The following post is part of a series highlighting excerpts from the Peachtree Shared Space Existing Conditions Report (pages 8-9). Read the full report here.
We’re Growing Quickly
Atlanta’s vibrancy, diversity, and opportunity continue to draw more people to our city. Our current population of 506,804 people (U.S. Census Bureau ACS 1-year Estimates, 2019) is expected to more than double by 2040, reaching about 1.2 million people (Atlanta City Design).
We’re Growing Strategically
Welcoming these new residents while continuing to provide a high quality of life for those who have long called Atlanta home requires a clear strategy. Our region’s legacy of sprawling, car-dependent, suburban development would lead to more trips by car, more congestion and pollution than we can handle, and loss of our urban canopy and natural resources. The City has outlined its strategy to accommodate future growth in a more sustainable way in two major documents: the Atlanta City Design and the One Atlanta Strategic Transportation Plan. They call for organizing growth in areas that have great access to transit, sidewalks, and cycling facilities and everyday essentials like parks, shops, and restaurants nearby, which will maximize our infrastructure and help reduce the need for long trips by car for many future Atlantans.
We’re Designing for Public Life
If we need a larger share of Atlantans to choose to live in urban areas in the future, those places need to be appealing places to live and work for everyone. They need to be safe and convenient places to get around and full of the delights of city life. They also need to consider that many new residents in growth areas will not have private outdoor space of their own. That’s where the Peachtree Shared Space comes in to play. Downtown is already one of the most dense areas of the city, has excellent regional transit access, and a strong base of job opportunities. This project—along with other ongoing efforts— will add much needed public space in an area with limited and expensive available land; prioritize walking, rolling, biking, and transit in the neighborhood; and help attract more residents and businesses to choose Downtown by continuing to make it a great place to be.
This post features part of the project background originally published in the Peachtree Shared Space Existing Conditions Report (pages 8-9). Read the full report here.