A new study indicates that one of America's poster children for auto-centric development has a made a significant u-turn. Since 2009, the majority of Atlanta's new commercial and rental housing has been built in "walkable urban places".
"Since 2009, 60 percent of new office, retail and rental properties in Atlanta have been built in what Christopher Leinberger calls 'walkable urban places' – those neighborhoods already blessed by high Walk Scores or on their way there," reports Emily Badger. "That new construction has taken place on less than 1 percent of the metropolitan Atlanta region's land mass, suggesting a shift in real estate patterns from expansion at the city's edges to denser development within its existing borders."
"'This is indicative that we’re seeing the end of sprawl,' says Leinberger, a research professor with the George Washington University School of Business, who led the study in conjunction with Georgia Tech and the Atlanta Regional Commission."
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