Economist.com Cities Guide: Atlanta Briefing - July 2005

News this month

Don't even ask

Shirley Franklin, Atlanta’s mayor, is proposing a ban on begging downtown, in the so-called “tourist triangle”. The area runs from the future site of the Georgia Aquarium, near Centennial Olympic Park, to Georgia State University (encompassing Underground Atlanta, an indoor mall, and the Coca-Cola Museum, which is moving near the Aquarium). The bill would allow beggars to sit with a sign, but not to approach passers-by. The first draft would have also banned begging of any sort throughout the city between sunset and sunrise, but a public outcry forced the Public Safety Committee to modify the legislation. A three-time offender could receive as much as 30 days in jail or a $1,000 fine.

Some 200 critics and supporters of the bill came to City Hall on July 12th for a period of public testimony before a committee vote. The ordinance has come under fire from homeless advocacy groups and the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia. Some have complained that the bill is racist, while others say it impinges on the freedom of speech (and is therefore unconstitutional). But downtown business-owners eagerly support the bill, explaining that the area's beggars scare away tourists.

Mistakes were made

According to a new report from a special commission, a host of security flaws at the Fulton County courthouse in downtown Atlanta led to the grisly March 11th shootings, in which Brian Nichols, on trial for rape, overpowered a guard, grabbed her gun and shot a judge, a court reporter and a deputy before escaping. Among the more glaring errors behind the murders is that deputies do not routinely pat down inmates brought into the courthouse from the jail, but “visually search” them instead. At least five deputy sheriffs lied about the events when they were first interviewed, including the official responsible for monitoring Mr Nichols's holding cell. Also, the deputies ignored warnings that the prisoner was dangerous, and failed to turn on an important security monitor.

The government of Fulton County, which contains most of Atlanta, seems to have been slack as well. Requests to fix broken locks and alarm problems at the courthouse largely went unanswered, and security cameras and an X-ray machine sat useless for lack of wiring for electricity. Mr Nichols, meanwhile, who was captured early in the morning of March 12th, faces four counts of murder (he allegedly killed another man while on the run). If convicted of any of them he would be eligible for the death penalty.

Attention, shoppers

Few stores have been so eagerly anticipated in Atlanta as Ikea, a bargain-stocked Swedish home-furnishings chain, which opened a 366,000-square foot behemoth in Atlantic Station on June 29th. Would-be patrons lined up early to win gifts and see the “traditional Swedish log-sawing ceremony,” in which Mayor Franklin gamely took part. One store employee predicted 20,000 visitors on the first day alone. The crush was so great that in addition to its much-touted 1,500-space car park, Ikea set up shuttles from MARTA stations and from other car parks within Atlantic Station.

Many of the shoppers were getting their first look at Atlantic Station, the 138-acre, $2 billion redevelopment of the former Atlantic Steel Mill site. Supporters are hailing its “mixed-use” plan of condominiums, townhouses, offices and shopping centres. So far it includes a grocery store, a film theatre and several restaurants. But sceptics warn that mixed-use developments fare better in densely populated cities, in contrast to Atlanta’s infamous sprawl. Atlantic Station’s grand opening is scheduled for October 20th.

Dennis the menace

Hurricane Dennis made landfall near Pensacola, Florida on July 10th, besieging the Atlanta area with thunderstorms over the weekend. As many as 850,000 people lost power in the south-east, and five in Florida and Georgia died as a result of the storm, including a man in Decatur, due east of Atlanta, when a large tree crashed into his bedroom. Dennis followed Tropical Storm Cindy, which caused $100m of damage in Georgia; the two made the first 11 days in July the wettest such period in Atlanta history.

All signs indicate that this year’s hurricane season will be particularly busy. Never have there been so many tropical storms this early in the year; Tropical Storm Emily, reported east of Venezuela on July 12th, is the fifth.

Will a loud pop follow?

The market for new homes is apparently rising apace. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, average new home prices hit $189,000 in 2004. Every one of 16 local counties saw a growth in home sales; while new-home sales declined in DeKalb, Clayton and Rockdale Counties, Fulton County saw new-home sales grow by 28%. The growth has caused tension in some areas, including the Oak Grove neighbourhood in DeKalb, where residents afraid of rising property taxes are posting signs in front of properties: “Please do not buy this house.”

According to a report issued by Harvard University’s Joint Centre for Housing Studies, Atlanta also led every other metropolitan area in the country in the number of housing permits issued between 2000 and 2003 (which authorise residential construction). The study found that Atlanta’s minorities increasingly prefer the suburbs: the percentage living ten or more miles from the central business district downtown increased from 23.5% in 1980 to 63.9% in 2000.

Catch if you can

August 2005

Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body

Until August 21st 2005

The often sleepy Fernbank Museum of Natural History is hosting a travelling exhibit, inspired by a book of the same name, designed to attract visitors by disgusting them. Exhibits include “Guess the Smell”, which involves matching the body odour to the bacteria that cause it; a 30-foot-long model of the digestive system; and a larger-than-life soda drinker who belches when soda is pumped into his stomach. It’s hard to say how much educational value there is in an exhibit that includes an intestinal-gas-themed pinball game, but this colourful show is ribald fun.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History, 767 Clifton Rd. Tel: +1 (404) 929-6300 (recorded information); +1 (404) 929-6400 (ticket sales). Open: Mon–Sat 10am–5pm; Sun noon–5pm. Tickets: Adults $12; children (12 and under) $10. For more information, see the museum’s website.

More from the Atlanta cultural calendar