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I'm not raggn on Philly, i just know that it has alot of Ghetto, and alot more than Atlanta
I disagree. When I was in college, Atlanta had just as many if not more "ghetto" areas than Philly. Bankhead? Ghetto. SWATS? Ghetto. Adamsville? Ghetto. East Lake? Ghetto. Over by Boulevard? Ghetto. Moreland Ave? Ghetto. West End? Ghetto. Auburn Avenue? Ghetto. Vine City? Ghetto. Techwood and Northside Drive? Yep, you guessed it, GHETTO!
Downtown, Midtown, the Northeast, and the area around Collier Road are the only nice parts of the city. That's pretty much the equivalent of Center City, Andorra, Chestnut Hill, Mount Airy, East Falls, and Manayunk. The ghettos in Philadelphia may look worse, but on average, the city is not more ghetto than Atlanta.
Not true at all. The West End (which contains the Atlanta University Center) was once lily white. That area is now 95% black. The area around Greenbriar Mall was also all white at one point in time. 30 years ago, Ansley Park was not what it is today.
If you re-read my post, you will notice that I said "truly prime" residential areas. The areas you mention are still nice, even though the demographics changed - but they were never the "truly prime" areas you portray them as.
Ansley may have been a little rough around the edges back in the 60's - 70's, but it has never lost its cachet. I stand by my statement, regardless of what you may think.
I disagree. When I was in college, Atlanta had just as many if not more "ghetto" areas than Philly. Bankhead? Ghetto. SWATS? Ghetto. Adamsville? Ghetto. East Lake? Ghetto. Over by Boulevard? Ghetto. Moreland Ave? Ghetto. West End? Ghetto. Auburn Avenue? Ghetto. Vine City? Ghetto. Techwood and Northside Drive? Yep, you guessed it, GHETTO!
Downtown, Midtown, the Northeast, and the area around Collier Road are the only nice parts of the city. That's pretty much the equivalent of Center City, Andorra, Chestnut Hill, Mount Airy, East Falls, and Manayunk. The ghettos in Philadelphia may look worse, but on average, the city is not more ghetto than Atlanta.
They may be/were ghetto, but anyone with their eyes open cannot honestly say that there is anything even close to the level of abandonment and outright decay here as found in some parts of Philly.
You obviously have been away for years with your views of what the nice parts of town are. East Lake hasn't been ghetto for over a decade (the PGA Tour doesn't do ghetto), and Techwood no longer exists. PGATOUR.com - THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola
The Philadelphia and Atlanta areas are very different in their configurations of concentrations of wealth. Although I'm not speaking from tons of experience, it appears that more of the wealth in the Atlanta area is concentrated in Atlanta proper, whereas when it comes to the suburbs, metro Philadelphia really packs a punch in terms of wealth. The region has some of the wealthiest suburbs in the country, and this is due to the urban core -- as is the case in most older cities -- containing the vast majority of poverty in the metropolitan region:
Median HH Income
Philadelphia proper: $37,186
Atlanta proper: $49,391
------
Philadelphia suburbs: $71,995
Atlanta suburbs: $61,854
Interestingly, on a regional level, they are even keel, with Philly having a very slight advantage in terms of median HH income:
If you re-read my post, you will notice that I said "truly prime" residential areas. The areas you mention are still nice, even though the demographics changed - but they were never the "truly prime" areas you portray them as.
Ansley may have been a little rough around the edges back in the 60's - 70's, but it has never lost its cachet. I stand by my statement, regardless of what you may think.
What does "truly prime" mean? Does that simply mean affluent? Okay. So that's true for every city. Very affluent areas rarely suffer from white flight.
And it's not about what I think. Ansley Park just wasn't a very desirable place to live. It's hard to believe that now because the area is so beautiful and so close to Piedmont Park, but then again, it's hard to believe that Dupont Circle in DC used to be a dump. Druid Hills is one of the few neighborhoods that was unscathed. I don't think Buckhead had the connotation in the 1960s that it does now. The only other really affluent area that comes to mind is Briarcliff, but that's not in Atlanta's city limits. I think that's considered Decatur.
But isn't that what the thread is all about, hence the OP's statement:
In my eyes, an equal percentage of both Philadelphia and Atlanta's land mass is covered by ghettos. Philadelphia's ghettos look worse. But I'm not sure if that fact alone would make Atlanta more upscale, because in my view, a ghetto is a ghetto. I would not consider Southeast DC to be more upscale than Camden, NJ simply because the houses are nicer and the streets are cleaner. It's still the hood.
What does "truly prime" mean? Does that simply mean affluent? Okay. So that's true for every city. Very affluent areas rarely suffer from white flight.
And it's not about what I think. Ansley Park just wasn't a very desirable place to live. It's hard to believe that now because the area is so beautiful and so close to Piedmont Park, but then again, it's hard to believe that Dupont Circle in DC used to be a dump. Druid Hills is one of the few neighborhoods that was unscathed. I don't think Buckhead had the connotation in the 1960s that it does now. The only other really affluent area that comes to mind is Briarcliff, but that's not in Atlanta's city limits. I think that's considered Decatur.
The estate area of Buckhead has been desirable since the 1920's. Ansley away from Peachtree never fell that bad. Morningside has never fallen, nor Druid Hills as you mentioned. Brookhaven, no. Peahtree Hills, no. Tuxedo Park, no. Sherwood Forest, no. And Briarcliff is inside the City Limits, up until around Johnson Rd./Fox 5 Studios.
Philly has a much more extensive public transportation system well into its suburbs.
Nothing in the entire ATL metro comes even close to Center City.
King of Prussia is the Largest single retail space in the U.S.
Philly is nearly 4x denser than Atlanta. Even Most of its inner suburbs are denser than Atlanta proper.
An hour from the Jersey Shore. ATL is 4 hours from the nearest shore.
2 hours to NYC. And Borders the NYC metro. 2 hours to Bmore, and 3 hours to DC.
Because of the older nature of the Metro, and much stricter zoning laws, Philly and its outskirts have some of the nations finest and most unique architecture. IMO ATL can't yet compete with Philly from an architectural standpoint.
To be fair,
ATL has a much better system of highways.
One of the nation's airhubs.
Cheaper COL.
Better Shopping Overall.
Better Nightlife.
More Modern Suburbs, and ATL's metro is more modern Overall.
No nearby regional competitors, so ATL has a much larger physical sphere of influence.
Overall Philly is more Upscale in a classical way, where as ATL is more upscale in a nuevo way.
The estate area of Buckhead has been desirable since the 1920's. Ansley away from Peachtree never fell that bad. Morningside has never fallen, nor Druid Hills as you mentioned. Brookhaven, no. Peahtree Hills, no. Tuxedo Park, no. Sherwood Forest, no. And Briarcliff is inside the City Limits, up until around Johnson Rd./Fox 5 Studios.
Buckhead is essentially the Beverly Hills of Atlanta. I don't think it really gained that reputation until the 60s/early 70s, though. It was never a bad place to live, but for the most part, Atlanta's old money was concentrated in the Northwest. That's where the Governor's Mansion is, I believe.
Ansley Park, from what I have been told by residents, was just a regular area. It was far from posh. In fact, this woman told me that when they purchased off Avery, their house was pretty much one of the few decent ones on the block. Again, that is hard to imagine now, but Old Town Alexandria is similar. That area really didn't start to come to life until the late 1960s.
And the area around Greenbriar Mall is not nice. That area is extremely ghetto.
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