The origin

When was Atlanta founded?

• In 1836 the Western and Atlantic Railroad was built as an inland link between the Port of Savannah and the Midwest. The zero-mile post was placed at what is today Five Points. Houses and businesses began to develop around the post. The burgeoning town was briefly known as Terminus, before officially incorporating on December 29, 1849 as Atlanta.

How has Atlanta changed over the past 50 years? 

• The past 50 years have seen Atlanta rocket forward from a midsize-ed southern city to a globalized metropolis, going from 1.8 million people in the metro region in 1970 to 3.5 million people in 1996 and to 5.9 million people today. The last 30 years have seen some of the most cataclysmic changes, the largest of which was the 1996 Summer Olympics which put the city on the map around the world as a great city to live and work. The miracle that was the Olympics would not have occurred if Billy Payne had not suffered and survived a heart attack that compelled him to do something good for the city. He and mayor Andrew Young were able to work together to bring the Centennial Olympic Games to Atlanta, with the desire to showcase to the world the city as a robust and growing economy that had overcome the challenges of poverty. Atlanta even beat out Athens for the games.
• Another major catalyst has been the development of the Atlanta Beltline. Ryan Gravel, a rising graduate of Georgia Tech, was inspired one day when sitting in traffic on the I-285 highway that encircles the city. He thought just as there is a roadway around Atlanta, what if there was a walkable path around Atlanta that would create a place for better public transportation and foster equitable development in Atlanta. He further developed his idea for the Atlanta Beltline in his graduate thesis at Georgia Tech. The first section of the Beltline opened in 2008. Since then, as more sections of the Beltline open around the city, the surrounding neighborhoods have been transforming from places full of crime and blight into places filled with luxury apartment buildings, high-end townhouses, and dining halls with some of the best food and shopping in Atlanta.

How is Atlanta expected to change over the next 30 years?

• Currently, the Atlanta region, including all suburbs, contains 5,789,700 people. By 2040, the region is expected to have over 8 million people. That is nearly as big as Chicago is today. At least 500,000 of those people will be coming to the city of Atlanta. By that time, the Beltline and the Beltline light rail will be fully finished. The cityscape of Atlanta will look much different. With the desire to preserve Atlanta’s famed tree canopy, the major central business districts (Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead), properties along the Beltline, and major roadway corridors (Memorial Drive, Peachtree Road, Piedmont Road, Buford Highway) will contain the majority of new development. The development in the central business districts will be mostly high-rise development, while the Atlanta Beltline and roadway corridors will be mostly midrise. In other words, the city will become much taller and much denser. It will look much more like Chicago, but instead of a sea of concrete and bricks, will be a sea of tree canopy greenery.

What impact has Atlanta had on the world? 

• The impact that Atlanta has had on the world cannot be measured. The major companies that have come from Atlanta such as Coca-Cola, Chick-Fil-A, and CNN continue to make major impacts throughout the world and continue to dominate in their respective industries. Then there are the major educational institutions of Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, Emory University, and Morehouse and Spelman colleges, which each have had significant impacts in the worlds of business, healthcare, biotech, engineering, and culture. In addition, Atlanta is home to some of the most influential Churches in the world with places such as Passion City, North Point, and Victory World which are having major influences in the global faith community.  The impact of these, however, is still not has great as the impact of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, of which Atlanta was a key host and catalyst.

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