The Long Road To A Green Atlanta

Despite its reputation as a city of wall-to-wall subdivisions, office complexes, and shopping centers, Atlanta's not a complete stranger to matters of green. At the time of its mid-19th century founding, in the woods at the end of a railroad line, it was called the "City in the Forest." And in the early 20th century, the city created the 185-acre Piedmont Park in Midtown (currently ballooning to add another 50 acres).

Since then, of course, the Atlanta of urban planning lore has descended: traffic-choked, overdeveloped, polluted, with a major water crisis and few public transportation options, in a state where 100 acres of open space are gobbled up every day. And while the city has certainly earned that reputation -- Atlanta was ranked the fourth-most-sprawling of 83 metro areas by Smart Growth America -- a greener Atlanta, one that jibes with its bucolic roots, is peeking from behind the veil of smog, giving the city both an environmental makeover and an economic boost."

"The city's new way includes public transportation, with a 22-mile BeltLine project in the works that combines light rail with new pedestrian and bike links; a heavy investment in green building, with the LEED-heavy Emory University campus and the Southface Energy Institute setting new standards for sustainable construction; walkable neighborhoods and mixed-use development; and green-friendly policy, courtesy of Mayor Shirley Franklin."

"But for the legions of drivers stuck in rush hour traffic every day -- Atlanta ranks fifth on the list of most congested U.S. cities, with peak driving times 46 percent longer than during off-hours -- or for the millions watching their lawns wither due to the severe water shortage -- the city and its suburbs continue to enforce various restrictions on outdoor water use -- Atlanta's shade of green needs to get a whole lot deeper."