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- Info
Options for regional decision making in metro Atlanta
| Author: |
Nelson, Arthur Chris |
| Date: |
1999 |
| Periodical: |
Georgia State University, School of Policy Studies. Atlanta, Ga: Research Atlanta, Inc. |
| Abstract: |
This report provides the policy and constitutional foundation for crafting regional decision-making approaches to meet regional challenges in a way that simultaneously sustains economic development and improves the quality of life. The culture of Atlanta is decidedly pro-growth. Where the old money in cities of the North and much of the West seem protective of their station, Atlanta's leadership has always seemed to exclaim, "Y'all come down." Witness only the rapidity with which newcomers are welcomed and can become an integral part of the fabric of this dynamic community. The newcomer sees a vibrant metropolitan area composed of about four million apparently very busy souls. To many it seems incredible that at the mid point of this century, Atlanta and Birmingham were nearly the same size. In the half century since, Atlanta has blossomed into the dominant city of the Southeast. By 2020, the area covered by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) will grow to 4.2 million people while the Atlanta metropolitan statistical area (MSA) will exceed 5 million and its "commuting shed" will approach 7 million. Since 1970, the Atlanta MSA has surpassed Baltimore, Cleveland, Miami, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis in population. By 2020 it will surpass Boston and Detroit on the way to becoming to the nation's ninth largest MSA. However, all is not rosy, as this report will detail. Atlantans drive more than any other people in the nation. Its air quality has become among the nation's worst. Many of Atlanta's freeway links rank among the nation's most congested. Rivers are polluted and over-silted. Farmland is being lost at a pace of 50 acres each day and total open space at more than 100 acres each day. As schools that have already been paid for close, new ones with new debt amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars are being built. The federal government, citing insufficient planning to bring the region into conformity with federal air quality standards, has cut off the Atlanta region from certain highway funds. Recommendations by regional planners to local governments on issues of development go unheeded. Local governments do what they please because they do not suffer the consequences of their actions that affect others in the region. Will success destroy Atlanta? Or will its people and their leaders come together to solve problems that affect everyone in the region so that growth is sustained? That is the central question guiding this report. |
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