An urban Midtown/Downtown

[Uptowngirl]

Originally Posted by jpk1292000

Agreed. I love the way this area is shaping up. Now, if we could get the Hard Rock Hotel going...

Atlanta needs more local business, and less generic corporate chains...they don't add anything to the city.

[atlantaguy]

Originally Posted by Uptowngirl

Atlanta needs more local business, and less generic corporate chains...they don't add anything to the city.

And just what local business do you propose to take the place of the already planned Hard Rock Hotel? Look, this is a corporate town, thank God. Something I'm sure the City Fathers of Nola would LOVE to be able to say, but they can't. Even your "superior" city just reopened its grandest old hotel under the Waldorf Astoria nameplate. Hardly original to New Orleans.

I've noticed that the only time you post, it is always either a knock on Atlanta or some type of derogartory remark regarding the growth of the city. We do not WANT to be New Orleans here, got it? You guys can fill that role, while we go about our business of being a business town, kay?

[echinatl]

Originally Posted by Uptowngirl

Atlanta needs more local business, and less generic corporate chains...they don't add anything to the city.

I was just thinking that downtown Atlanta needs MORE corporate chain restaurants. If someone figured out how to stick a chilies, cheese cake factory or Outback steakhouse it would make a killing! A consistently mediocre place like that is actually needed down here.

[chubbydecker]

Originally Posted by echinatl

I was just thinking that downtown Atlanta needs MORE corporate chain restaurants. If someone figured out how to stick a chilies, cheese cake factory or Outback steakhouse it would make a killing! A consistently mediocre place like that is actually needed down here.

Hooter's appears to be doing quite well downtown. Then again it is both a locally based as well as a national chain!

[Uptowngirl]

Originally Posted by atlantaguy

And just what local business do you propose to take the place of the already planned Hard Rock Hotel? Look, this is a corporate town, thank God. Something I'm sure the City Fathers of Nola would LOVE to be able to say, but they can't. Even your "superior" city just reopened its grandest old hotel under the Waldorf Astoria nameplate. Hardly original to New Orleans.

I've noticed that the only time you post, it is always either a knock on Atlanta or some type of derogartory remark regarding the growth of the city. We do not WANT to be New Orleans here, got it? You guys can fill that role, while we go about our business of being a business town, kay?

I'm from Atlanta and I will say what I please as long as I am not attacking another poster.
Atlanta has lost its identity, and I'm not anti corporate (and New Orleans is very anti corporate for retail and other commercial establishments) We don't WANT it here (that said I'd prefer a healthy mixture...too tilted either way is unhealthy).

Atlanta needs to be able to stand on its own two feet should this recession increase and topple other chain stores and establishments. Plus corporate chains brandish their own buildings in a way that does not allow for them to be reused again. Is that the type of future you want? That there is no lasting legacy in the public realm for adaptive reuse of buildings and public spaces?
And The Waldorf is rebranded the Roosevelt...the hotel's second name during its hey day of the 30s and 40s (and very much has a local flavor including the Sazerac Bar and the Blue Room)

[L41A]

Originally Posted by Uptowngirl

Atlanta needs more local business, and less generic corporate chains...they don't add anything to the city.

Atlanta has plenty of local businesses. Atlanta is often listed as a top city for entrepreneurs, start ups, small businesses. With your reply to the post concerning the Hard Rock Hotel, one can reasonably deduce that you suggest the city would have a greater addition if a local entity opened a hotel instead.

That's a stretch (not in reasonable deduction but in your response) which is why I agree with Atlantaguy. You do seem to reach for anything to knock Atlanta with continuous comparison to New Orleans. And yeah I know you didn't mention New Orleans in this response but anyone knows who have read any of your posts can see your implication. It definitely seems like you have found your niche in New Orleans. So enjoy it - to each his own. I personally hated living there. I loved visiting there but the day-to-day living there didn't suit me.

[L41A]

Originally Posted by atlantaguy

And just what local business do you propose to take the place of the already planned Hard Rock Hotel? Look, this is a corporate town, thank God. Something I'm sure the City Fathers of Nola would LOVE to be able to say, but they can't. Even your "superior" city just reopened its grandest old hotel under the Waldorf Astoria nameplate. Hardly original to New Orleans.

I've noticed that the only time you post, it is always either a knock on Atlanta or some type of derogartory remark regarding the growth of the city. We do not WANT to be New Orleans here, got it? You guys can fill that role, while we go about our business of being a business town, kay?

Thank you! Atlantaguy. I too have noticed the posts.

To each his own - Diversity is the spice of life. You do you and I/we will do me/us.

[L41A]

Originally Posted by Uptowngirl

I'm from Atlanta and I will say what I please as long as I am not attacking another poster.
Atlanta has lost its identity, and I'm not anti corporate (and New Orleans is very anti corporate for retail and other commercial establishments) We don't WANT it here (that said I'd prefer a healthy mixture...too tilted either way is unhealthy).

Atlanta needs to be able to stand on its own two feet should this recession increase and topple other chain stores and establishments. Plus corporate chains brandish their own buildings in a way that does not allow for them to be reused again. Is that the type of future you want? That there is no lasting legacy in the public realm for adaptive reuse of buildings and public spaces?
And The Waldorf is rebranded the Roosevelt...the hotel's second name during its hey day of the 30s and 40s (and very much has a local flavor including the Sazerac Bar and the Blue Room)

I read in one of your posts that you lived in Woodstock. That's akin to living in Mandeville or Slidell and claiming you are from New Orleans.

Atlanta does have identity. It may be an identity that you don't like. But it has one and it is one that is agreeable to many folk.

However, I do concur with your "lasting legacy in the public realm" notion which implies Atlanta's indifference in the past to the destruction of older buildings with something newer and less interesting. But Atlanta is not that much of an exception in that regard. Many US cities destroyed older more interesting buildings for something more bland especially in the 60s, 70s. New Orleans is more of an exception because it is one of the very few major US cities to really resist such notion of destruction in the name of progress - Washington is another.

[L41A]

Originally Posted by smArTaLlone

I love the way the HGI turned out. This is the kind of development that will make the city much more walkable.

I love it too. It's good to see such construction in Atlanta which is indeed occurring lately more often than not. Street presence is the key. Something like Technology Square would be wonderful to fill the ever decreasing gap between Downtown and Midtown and even Midtown and Atlantic Station but the enormous Downtown Connector is a deterrence.

[cybele]

Originally Posted by L41A

Something like Technology Square would be wonderful to fill the ever decreasing gap between Downtown and Midtown and even Midtown and Atlantic Station but the enormous Downtown Connector is a deterrence.

I had to cut through Atlanta the other day and that is one big slab of concrete. It seems wider than ever. Is it growing?

[Uptowngirl]

Originally Posted by L41A

I read in one of your posts that you lived in Woodstock. That's akin to living in Mandeville or Slidell and claiming you are from New Orleans.

Atlanta does have identity. It may be an identity that you don't like. But it has one and it is one that is agreeable to many folk.

However, I do concur with your "lasting legacy in the public realm" notion which implies Atlanta's indifference in the past to the destruction of older buildings with something newer and less interesting. But Atlanta is not that much of an exception in that regard. Many US cities destroyed older more interesting buildings for something more bland especially in the 60s, 70s. New Orleans is more of an exception because it is one of the very few major US cities to really resist such notion of destruction in the name of progress - Washington is another.

I lived in Woodstock for 3 years (b/c that's where the cheap houses I could afford were, and was I ever wrong to do that), I am FROM Atlanta (and Woodstock was, well..hell. Had I been unable to leave the metro area I would have likely attempted to move to Grant Park or VA Highlands.)
Atlanta doesn't have an identity due to the influx of new people into the city, and many of them don't see themselves as Atlantans...and the city has bulldozed a lot of the cultural flavor of the city and the over dependence on
chain stores is an overall negative. There needs to be more of a balance.

[cybele]

Originally Posted by Uptowngirl

I lived in Woodstock for 3 years (b/c that's where the cheap houses I could afford were, and was I ever wrong to do that), I am FROM Atlanta (and Woodstock was, well..hell. Had I been unable to leave the metro area I would have likely attempted to move to Grant Park or VA Highlands.)

Nothing wrong with Woodstock in my opinion. There are a whole lot of us who can't afford to live inside the city limits. That doesn't invalidate your ideas either. The relationship between the city proper and the surrounding suburbs is very symbiotic. Neither would amount to much without the other.

[smArTaLlone]

On the contrary IMO, if we weren't sprawled out over 10,000 square miles, we'd likely have a MUCH stronger city.

[atlantaguy]

Originally Posted by Uptowngirl

Atlanta doesn't have an identity due to the influx of new people into the city, and many of them don't see themselves as Atlantans...and the city has bulldozed a lot of the cultural flavor of the city and the over dependence on
chain stores is an overall negative. There needs to be more of a balance.

Again, this is your opinion ONLY, and I totally and emphatically disagree.

To say that Atlanta has lost it's identity is laughable, at best.

I could just as easily say that outside of a few choice areas, New Orleans still resembles a third world disaster that will never fully regain its former importance or glory.

You have frankly been nothing but negative towards anything Atlanta related for the past few years now. We know you are totally enamored with Nola, but Atlanta and New Orleans could not be more different if they tried.

I for one am glad that Atlanta still attracts major corporations and their investments.

[Uptowngirl]

And yet I am still concerned with the welfare of the city of my birth...

I would like to see the efficiency of Atlanta combined with the respect for the public realm and sense of community that is fostered in New Orleans.

If I didn't care I wouldn't come here to see what is being discussed...
Jim Kunstler addressed some of the problems that Atlanta faces (especially in terms of sprawling development) here http://www.kunstler.com/excerpt_atlanta.htm

But will the Atlanta area try to fundamentally change how people live and transportation within the metro area? If energy prices exist to threaten thin supply chains and far flung corporate chain stores, Atlanta faces an eventual problem.

But if much of the area, especially suburbanites continue to bury their heads in the sand...

Take the attitude and go harp on someone else. This is the Atlanta forum, not the Atlanta rah rah rah rose colored glasses forum.

[plorenc]

Originally Posted by Uptowngirl

And yet I am still concerned with the welfare of the city of my birth...

I would like to see the efficiency of Atlanta combined with the respect for the public realm and sense of community that is fostered in New Orleans.

If I didn't care I wouldn't come here to see what is being discussed...
Jim Kunstler addressed some of the problems that Atlanta faces (especially in terms of sprawling development) here http://www.kunstler.com/excerpt_atlanta.htm

But will the Atlanta area try to fundamentally change how people live and transportation within the metro area? If energy prices exist to threaten thin supply chains and far flung corporate chain stores, Atlanta faces an eventual problem.

But if much of the area, especially suburbanites continue to bury their heads in the sand...

Take the attitude and go harp on someone else. This is the Atlanta forum, not the Atlanta rah rah rah rose colored glasses forum.

You are absolutely correct. If Atlanta continues to pursue its car-dependent model of development, it does not stand a chance in the coming years. There are, however, many signs that the city is on the precipice of reversing this trend. Many neglected and blighted in town neighborhoods are revitalizing and improving, and the BeltLine and the Peachtreee Streetcar shows that development is being thought of differently.

Atlanta as a metro area may contract and become less influential on the international scale, but I think it's posed to become much stronger as an sustainable urban city as time goes on.

[Uptowngirl]

Well I think as Atlanta (if it can) become more dense and sustainable...and reliant hopefully on its own businesses, it can become MORE international and influential.

I certainly hope the Beltline and the streetcar projects are successful.

[atlantaguy]

Originally Posted by Uptowngirl

And yet I am still concerned with the welfare of the city of my birth...

I would like to see the efficiency of Atlanta combined with the respect for the public realm and sense of community that is fostered in New Orleans.

If I didn't care I wouldn't come here to see what is being discussed...
Jim Kunstler addressed some of the problems that Atlanta faces (especially in terms of sprawling development) here http://www.kunstler.com/excerpt_atlanta.htm

But will the Atlanta area try to fundamentally change how people live and transportation within the metro area? If energy prices exist to threaten thin supply chains and far flung corporate chain stores, Atlanta faces an eventual problem.

But if much of the area, especially suburbanites continue to bury their heads in the sand...

Take the attitude and go harp on someone else. This is the Atlanta forum, not the Atlanta rah rah rah rose colored glasses forum.

First of all, Jim Kunstler has absolutely nothing but pure hatred for Atlanta. It has been well documented many times, so I could give a rats ass what he has to say on the subject. To rely on his opinion of us tells me exactly where you are coming from. I'll listen to someone much more reasonable, such as Andres Duany. Someone who actually likes Atlanta is and attempting to help us rework specific neighborhoods, not mindlessly bash the place like your Kunstler rube.

As far as being labeled as a "rah rah rah rose colored glasses" mindless booster type for questioning your bizarre accusations re: Atlanta, you could not be further off the mark.

As long as you continue to come here and spew such nonsense as "Atlanta has lost its identity due to newcomers," and that we have no adaptive reuse or repurposing of our public spaces, I will continue to call you on it.

Again, Atlanta is NOT New Orleans. We are NOT anti-corporate here, along with most forward thinking large cities. As far as I'm concerned, we have struck a great balance between corporate and local when it comes to businesses. MOST cities would kill for the type of outside investment that we enjoy here. Again, I realize this does not apply to where you live.

It sounds like you are way overdue for a visit, because you come across as someone who has not stepped foot ITP in 10 years.

[cybele]

I'll second that. Atlantaguy is no rah-rah booster who's blind to the city's problems. To the contrary, it's obvious from his posts that he loves Atlanta and is a perceptive and constructive critic.

There's no doubt that Kuntsler hates Atlanta, and he's so vituperative that it's hard to take him seriously.

[cabasse]

Originally Posted by cybele

...and he's so vituperative that it's hard to take him seriously.

(on anything, really)