The suburban growth pattern of Atlanta may be coming to an end, according to this post from The Economist's blog.
"Between April 1st 2009 and April 1st 2010, metro Atlanta's growth rate was at its lowest level since the 1950s. On an aesthetic level, this is no bad thing: the city grew too quickly for its infrastructure. Fewer people and cars might make the place more pleasant for those of us who live here. But going from a boomtown to a coasting-along city-from New York to Boston, say, or Shanghai to Hong Kong-is a jarring shift, particularly for Atlanta, accustomed as it is to seeing itself as the driving engine of the South."
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Another reason why Atlanta
Another reason why Atlanta might want to Fast track the Belt Line, TOD, and the passenger rail link to Macon.
The problem with the rail link is that Georgia makes a sport of sticking it to Atlanta when it comes to statewide funding needs. This is the main reason MARTA is in such peril: its local main steady source has been a local option sales tax in just two counties.
I wonder if the place is race-blind enough to reconsider the service shed for MARTA, now that CCT is on the rocks.