By Junior Knox and Kate Sweeney Following that old adage that we can’t know where we’re going unless we know where we came from, the data experts at the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) took this look at some of the top regional issues and trends that faced metro Atlanta in the past year and share a […]
Author Archives: Atlanta Region Matters
Posted inThought Leadership
Living Small’s Gone Big
Featured Image: ATL ADU CO By Kate Sweeney Could that cute little backyard cottage solve housing affordability? Well, maybe not by itself. However, more and more, people are looking to accessory dwelling units — ADUs, for short — to add needed variety to metro Atlanta’s housing stock so that people at different stages of life […]
Posted inThought Leader
How a Community Transforms, Part 2
By Kate Sweeney Whether you call it new urbanism, live-work-play or something else, a certain type of development is sweeping the country right now — and making a big splash right here in the ATL. And despite the fact that this phenom’ is often called “urbanism,” many suburban metro ATL communities are leading the way […]
Posted inThought Leader
How a Community Transforms, Part 1
By Kate Sweeney How did it come to be that a small city a full 30 miles north of the city of Atlanta set the precedent for so-called “urban” design — the sort of pedestrian-friendly planning that’s taking suburban and in-town neighborhoods alike by storm? In this week’s episode of What’s Next ATL, the podcast […]
Posted inThought Leader
Season 2 of the What’s Next ATL podcast is almost here. Listen to the trailer.
By Kate Sweeney Season 2 of What’s Next ATL—the podcast from the Atlanta Regional Commission—is almost here. This time around, host Kate Sweeney (ARC staffer and former NPR reporter) is asking one simple question: How do we build the communities we want? From the big-picture prognostications for our next 30 years, to metro Atlanta’s changing […]
Posted inRegion Matters, Thought Leader, Uncategorized
Help Shape the Region’s Future at ‘Pop-Up’ Open Houses
By Paul Donsky Want to have a say in how metro Atlanta grows and changes over the next three decades? Now’s your chance. A series of pop-up open houses are planned across the region, from Oct. 4 through Nov. 2, that offer a chance to learn about regional planning along with hot topics like transportation technology and […]
Posted inRegion Matters, Thought Leader, Uncategorized
Metro ATL Adds 72,500 People in Past Year. What Does this Growth Mean?
By Junior Knox It’s probably not shocking to hear that metro Atlanta is adding more people. Just take a look at all the construction cranes dotting the skyline, or the skyrocketing rents, for that matter. What might come as a surprise is how the metro is growing, and where. The 10-county metro area added another […]
Posted inRegion Matters, Thought Leader, Uncategorized
3 Ways to Imagine ATL in 2050 – and Help Shape the Region’s Long-Range Plan
By: Paul Donsky, Atlanta Regional Commission Imagine the year 2050. What do you think metro Atlanta will be like three decades from now? Will advanced technology (self-driving cars and other gizmos yet to be invented) bring solutions to age-old problems? Or will today’s challenges only grow as the years pass, leaving us in crisis? These […]
Posted inRegion Matters, Thought Leader, Uncategorized
How Downtown Woodstock Transformed into a More Lively, Walkable Place
By Marquita Bundrage and Kate Sweeney When Economic Development director Brian Stockton moved to the city of Woodstock in 2007, there were only three or four restaurants within walking distance of City Hall. Now there are 22. Between the late 1990s and early 2000s, the south Cherokee County city witnessed a rapid growth spurt. This […]
Posted inRegion Matters, Thought Leader, Uncategorized
5 Ideas for Redeveloping Atlanta’s Hulsey Yard
By Paul Donsky and Kate Sweeney For about four decades, the Hulsey train yard just east of downtown Atlanta bustled with activity nearly 24 hours a day. But last week, the yard suddenly grew silent. Owner CSX closed the 70-acre facility, shifting freight traffic to a facility in south Fulton County, according to a report in the […]
Posted inUncategorized
A New, ‘Shared’ Vision for Peachtree Street
By Kate Sweeney Imagine a street where bicycles, cars, pedestrians, and yes, even motorized scooters all share the same space, with no markings such as sidewalks or bike paths to delineate where each should go. Shared streets, as they’re often called, are popular in other countries, particularly in Europe. (The Dutch call them woonerfs, or “living […]
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Alpharetta’s Downtown Took 15 Years to Become an ‘Instant Success’
By Curt Holman You might say that Alpharetta City Center affirms the adage that it takes years of work to become an overnight success. About 15 years ago, Alpharetta began planning to transform its downtown into a more lively and walkable destination that could serve as an anchor for this fast-growing North Fulton community. The […]
Posted inUncategorized
These 50 Potential Projects Offer Vision for Region’s Transit Future
By: Paul Donsky, Atlanta Regional Commission Here’s an intriguing blank slate, sky’s-the-limit question: what should metro Atlanta’s transit network look like in the future? The kicker: You don’t have to factor in cost. Every few years, transportation planners and local officials come together to provide an answer, creating a detailed project list that serves as […]
Posted inRegion Matters, Thought Leader, Uncategorized
Metro Atlanta’s Top Issues in 2019—According to its Leaders
What’s Next ATL is a podcast powered by the Atlanta Regional Commission that explores solutions to the top challenges facing metro Atlanta. Host Kate Sweeney rang in the New Year with a bonus episode that asked leaders from around the region to tell us what they see as the biggest issues facing the Atlanta region […]
Posted inRegion Matters, Thought Leader, Uncategorized
South Fulton Ready to Take Off: Q&A With Head of Connect South Fulton
By Lyle Harris With the world’s busiest airport in its backyard, convenient access to multi-modal transportation and large swaths of land primed for development, South Fulton County is on the move. Michael Davis, Executive Director of Connect South Fulton, is understandably “bullish” about the prospects for the region to emerge as a flourishing hub for […]
Posted inUncategorized
Could Self-Driving Shuttles be Coming to Chamblee?
By Jim Jaquish Imagine tapping an app on your phone and just a few minutes later, a car shows up to take you wherever you want to go at an affordable price. Oh right. You can already do that. Now imagine that the vehicle pulling up to your curb has no driver. The city of […]
