One Georgia, But With Many Parts (including at least Two Atlantas) (Gainesville: how much, house)

[Born 2 Roll]

Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Georgia state political website GeorgiaPol.com, Charlie Harper (a known moderate Republican who has been working as a manager for the Karen Handel campaign during the Spring 2017 special election to fill Tom Price's vacated congressional seat and who has often been heavily derided as a R.I.N.O. (Republican in Name Only) by more conservative Republicans for his moderate viewpoints), has over the past couple of months run a series of articles talking about what he describes as being five different parts of Georgia, including two different Atlantas (ITP/Urban Atlanta and OTP/Suburban/Exurban Atlanta).

It is an interesting article that delves into the different political, cultural, social and economic conditions that drive the differences between Atlanta and the rest of Georgia and that drives the differences between the five distinctly different parts of Georgia that Harper describes.

Harper goes on to talk about how the two different Georgias that people commonly referred to in the past in talking about the differences between an explosively fast-growing Metro Atlanta and a generally slower-growing/stagnant/shrinking rest of Georgia are now five different Georgias.

Harper also goes on to breakdown and describe the five different parts of Georgia, including Atlanta's urban core, Suburban Atlanta, the Georgia Coast, the Mountains (the rural North Georgia Mountains region), and interior South Georgia.

Harper also includes a couple of entries talking about the issues of Transportation (something that is near-and-dear (probably often too near-and-dear) to many Metro Atlantans' hearts) and education (or the disparities of education quality between more-affluent areas like upscale metro Atlanta suburbs and less-affluent areas like many parts of the Atlanta urban core and Rural Georgia).


"One Georgia, But With Many Parts" (introductory column) (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/04/2...ia-many-parts/


"The Two Georgias Are Now Five Georgias" (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/05/0...five-georgias/


"Five Georgias: Atlanta’s Urban Core" (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/05/0...as-urban-core/


"Five Georgias: Suburban Atlanta" (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/05/1...urban-atlanta/


"Five Georgias: The Coast" (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/05/2...eorgias-coast/


"Five Georgias: The Mountains" (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/05/3...ias-mountains/


"Five Georgias: South Georgia" (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/06/0...south-georgia/


"Five Georgias: One Transportation Network" (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/06/1...ation-network/


"Five Georgias: Education" (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/06/1...ias-education/

[lorilove]

Sounds interesting - I will try to find time to catch up the series

[TheTravelinMan]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Roll

Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Georgia state political website GeorgiaPol.com, Charlie Harper (a known moderate Republican who has been working as a manager for the Karen Handel campaign during the Spring 2017 special election to fill Tom Price's vacated congressional seat and who has often been heavily derided as a R.I.N.O. (Republican in Name Only) by more conservative Republicans for his moderate viewpoints), has over the past couple of months run a series of articles talking about what he describes as being five different parts of Georgia, including two different Atlantas (ITP/Urban Atlanta and OTP/Suburban/Exurban Atlanta).

It is an interesting article that delves into the different political, cultural, social and economic conditions that drive the differences between Atlanta and the rest of Georgia and that drives the differences between the five distinctly different parts of Georgia that Harper describes.

Harper goes on to talk about how the two different Georgias that people commonly referred to in the past in talking about the differences between an explosively fast-growing Metro Atlanta and a generally slower-growing/stagnant/shrinking rest of Georgia are now five different Georgias.

Harper also goes on to breakdown and describe the five different parts of Georgia, including Atlanta's urban core, Suburban Atlanta, the Georgia Coast, the Mountains (the rural North Georgia Mountains region), and interior South Georgia.

Harper also includes a couple of entries talking about the issues of Transportation (something that is near-and-dear (probably often too near-and-dear) to many Metro Atlantans' hearts) and education (or the disparities of education quality between more-affluent areas like upscale metro Atlanta suburbs and less-affluent areas like many parts of the Atlanta urban core and Rural Georgia).


"One Georgia, But With Many Parts" (introductory column) (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/04/2...ia-many-parts/


"The Two Georgias Are Now Five Georgias" (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/05/0...five-georgias/


"Five Georgias: Atlanta’s Urban Core" (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/05/0...as-urban-core/


"Five Georgias: Suburban Atlanta" (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/05/1...urban-atlanta/


"Five Georgias: The Coast" (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/05/2...eorgias-coast/


"Five Georgias: The Mountains" (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/05/3...ias-mountains/


"Five Georgias: South Georgia" (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/06/0...south-georgia/


"Five Georgias: One Transportation Network" (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/06/1...ation-network/


"Five Georgias: Education" (GeorgiaPol.com)
https://www.georgiapol.com/2017/06/1...ias-education/

Very interesting. I might quibble a bit with some of the statements but still very incisive

[Born 2 Roll]

In the series, Harper also talks about how the balance of power in Georgia statewide politics has shifted from rural South Georgia (back when Metro Atlanta and South Georgia were about even in population and back when Georgia's political climate was dominated by conservative rural Democrats) to Suburban/Exurban Metro Atlanta and North Georgia.

(...In years and decades' past, Georgia's balance of political power often seemed to be centered out of a much more rural Houston County in Middle/South Georgia where powerful erstwhile Georgia politicians like former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and former Georgia governor and current U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, amongst others, hailed from.)

Harper also talks about how the balance of power in Georgia statewide politics currently resides in the North Georgia Mountains region where the current sitting governor (Nathan Deal), current sitting Lt. governor (Casey Cagle) and current Georgia House Speaker (David Ralston) all hail from.

(...Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and Georgia Lt. Governor Casey Cagle both hail from the Gainesville/Hall County area while Georgia House Speaker David Ralston hails from Blue Ridge in the North Georgia Mountains.)

Harper also talks about how, despite having demographic and electoral dominance over Georgia's political scene, how painfully unaware the Metro Atlanta suburbs seem to be about how much power they actually seem to have over the state's political scene and potentially could have over the state's political scene if they were to either join in political coalitions with other Atlanta suburbs and other parts of the state.

[bu2]

With education, he fails to talk about higher education. That is where South Georgia and Coastal Georgia have a deficit. The job creating research universities-GT, UGA, Ga. ST. and Augusta, are all well north of the gnat line.

[Mouldy Old Schmo]

The nail biter of a gubernatorial election makes me wonder if there are two Georgias now - Greater Atlanta versus the rest of the state. And is there a sense among some Georgians that Greater Atlanta is a liberal colossus imposing its views on a state that is otherwise largely conservative?

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by Mouldy Old Schmo

The nail biter of a gubernatorial election makes me wonder if there are two Georgias now - Greater Atlanta versus the rest of the state. And is there a sense among some Georgians that Greater Atlanta is a liberal colossus imposing its views on a state that is otherwise largely conservative?

Perhaps in a political sense. However, given the Republican dominance in our legislature and the fact we have a Republican governor, I don’t believe metro Atlanta is imposing its views on the rest of the state. Quite the opposite, really.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by Mouldy Old Schmo

The nail biter of a gubernatorial election makes me wonder if there are two Georgias now - Greater Atlanta versus the rest of the state. And is there a sense among some Georgians that Greater Atlanta is a liberal colossus imposing its views on a state that is otherwise largely conservative?

Look at NY State - metro NYC is extremely liberal (makes Atlanta look conservative by comparison) yet upstate NY is conservative and feels it doesn’t have a voice.

There will always be an urban - suburban - rural divide to some degree.

[Mouldy Old Schmo]

Whoever won the governor’s race is likely to have a stormy tenure, considering how close the election was and a portion of the population thinking it was stolen.

[Fountain-of-youth]

Georgia has multiple blue areas outside metro Atlanta. It's the same urban vs rural battle that you've been seeing in different states across the south.