Could Atlanta teach Prince George's about smart growth? (College Park, Greenbelt: real estate, rental)

[UrbanScholar]

The author makes some interesting points. I think that his point has been discussed at length on this board. The urgency of TOD projects are critical to the future of the county. The question would be are we currently heading in the right direction and if not where to start. Do we place a moratorium on residential only developments? Beef up the concession made to companies bringing a large number of jobs in the area? How do we expedite creating more TOD or "WalkUP" districts around PGC metro stations and other existing revenue generating developments. To truly capitalize on the continued growth of the metro area there needs to be a better plan than what we have right now. It appears that we have a few examples (College Park/Rte 1, New Carrollton, maybe Greenbelt) but are those projects moving fast enough to push the county forward? What are your thoughts?

New research from George Washington University professor Christopher Leinberger reveals that most of the Atlanta region's office, retail and rental residential construction now occurs in walkable urban places, or WalkUPs. The study, The WalkUP Wake-Up Call: Atlanta, is a follow-up to previous research of the DC area and reveals several fascinating facts about Atlanta's development landscape during the most recent real estate cycle, from 2009 to the present.

Could Atlanta teach Prince George's about smart growth? - Greater Greater Washington

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/...-from-atlanta/

[goofy328]

I don't think its that simple. PG County and Atlanta are different metropolitan areas. Atlanta still has a fare amount of sprawl and makes highways on the rest of the East Coast seem small and narrow by comparison.

Until Atlanta can get the majority of their populace within the city limits there's little to talk about on this issue. Suburbia does not play well with Atlanta, which is the norm for most cities but what is Atlanta doing about it? I hear little about annexation, and there does not appear to be any real plan to increase density within the city. The city is still short on high rises, given the size of the metro.

Atlanta, like PG County, is a work in progress. But until we see true results in Atlanta, and less sprawl, it is entirely too early to tell.

[armory]

Atlanta is like Houston when it come to driving through the city. The DC area is bad but those cities are in their own category.