Whether you are ready for it or not, Atlanta is becoming the place to be in the South. From the new Falcon Stadium expected in 2017 to the growth of downtown via the Streecar. Atlanta seems to be on the up and up.
Looking at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, you will see that the median income for Atlanta residents has jumped from $34,770 in 2000 to $46,466 in 2012. Atlanta is enjoying the spotlight of the south as business is recovering from the recession and hopes are high.
Because of this, the city government and mayor Kasim Reed have fast forwarded plans to grow the city’s tourism and make the city a prime destination for anyone visiting the state.
There is an issue with this fervent push to become a tourism hub, and it is two-fold. Not only are there infrastructure and social issues currently plaguing the city, but there are also almost 500,000 people living in Atlanta that would love to see improvements to the city other than additions to boost tourism. The concept of building a tourist hub from a city riddled with other issues just creates an unrealistic image of Atlanta.
Yet the mayor and city planners are so gung-ho about getting more and more tourists to come to Atlanta in order to enjoy these trappings provided for them. This includes just the handful of stuff to do around Centennial Park. (A majority of the tourists, I assume, will not dig much deeper into the city than the simple attractions offered around Pemberton Place)
With the new Falcon’s stadium being built, this issue is just getting worse. Mayor Reed is quoted on the official new stadium’s website saying, “This new stadium will keep the city of Atlanta at the forefront of the hospitality industry in America as we pursue our goal of attracting 40 million visitors annually.”
So here we see that the goals of Atlanta include being at the forefront of the hospitality industry and attracting 40 million visitors annually. This can be translated as saying “This new stadium will hopefully bring in revenue for the failing hotels and will pump temporary revenue into popular tourist-focused ventures.”
What needs to happen is that there is focus placed on mending and building solid foundations and infrastructure in the city. Instead of putting so much time, energy, and money into things focused on appeasing tourists, Atlanta should first appease it’s inhabitants.
For one, Atlanta has crime rates that rank it sixth in the nation, according to a Forbes study. Assault and robbery in the city has been on the rise, and I fear this can only get worse by pumping more tourists into the city.
Further, the October issue of Money magazine just gave Atlanta the dubious honor of having the third worst commute in America behind Washington, D.C. and New York.
For perspective, it takes on average only 4 minutes longer to go from mainland New York to New York City than it does to go from OTP Atlanta to downtown. This is a huge issue facing the city that I guarantee won’t be fixed by again pumping more and more motorists into town.
While the idea of a bustling city sounds great to think about, on paper it won’t work out if changes aren’t made. Here’s hoping the city developers understand this before breaking ground on any new downtown developments anytime soon.
