Dec 5, 2022Atlanta ranks 143rd in population density among U.S. cities & that’s not goodThe common misperception that Atlanta has gotten ‘too dense’ is about cars, not people. — If you go to Wikipedia’s List of United States cities by population and sort the chart of cities (with a population of at least 100,000) by their density, the City of Atlanta comes in at number 143, just underneath Visalia, CA and Sterling Heights, MI. That’s a startlingly low level…Urbanism2 min readUrbanism2 min read
Dec 2, 2022Notice the density in the photo, not just the transitPlease notice the essential density behind the streetcar in this photo. These buildings sit in easy walking distance, and they *aren’t on top of a pedestal of a thousand parking spaces* — that’s really important. When it comes to expansion of street rail, bike lanes, pedestrianized streets, etc., we’ll get…2 min read2 min read
Nov 27, 2022Car-dependent sprawl is not a harmless optionPedestrian-hostile suburbs aren’t balanced out by the presence of walkable urbanism elsewhere; they’re a problem that should be fixed. — In Johns Creek, GA you can live a stone’s throw from a grocery store that would require a whopping 1.1 mile trek if you wanted to walk to it instead of driving. …Urban Planning3 min readUrban Planning3 min read
Oct 24, 2022Atlanta: stop accepting parking-pedestal density as being 'good enough'Here’s a photo of a pedestal of parking, with homes that sit several floors above the street. I appreciate the density, but I wish we could do it while putting eyes on the street instead of parking. …Urbanism2 min readUrbanism2 min read
Sep 14, 2022Atlanta needs a parking-reform initiativeYou have to wonder how much density we're really adding near the Eastside Beltline when these giant parking decks are mixed in. Parking minimums (requiring a certain number of spaces) are active here, which stinks. We should abolish minimums along the Beltline and allow for a lower ratio of spaces. …2 min read2 min read
Jul 19, 2022Thoughts on Atlanta’s future, from a Beltline perspectiveI honestly don’t recall what people-watching was like in Atlanta before the Beltline. This is a golden age of watching people walk by! This pic was taken on Sunday afternoon at the section of the Eastside Beltline that’s just outside Ponce City Market. Such a lovely scene. Though I have…Urbanism2 min readUrbanism2 min read
Mar 24, 2022Islands of density amid a sea of growing sprawl: we can do betterThere are pro-development folks in Atlanta who want new density added only to former industrial sites and high-traffic roads while leaving sprawling footprints of detached homes untouched. I am not one of them. This region is largely composed of a growing sea of car-dependent sprawl that continually destroys our precious…Urbanism3 min readUrbanism3 min read
Feb 27, 2022Asking the right question about urban infill (hint: it’s about equity)This is an improvement (though with an important caveat I'll address at the end).Urbansim2 min readUrbansim2 min read
Feb 9, 202212 years after funding, 7 years after service began, blight still surrounds too much of the Atlanta Streetcar.In 2010 the in-development Atlanta Streetcar project received $47 million in federal funding. That sum would help to pay for over half the $90 million cost of constructing the line. This happened almost 12 years ago. Passenger service for the streetcar began on December 30, 2014, over seven years ago.Atlanta3 min readAtlanta3 min read
Feb 7, 2022GDOT’s plan for Northside Drive doesn’t give pedestrians the help they needThe part of Northside Drive from Hemphill Ave to Marietta St has boomed with apartments in recent years. A new student housing building is also on the way. That’s why I’m concerned about the “operational improvements” outlined for an upcoming GDOT roadwork project on this stretch (see details). The project…2 min read2 min read
