and it loiks like desert california and is only expensive because of californian bubble money from the transplants. Spin it as desirable. Its the cali way.

Bastrop, which looks more to me like northern Houston, is quite popular actually. Or at least was, before the fires. Still very sad about that....

[Gingersnap92]

Dont worry. The forest will come back. Whether pines, oaks or maples theyll be towering compared to the west.