It’s starting to feel like a lively city forum around here, and as such, we think it’s time to revive a hallowed tradition that probably every Atlantan had forgotten about by 2018. That’s right—welcome to Urbanize Atlanta’s inaugural Friday roundup, Comments of the Week.
By way of a painstaking, highly intellectual selection process, we surveyed the landscape of recent commentary and picked what stood out as golden nuggets of wisdom, historical perspective, or SFW hilarity pertaining to our fair city. Thanks for your input so far, Atlanta. This is how it’s done:
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“I still remember the first time I drove down Ralph McGill [Boulevard] and stopped to ponder what the area surrounding then City Hall East could be some day. This is the rare case where the reality has exceeded what I imagined possible,” commenter ReinMart waxing nostalgic about the formerly decrepit state of what’s now Ponce City Market and surrounding blocks, “Before/after: A decade of changes in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward”
Google Maps/Urbanize Atlanta
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“In much of Atlanta pretty much everyone is from somewhere else. We are in many ways pretty much all 'outsiders'—that's the nature of Atlanta. You don’t grow by a million folks a decade by disliking strangers or growth,” commenter David Hamilton gently addresses carpetbagging, “Atlanta charts high on 'Hot List' for best 2021 travel destinations”
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“I used to work right at this intersection [Peachtree at 17th streets in Midtown], and it was always eerie making the three-block walk to MARTA if I worked any time after about 7 o’clock or had to pop into the office on a weekend. For a dense-looking neighborhood, there's a huge lack of residents and the vibrancy they bring in this mini-district,” commenter Trojman15 embraces the idea of 282 more apartments in Midtown’s northern reaches, “Images: 33-story luxury tower breaks ground in Midtown”
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“I visited England a few years ago, and it was a major eye-opening experience. The whole thing fits easily inside Georgia, and yet greenspace is everywhere despite the fact that the population is five-times bigger. You drive away from London for 15 minutes and you’re in the country, which looks like it is still 19th century everywhere. This development is no ‘urban hamlet.’ We do not have to build this way, and it is still not too late to change,” commenter midtowner takes umbrage with Fuqua’s loose use of “urban” phraseology, “Images: Fuqua Development's $350M bet on Gwinnett is starting to open”
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Special announcement:
Comment of the Year (to date)
“Woo-hoo! The snark tank is back!” shouts commenter parlebriwah in late January, “Welcome to Urbanize Atlanta”
Note: The above commentary has been edited in some cases for clarity and length.
