Mar 24Islands 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 read
Feb 27Asking 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 read
Feb 912 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 read
Feb 7GDOT’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 read
Feb 3What first got me interested in urbanism?Four main experiences made me plunge into an amateur study of urban planning and urbanism advocacy in Atlanta: Growing up in a fairly undeveloped part of suburban Cobb County and watching the natural areas around us (former farms and patches of forest) get turned into sprawling, land-hogging subdivisions Being an…Urbanism2 min read
Feb 1Tim Keane interview, October 2015Atlanta’s planning commissioner Tim Keane has taken a job in another city. Reflecting on his years here, I recall what a wonderful spokesman he was for good urbanism — something that we definitely needed. It was always a pleasure to hear him talk about remaking the public realm of Atlanta’s…Atlanta5 min read
Jan 11Roads in the suburbs are deadly for the most vulnerable people.According to an AJC article, this is the spot in Cobb County where a 7-year-old girl with autism was killed last night after being hit by a car. In an area that’s surrounded by homes, and that’s near an elementary school, a driver was going fast enough to kill someone…Pedestrian Safety3 min read
Dec 28, 2021Another pedestrian death in Clayton County, near MARTA, where road design is deadlyAccording to news reports today, a wheelchair user was killed here by a car driver in Clayton County on Mount Zion Parkway, near this intersection. This area has stores, sidewalks that include ADA ramps, and bus stop for MARTA’s 197 route all around. …Pedestrian Safety2 min read
Sep 30, 2021Kasim Reed is pandering to NIMBYs who oppose growth near MARTA. That stinks.Atlanta mayoral candidate Kasim Reed is pandering to anti-density voters in the Ansley Park neighborhood by promising he’ll oppose the (very good) proposal to allow small apartment buildings, with only eight to twelve units each, to be built within a half mile of MARTA rail stations in the city. The…Atlanta4 min read
Aug 24, 2021Thoughts on Gwinnett traffic and liberal NIMBYsThe photo at the top of this AJC article got me thinking. After I-85 was built, Gwinnett County used zoning to create (and legally enforce) a carpet of sprawl alongside the freeway. Generations of residents then rejected joining MARTA. Racism played a big part, but also there’s this: what feels…Urban Planning3 min read
