Economist.com Cities Guide: Atlanta Briefing - January 2006

News this month

Keeping their heads down

As Georgia’s state legislature began its annual session on January 9th, Republican leaders played down expectations of what might be achieved. “Less is more”, one party leader reportedly said. With Sonny Perdue, the Republican governor, seeking re-election, state Republicans are reluctant to court controversy by pushing new bills. The governor is certainly playing it safe; one blandly popular bill that has earned his backing would require 65% of school funding to be spent “in the classroom”, on items such as textbooks and teachers’ salaries.

One of last year’s more controversial bills has resurfaced, but in a more neutered form. In 2005, the legislature passed a bill requiring voters to show a government-issued photo identification, such as a driver’s licence. The law was struck down by a judge, and many black lawmakers argued that it penalised poorer constituents, who would then have to buy a special card. The 2006 version, introduced on the first day of the session, allows voters who do not have photo identification to acquire free “voter IDs” at state offices.

Ford out

After five years in one of the most thankless jobs in Atlanta, as the general manager and chief executive of Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), Nathaniel Ford is decamping to San Francisco to take over the Municipal Transportation Authority there. During Mr Ford’s five years as MARTA chief, he faced problems with deteriorating equipment and rail tracks (MARTA is now undertaking a three-year renovation project), budget woes (the agency is expected to run through its reserves by 2009) and hostility from the governor’s office. Mr Perdue decried the “sugar-daddy relationship” between the state and the transport authority, arguing that MARTA should pay its own way.

MARTA has not yet named a permanent successor to Mr Ford, but this person should enjoy an easier ride. December saw the creation of a new metropolitan transit board to co-ordinate the separate transit systems of MARTA, GRTA (the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, a state agency), and Clayton, Cobb and Gwinnett counties.

Crowded skies

With 980,197 takeoffs and landings in 2005, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the busiest airport in America. According to a report from the Federal Aviation Administration, Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, the busiest airport of 2004, was second with 972,246; Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport was third; and Los Angeles International Airport fourth. Hartsfield-Jackson has been America’s busiest airport in terms of passenger numbers for several years.

This can all make for some uncomfortable travelling. According to Department of Transportation data released in October, only 76% of flights into and out of Hartsfield-Jackson were on time. Meanwhile, ASA, a regional carrier owned by Delta Air Lines, reported 12 mishandled-baggage incidents for every 1,000 passengers—four times the airline average. The Ticket, an online travel-tips newsletter, recommends taking carry-on luggage only, or shipping needed items in advance.

Gwinnett's growth

Midtown Atlanta seems to be booming, with several new condominium buildings near 10th Street and Atlantic Station. But Midtown’s growth is nothing compared with that of Gwinnett County, north-east of the city. In 2005 Gwinnett surpassed DeKalb as Georgia’s second-largest county (Fulton County, which contains most of Atlanta, is the largest), after adding more than 27,000 residents between July 2003 and July 2004. At the same time, 1,500 white residents moved out, leading some observers to speculate about “white flight”; Gwinnett originally began growing as would-be suburbanites left Atlanta in the “white flight” waves of the 1960s and early 1970s. Gwinnett County is now 57% white, down from 90% in 1990.

As the county grows, it shows increasing signs of urbanity. Gwinnett County Transit, a public bus service, saw record levels of riders in September as users tried to avoid higher petrol prices. The cities of Suwanee, Snellville, Duluth and Sugar Hill all have plans to make their downtown areas more pedestrian-friendly. And while Gwinnett is known for its suburban developments, county commissioners passed new zoning laws in December to allow for mixed-use, high-density projects along Interstate 85.

Saving Noor

With 2006 bringing more reports of troop casualties in Iraq, it is not surprising that some people are choosing instead to concentrate on the story of Noor al-Zahra—or “Baby Noor”—a 3-month-old Iraqi child who was flown to Atlanta for surgery. Baby Noor, whose family lives in a poor neighbourhood near Baghdad called Abu Ghraib, suffers from a severe form of spina bifida (a congenital spinal malfunction). After she was found by American troops during a raid in December, members of Georgia’s National Guard arranged for her to undergo surgery at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Her father and grandmother travelled with her.

After surgery on January 9th, in which her spinal cord was moved to the centre of her back, doctors said Baby Noor had a 99% chance of survival, but would probably remain a paraplegic. She was released from the hospital four days later. The family in Iraq, meanwhile, fears reprisals for accepting help from American soldiers.

Catch if you can

January 2006

ATLart[06]

January 25th-February 12th 2006

The Atlanta Gallery Association’s third annual winter celebration has grown in size and scope. It will include special exhibits at Spelman College’s Museum of Fine Art, the Atlanta Contemporary Art Centre and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia; a special “Art House” (a Buckhead mansion hosting dozens of works of art and several seminars); special lectures; and a closing auction on February 11th. Furthermore, all 33 participating galleries will stay open longer over the weekend of February 3rd-5th.

Locations and times vary. For more information, see the event website.

More from the Atlanta cultural calendar