Atlanta Community Discussion Thread

[smArTaLlone]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSehM2JB2OH/

[Street Advocate]

Originally Posted by smArTaLlone

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSehM2JB2OH/

Considering how little traffic has been on 75 and 85 it makes me wish people didn't drive from all over to clog atlanta streets and bypass the city on the highway to/from their jobs and homes outside the city. Made me yearn for a project like the big dig or converting the highway and on/off ramps to local streets. Make everyone go 25 MPH if they want to come through and create a much larger living presence for Midtown and Atlanta in general.

[Libertarian]

Those of you who wish to save storefront retailing should support this.
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/33...ales-tax-bills

[smArTaLlone]

Originally Posted by Libertarian

Those of you who wish to save storefront retailing should support this.
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/33...ales-tax-bills

I think the premise of your post is somewhat backwards. The shift toward online shopping with have its most catastrophic impact on the suburban model. Unlike shopping in a mall, with street-level retail people generally have reason to be there other than getting into a car and driving across town.

[smArTaLlone]

Great article by Darin Givens

https://archpaper.com/2015/04/urbani.../#.VUFl9YHD_qC

The sea change ushered in by the BeltLine can’t be overstated. In one of the least “designed” large cities in the U.S., where market trends and interstate infrastructure have had an outsized role in shaping the urban fabric, people are now excited about re-thinking how the city is shaped. Residents who seldom considered the urban environment beyond their own block have become aware of the strength of conceptualizing whole neighborhoods and the links between them. And it is having an effect on architects as well.

[trainiac]

Originally Posted by smArTaLlone

Great article by Darin Givens

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/newr...reply&t=152281

Right on the money. This piece in CityLab a few days ago was good too https://www.citylab.com/work/2017/04...tm_source=feed

Talking about dead/dying malls and how the suburban zoning is long-delaying most redevelopments.

The retail meltdown has claimed both mom-and-pop shops and once-mighty retail titans; Macy’s, J.C. Penney, and Sears are all in the process of closing hundreds of locations. As these big anchor stores lose their grip, so go the smaller ones. Without big names to bring in customers, mall and shopping center owners are finding their business model slipping away.

The key distinction here is between online retail and brick and mortar retail. E-commerce is booming, with a startling 50 percent of American households having an Amazon Prime membership. It’s the stores you have to drive to that are in trouble, reflected in rising retail vacancy rates in many metro areas.

Some may find pleasure in the aesthetics of dead-and-dying malls, but they pose big challenges for the communities around them: Besides functioning as ugly, life-sucking border vacuums, defunct shopping centers represent lost tax dollars for cash-strapped municipalities. Here are three ways that cities could fend off the retail meltdowns in their midst:

Ease land-use restrictions

In many cases, the greatest barrier to the redevelopment of these greyfields is self-imposed: The zoning simply won’t allow much beyond conventional big box retail. A quick survey of your typical zoning ordinance explains why. In many cases, you will find that arterial roads—those most likely to host greyfields—are zoned exclusively for suburban-style big box and strip-mall developments. These districts often require an ocean of parking and massive setbacks from the road while prohibiting common non-retail uses, including residential, light industrial, and occasionally even office space.

The perverse result is that developers can’t turn these greyfields into the denser mixed-use developments that residents and city managers alike yearn for. Even without new development or rehabilitation, it is often difficult to repurpose old retail developments.

If you are a local policymaker concerned about greyfields, ask yourself: Can an enterprising developer turn that empty big box into a co-working space? Can food trucks turn that parking lot into a lunchtime market? If you answered “no” to either question, it’s time for regulatory reform.

That Retrofitting Suburbia book a couple of years ago had some novel, and I think, workable reconceptions to get those greyfields back on the tax rolls

[Libertarian]

the retail implosion from the human resource perspective
This evolvement will have a substantial effect on the economy, especially among the lower strata. So far only diverse immigrant areas such as Gwinnett have been hard hit, but I think the effect is about to become more apparent with upscale strips in Cobb, Dekalb and Fulton.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by smArTaLlone

Great article by Darin Givens

I think he means that the impact of the BeltLine can’t be overstated, but I totally agree with this excellent essay.

[smArTaLlone]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I think he means that the impact of the BeltLine can’t be overstated, but I totally agree with this excellent essay.

Ha! I just noticed that and the fact that the link to the article was bad. Now fixed.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by smArTaLlone

Ha! I just noticed that and the fact that the link to the article was bad. Now fixed.

Darin Givens is one of the most perceptive writers on Atlanta's increasing urbanization.

[Martinman]

Duplicate

[Martinman]

Originally Posted by trainiac

Right on the money. This piece in CityLab a few days ago was good too https://www.citylab.com/work/2017/04...tm_source=feed

Talking about dead/dying malls and how the suburban zoning is long-delaying most redevelopments.


That Retrofitting Suburbia book a couple of years ago had some novel, and I think, workable reconceptions to get those greyfields back on the tax rolls

I don't think we're there yet but I really believe that suburban to urban redevelopment, along with transit expansion, is going to be very important to this region. We have a limited arterial road network, sparse connectivity due to the prepoderance of cul-de-sac style development and the likelihood of any significant new roadway capacity seems extremely small (thankfully). .

I think during the recession, were lulled into believing that the traffic situation in Atlanta is better than the reality. But now that the local economy is humming again, traffic has gotten noticeably worse. We really don't have a lot of options.

[trainiac]

Originally Posted by Martinman

I don't think we're there yet but I really believe that suburban to urban redevelopment, along with transit expansion, is going to be very important to this region. We have a limited arterial road network, sparse connectivity due to the prepoderance of cul-de-sac style development and the likelihood of any significant new roadway capacity seems extremely small (thankfully). .

I think during the recession, were lulled into believing that the traffic situation in Atlanta is better than the reality. But now that the local economy is humming again, traffic has gotten noticeably worse. We really don't have a lot of options.

Live near where you work. You get to pick both options. Really. You'll have to make some sacrifices but it makes life a whole lot more livable. I've been able to choose that they be close to each other and each close to a MARTA station, and my doctors, tax-people and whatever are also close to a MARTA station. I've had 20 years (with changes to all) and the people who thought I was crazy for those decisions like to come visit. Having options is good.

An aside: I used to gripe about NYC, Boston and Chicago being so smart to get their transit systems up and going long before ADA requirements. The last year or so, I've been really glad to have elevators and escalators. There was something on CityLab in the last week about NYC only having 10% of their stations with *any* kind of ADA access (one of 4 platforms sometimes). There's a lot of work to be done, we ain't getting younger

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by trainiac

The last year or so, I've been really glad to have elevators and escalators. There was something on CityLab in the last week about NYC only having 10% of their stations with *any* kind of ADA access (one of 4 platforms sometimes). There's a lot of work to be done, we ain't getting younger

I agree with your entire post and especially the part about the importance of ADA access. Even if you're young, accidents and unexpected medical conditions can make it very challenging to get around.

[Libertarian]

Morris Brown update

[smArTaLlone]

I saw a photo of them striping the northbound side yesterday. Yeah for the neighborhoods around that area!

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/n...y-morning.html

[Libertarian]

Here's some inspiration for Atlanta

[Martinman]

Originally Posted by Libertarian

Here's some inspiration for Atlanta

I love this! And I wish that this sort of public realm investment had a higher priority in Atlanta although we have made some progress. The European cities have had great results with things like roads diets or removing roads altogether that have actually reduced traffic. Of course Atlanta is so infinitely more car focused that the results may vary.

[Libertarian]

It has to be a voluntary public-private investment. No matter your ideology, the public sector alone can't do much. They're already tapped out. Nobody wants to pay more property tax.
If the planners and architects who inhabit this board can put out creative ideas for specific locations then maybe funding can be secured. People such as Rodney Cook Jr. will step up.

[Street Advocate]

edit: whoops. totally missed the party on the other thread. Still, not impressed with the timeline or project schedule.

Absolutely ridiculous construction timeline for the 15th street extension. From today's ABC article:

"Bids are due July 12.

Environmental studies for the project could take two years, followed by a construction period of a year to 18 months, Midtown Alliance President and CEO Kevin Green said earlier this year."

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/n...th-street.html