Surveying the Results of 150 Years of Persistent Growth in Atlanta

Ahead of the 2015 AIA National Convention, to be held this May in Atlanta, Rebecca Burns introduces Atlanta's current explosive growth and urban renaissance by first noting the metropolitan area's sprawling growth patters, driven by the automobile, since the beginning of the 20th century.

Writes Burns:

"With no natural boundaries, metro Atlanta sprawled, fueled by a population that doubled from 2 million in 1980 to 4 million in 2000, and has continued to surge in this millennium. With 28 counties spread over 8,400 square miles, today’s Atlanta metro region occupies a larger land mass than the combined states of Connecticut and Rhode Island."

But the pendulum has swung, according to Burns:

"Frustrated with sitting in traffic, development patterns driven by subdivisions, and a car-centric culture, a growing number of metro Atlantans are going back to the future by seeking out the compact development patterns of the city’s early history."

For evidence of Atlanta's newest transformation, Burns discusses the BeltLine and a walkable suburban development called Avalon, located 27 miles north of Downtown Atlanta.

The article also includes a long set of images, renderings, and site studies showing the transformation of the BeltLine into an active recreation and transportation corridor.