Urban Livability Moment

Last weekend I was in Atlanta. I took MARTA, the City's public transit system, riding both a train and a bus from the airport. While the train is smooth and high quality, overall the system is highly flawed. There are only two train lines, they kind of go nowhere (except the airport, obviously), and you have to go all the way to the center of the city to transfer lines. This setup is largely due to xenophobia -- certain neighborhoods want to keep the "riffraff" out, and they refuse to let the train lines extend into their areas (as if the lack of transit is going to prevent any "riffraff" from going wherever it wants).

On the train, there was an ad from a company that helps people buy cars -- not necessarily the best business move unless you are trying to make sure your riders stop using your service. On the bus, there were TVs with the sound on. An HGTV show (not exactly something geared at MARTA's core ridership) was interspersed with tons of TV ads. I really felt that this was taking advantage of those who ride the system-- if I pay $1.75 to ride on your transit network, then I should not have to be subjected to ads. It's like going to the movies and then having ads before the previews. If I wanted ads, I would stay home and watch TV, not ride the bus.

Anyways, I digress. My point is that Atlanta is a huge, sprawling city that appears like a series of low density suburbs interspersed with a few business districts. It has poor public transit, and tons of traffic, two criteria that I thought would rule a city out from being cool. Yet, Atlanta has a ton of personality, and is actually a place I like hanging out. There are cool things like a food coop (with an emphasis on local foods, as described by recent Weiss speaker, Michelle Schroeder), great dance clubs, and delicious restaurants. Yet, everyone has to drive to go to these places. The best restaurants are in the middle of strip malls! This goes against my planning principles: apparently urban design, sustainability and sense of place are not essential to being a place -- at least not in the short term. This urban livability moment has caught me off guard, and I continue to struggle to understand the great southern metropolis that is Atlanta.

Welcome

This is the first ever Weiss fellows blog. This is a space for the 2007-2008 fellows to reflect on urban livability, community projects, speakers, interdisciplinary learning, Charles and Shirley, and anything else that might be pertinent. Since this is part of our project for the year, the content of the space will be constantly evolving. Stay tuned for exciting entries!