Atlanta Georgia

Atlanta – More About The City We Call Home

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. About 10% of the city is located in the neighboring DeKalb County, The majority of Atlanta (90%) is located in Fulton County. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, it is the 38th most populous city in the US and the eighth most populous city in the Southeast, with 498,715 people living inside the city borders. It serves as the central hub of the much larger Atlanta metropolitan area, which has a population of over 6.1 million, ranking it as the seventh-largest DMA metropolitan area in the country. It serves as the county seat of Georgia’s most populous county, Fulton.

At slightly over 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level, in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it has a distinctive landscape with rolling hills, rich vegetation, and the most extensive urban tree coverage of any significant city in the United States.

Atlanta Georgia was first built as the end of a significant state-sponsored railroad, but it quickly developed into a hub for multiple railroads, which accelerated its rapid growth. The Western and Atlantic Railroad, from which the name “Atlanta” is derived, was the biggest and represented the city’s expanding status as a significant transportation hub. Up until it was taken over in 1864, it played a crucial strategic role for the Confederacy throughout the American Civil War. Almost all of the city was destroyed by fire during General William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea. However, after the war, the city had a sharp recovery and swiftly rose to prominence as both the unofficial capital of the “New South” and a major industrial hub in the country. It also developed into a manufacturing and technological centre following World War II. The American Civil Rights Movement used it as a major organizing hub during the 1950s and 1960s, with locals like Ralph David Abernathy, Martin Luther King Jr., and many others rising to prominence in the movement’s leadership. With Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Atlanta has maintained its standing as a significant transportation hub in the modern era. In 1998, Atlanta International Airport overtook Heathrow as the busiest airport in the world for passenger volume (a position it has held every year since, with the exception of 2020 as a result of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic).

Atlanta has the 20th largest economy in the world and the tenth largest economy among American cities, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $406 billion.

Atlanta’s economy is seen as being varied, with thriving segments in the transportation, aerospace, logistics, healthcare, news and media, film and television production, information technology, banking, and biomedical research and public policy industries. With the expansion of the Atlanta Beltline in the twenty-first century, the gentrification of some of its communities, which was initially sparked by the Summer Olympics in 1996, has become more pronounced. Its demographics, politics, aesthetics, and culture have all changed as a result.

Atlanta witnessed a significant physical, cultural, and demographic transformation in the 2000s. A flourishing economy attracted many new migrants from other American cities, which helped to shift the city’s demography as some African Americans in the middle and upper classes also started to relocate to the suburbs. From a peak of 67% in 1990 to 54% in 2010, the population’s percentage of African Americans was declining. While the city’s black population fell by 31,678 between 2000 and 2010, Atlanta saw gains of 22,763 white inhabitants, 5,142 Asian residents, and 3,095 Hispanic citizens. Young, college-educated professionals were largely responsible for the city’s demographic transition over the decade: between 2000 and 2009, the three-mile area surrounding Downtown Atlanta gained 9,722 people, or 61% more people, who were 25 to 34 years old and had at least a four-year degree. This was comparable to other cities’ trends of young, college-educated singles or married couples relocating to the downtown regions.

Under the direction of CEO Renee Lewis Glover (1994–2013) and with financial support from the HOPE VI program, the Atlanta Housing Authority demolished nearly all of its public housing between the mid-1990s and 2010, a total of 17,000 units and about 10% of all housing units in the city.

The AHA permitted the reconstruction of the properties for mixed-use and mixed-income, greater density complexes with 40% of the units designated for affordable housing after reserving 2,000 apartments, the majority of which were for older people. Two-fifths of former residents of public housing found new homes in these units; the remaining recipients received vouchers to spend in other residences, including those in the suburbs. The AHA also mandated that tenants of subsidised housing work in an effort to influence the culture of those receiving such housing (or be enrolled in a genuine, limited-time training program). Almost no other housing authority has instituted this condition. The AHA also granted management of the mixed-income or voucher apartments the right to expel tenants who disobeyed the employment requirement or who produced behavior problems in order to avoid issues.

Atlanta Georgia gave the $2.8 billion BeltLine project its blessing in 2005. A 22-mile, abandoned freight railroad loop that encircles the central city was planned to be turned into a multipurpose trail with art installations and a light rail transport line, increasing the city’s parkland by 40%. The project promoted residential and retail growth along the loop, but it has come under fire for having a negative impact on some Black areas. A $18 million government grant was given to the project in 2013 to help it build the southwest corridor. The James M. Cox Foundation committed $6 million to the PATH Foundation in September 2019 to build a connection between the Silver Comet Trail and the Atlanta BeltLine, which is anticipated to be finished in 2022. The Atlanta BeltLine and Silver Comet Trail will have the longest paved trail surface in the United States when they are both finished, with a combined interconnected trail length of nearly 300 miles around Atlanta (480 km).

The High Museum of Art increased in size during the 2000s, the Alliance Theatre earned a Tony Award, and art galleries were created on the once industrial Westside, increasing Atlanta’s cultural offerings.

A significant cyberattack targeting the city of Atlanta started in March 2018. Atlanta was chosen as the host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on June 16, 2022.

Sports in Atlanta

Atlanta’s culture places a high value on sports. The Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball, the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association, the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League, and Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer all have professional teams in the city. Additionally, numerous universities in the city take part in collegiate athletics. Additionally, the city frequently hosts collegiate, professional, and international sporting events.

In 1966, the Braves relocated to Atlanta. They were first founded in 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings, making them the oldest continuously running professional sports franchise in the country. The Braves franchise as a whole has won four World Series titles in three separate cities. The first was won in 1914 by the Boston Braves, followed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1957 and the Atlanta Braves in 1995 and 2021. The 1995 championship was won during an exceptional run of 14 consecutive divisional titles from 1991 to 2005. The team moved from Turner Field to Truist Park for the 2017 campaign. The new stadium is outside the city borders and is situated in the Cumberland/Galleria neighborhood of Cobb County, 16 kilometers (10 miles) northwest of the city center.

Since its debut in 1966, the Atlanta Falcons have played their home games in Atlanta Georgia. The club relocated from the Georgia Dome to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017, where it now has its home games. Six division championships (1980, 1998, 2004, 2010, 2012, 2016) and two NFC championships (1998, 2016) have been won by the Falcons. They have lost both times they have appeared in the Super Bowl, falling to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI in 2017, the game that featured the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history, and the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999. The Atlanta Legends, an Alliance of American Football team, played their debut season in Atlanta in 2019 before the league was banned and the team disbanded.

Originally known as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks and based in Moline, Illinois, the Atlanta Hawks were established in 1946. They relocated from St. Louis to Atlanta in 1968, where they now play their games at State Farm Arena. For the most of their existence, the Hawks and the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Atlanta Dream shared a venue; however, in 2021, the WNBA club relocated to a smaller arena in the College Park neighborhood of southern Atlanta.

Atlanta has hosted professional soccer games in some capacity since 1967. The Atlanta Chiefs of the original North American Soccer League were Atlanta’s first professional soccer team. They won the 1968 NASL Championship and twice defeated Manchester City F.C. of the English first division in international friendlies. The Atlanta Silverbacks, who compete in the brand-new North American Soccer League, were established in 1998. They currently participate in the National Premier Soccer League as an amateur club. Atlanta United FC debuted in 2017 as the city’s first top-tier professional soccer team since the Chiefs. They defeated the Portland Timbers 2-0 to win the 2018 MLS Cup. The squad has shattered numerous single-game and season attendance records for both MLS and the U.S. Open Cup thanks to the enthusiastic support of the fans. According to Forbes, the team is the most valued in Major League Soccer.

In ice hockey, Atlanta has had two National Hockey League teams, both of which left Atlanta after less than 15 years to play in a Canadian city. From 1972 to 1980, the Atlanta Flames (now the Calgary Flames), and from 1999 to 2011, the Atlanta Thrashers (now the Winnipeg Jets). Since 2003, the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators minor league hockey team has competed in the Duluth neighborhood of Atlanta.

Atlanta becomes the new home of the ASUN Conference in 2019.

Atlanta is home to professional franchises for a number of different, less well-known sports. The National Lacrosse League is home to the Georgia Swarm. On September 21, 2018, Major League Rugby announced that Rugby ATL, an expansion franchise from Atlanta, would join the league for the 2020 season. The Atlanta Rhinos, a rugby league team, departed the USA Rugby League on March 31, 2021, became fully professional for the first time, and joined the new North American Rugby League.

Atlanta has long been referred to be the “capital” of American college football.

Additionally, several of the universities that make up the Southeastern Conference, the most lucrative conference in college football, and which annually hosts the SEC Championship Game, are within a few hours’ drive of Atlanta. The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, the Celebration Bowl, the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, one of the important New Year’s Six Bowl games and a college football playoff bowl, are additional yearly college football events. The 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship was also held in Atlanta.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets compete in the ACC and field competitive and fun teams in every sport.

A variety of sporting events are frequently held in Atlanta. The 1996 Summer Olympics were the event with the most notoriety. Three Super Bowls have been held in the city: Super Bowl LIII in 2019, Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000, and Super Bowl XXXVIII in 1994. The Tour Championship, the last PGA Tour competition of the year, is a yearly event held at East Lake Golf Club. One of the four major championships for men’s professional golf was held in Atlanta in 2001 and 2011 at the Atlanta Athletic Club. WrestleMania, an annual event in professional wrestling, was held in Atlanta in 2011. Atlanta has held a lot of international friendlies and CONCACAF Gold Cup games in soccer. The most recent time the city served as the site of the NCAA Final Four Men’s Basketball Championship was in 2020. One of the eleven US host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be Atlanta.

Locals love to run, and the city proudly refers to itself as “Running City USA.”

On July 4th each year, the city conducts the Peachtree Road Race, the biggest 10-kilometer race in the world.

The biggest Thanksgiving Day half marathon in the US is also held in Atlanta; it begins and ends at Center Parc Stadium. The Atlanta Marathon runs past many of the city’s historic sites and begins and concludes at Centennial Olympic Park. In 2020, the race will also serve as the U.S. Olympic marathon trials for the 2020 Summer Olympics.