What keeps Atlanta from reaching LA, Chicago, or NYC levels?

[maru2501]

that (braves) may be, but the idea that it would even be seen as a viable option is telling

by and large, ATL is doing a lot right. I was just there in August. Lots of new building that is FINALLY capitalizing on the idea that not everyone wants to drive two hours each way to work. It has plenty of good neighborhoods, though it lacks urban bones on a very large scale - the scale of the 3 cities mentioned, which are fairly unique. Not that far outside the CBD you have fairly large single-family homes.

But none of that answers the actual question. I think in terms of influence, I agree with the planning model that looks at cities and patterns of cities as planets and solar systems. Milwaukee is great, but it is way to close to Chicago's gravitational pull, as it were. ATL has the southeast basically cornered, but if it were shifted too far west, that gets into the texas cities' orbit, too far south and it's Miami, etc.

so again, it is the capital of the Southeast, much of which still needs economic revitalization and to come to the 21st Century on social issues

ATL is gay friendly, and has a high black population, and isn't through-and-through conservative, but its region is another story, and that limits investment and influence

I'll stop gumming up the thread now. I wish the city well