Atlanta’s World Class
Decatur Metro | July 1, 2010If you were silly enough to judge Atlanta based solely on the opinion of the internet’s generally rambling, slightly paranoid and snarky conscientiousness, you’d be apt to think the city was on the verge of collapse; that at any moment, the city’s vital signs would flat-line as the highways clogged like a ephemeral artery, the populous suffocated from a general lack of art and culture, the 30 Deep gang was discovered to actually be a front for Charlotte transit advocates.
Well, Atlanta’s got some news for us. For all its modern day problems, it’s still one of nation’s top world cities according to the Globalization and World Cities Study Group’s 2008 study – which I came across on Wikipedia – which ranks “world cities” based on the proliferation of “advanced producer services” such as accountancy, advertising, finance, and law.
In fact, only New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles (all “Alpha” cities) rank above it, when viewed this way. (See the full chart after the jump.)
So, while I’m not encouraging us to pat ourselves on the back into extinction, I do believe we shouldn’t let the city’s weaknesses completely overshadow the city’s continuing prowess and potential.
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Wow, we’ve moved up. Last time I checked, Atlanta was considered a borderline Gamma level world city.
But I’d much rather appear near the top of the list of most livable cities rather than one based mostly on how much power is held by the business community.
As far as perception goes (or should I write “perception” as Creative Loafing and the Sunday Paper do when they want to slime the city but the facts aren’t on their side), if you read the blogs in most any other community, you’ll find quite a bit of the same you find here. It’s funny to see people in Vancouver claim that the rest of the world is laughing at them for their inadequate transit system (they have a bus route that during rush hour has a bus once EVERY TWO MINUTES! Train frequency of less than once every ten minutes during off peak hours is considered an inhuman outrage.) and for thinking too small (um, you just hosted the Winter Olympics, which is a pretty big deal).
People like to complain online more than they would in face to face situations. As long as we recognize that it the case, I only see that as a problem when we allow it to let us forget the positive things or when it roams into the realm of deception in order to gain attention. The whole quote perception unquote method of casually dismissing facts by certain journalists (maybe I should put quotes around that) in order to push their agenda, be it to get a certain person elected, fired, or just to gain readership. Unfortunately, it appears to be effective.
i don’t think there’s any real harm in trying to pump yourself up about what you perceive to be the good qualities of your city — though i have no idea why anyone would aspire to be London or Shanghai or Hong Kong or Mexico City or any other ginormous, smog-ridden, horrific place, but to each their own — whatever floats your boat.
the problem for Atlanta, though — well, one of the many serious problems it has — is that, as pointed out by one recent public persona, it is seen a a backwater filled with racist good old boys, and articles like this show the real Atlanta. world class city — world class classists — world class racists — world class ignoramuses, etc. i mean, how much of a communiss do u have to be to diss Frank Sinatra’s hometown? that article is truly Fark-worthy.
Who sees Atlanta as a backwater filled with good old boys? Certainly no one I’ve met of my generation.
And I’m not sure that article proves that Atlanta is a bunch of classists. And even if it did, how’s the different from any other major U.S. city?
Who sees Atlanta as a backwater filled with good old boys?
David Byrne, everyone who’s never been to ATL, everyone who reads the news, etc.
Have you ever lived outside of Atlanta? I have — you know what we know of Atlanta?
We know that Georgia has an exclusive golf club that allows only men to play, and has had trouble with non-white members. Georgia is the state that puts black kids in jail for 10 years based on racially-motivated prosecutions. Georgia is the state that puts black men on death row and keep them there, long after the rest of the world, including Amnesty International, calls for their release. Monroe, Georgia — 45 miles outside of Atlanta — site of what was probably the last mass lynching in America — four African Americans — two men, two women, one of the females was seven months pregnant, broad daylight, nobody ever prosecuted. Georgia’s and Atlanta’s reputations precede them — they can’t handle the modern day racism the way other cities can — you guys have to show you’ve actually recognized that the civil rights movement happened. Only Texas could be considered worse.
Unfortunately, Peter speaks the truth. This is a major part of Georgia’s identity. It’s Atlanta’s history too. We can’t just brag about all the shiny, pretty things. We have to acknowledge what’s happened, where things stand today, and actively act to change the wrongs before we’ll ever be able to put it behind us.
Thanks for the history lesson. I’m aware of the South’s issues. And yes, I grew up in the North, so I guess I would be included in your “we”.
But dude, you said Atlanta and then cited a bunch of things that happened outside of Atlanta (aside from the country club thing – and that sort of garbage is still happening all over the country. Where I live now is much more “tolerant” of any sort of “different” than the area of CT where I grew up.)
Georgia’s got it’s problems, but does it deserve the blanket stereotyping that you’re applying to it? I thought that “we” believed that stereotyping was bad.
It’s funny that in your post, Peter, you could exchange every mention of Georgia with Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana, Florida, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina…–damn, the whole south and a good bit of the north could be on that list. Why? Because you are confusing location with a time period; a time period in which this whole country was completely intolerant.
Oh Peter, Peter, Peter! Sweetie, bless your heart, you really do insist upon a generalization of Atlanta that certainly applies to lots, and I do mean lots, of metropolitan areas not only in the Northern US, but in other countries, too. Racism isn’t limited to just one geographical area in the US, and for damned sure, isn’t limited to the South (and yes, for the record, I’ve visited & lived many other places). As a mixed-race Southerner, I can tell you that some of the most rampant, nasty, blatant bigotry I’ve ever witnessed wasn’t here, but in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Whatever this area’s faults are, I’d still rather be down here than up there.
A Buckhead group wanting to protect their brand really isn’t that odd. It certainly doesn’t make its members racists, good old boys, or classists. That’s quite a leap, to say the least.
As a lawyer providing local advanced producer services, you’re welcome.
Atlanta still seems like a “D list” town to me compared to cities around the world. Still, I would rather be here than many of the Alpha cities.