Midtown Mania

Ahmed Ismail

In an article from Creative Loafing, a weekly newspaper that also publishes online, Midtown neighborhood activists from the Midtown Neighbors' Association try to use some of their power to apply to some change in the public policy of midtown Atlanta. More specifically, they are trying to diminish plan a nightclub complex proposed by Michael and Alex Gidewon, the Atlanta nightlife managers who owned the former Midtown mega-club Vision. They plan to open a pair of high-end clubs in a building at the foot of the 1010 Midtown condo tower and the 38-story Loews Hotel which immediately brought on a whole stream of opposition from the local neighborhood.


Despite the uprising, Despite the clamor, the Gidewons appear to have gotten what they needed, which, in the end, was simply a permit to sell alcohol. The city's License Review Board gave its thumbs-up on the brothers' application last month. Looks like they are right on track to be selling by New Year's Eve.

From this article, it seems a little said to see how such a strong neighborhood organization could not stop a couple of brothers with dreams of a nightclub business from setting up tent right in their own frontyard. I guess it all still comes down to the money. The Association also did not much support from the License Review Board of the local government, most likely for the same reason and because there really is no violation in terms of zoning that these brothers have broken that they can be stopped for. Therefore, there isn't much ground on which the Midtown Neighbors' Association could build their argument.

http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/no_5_midtown_neighborhood_activists_can_t_stop_nightclub_from_pouring_booze/Content?oid=1177362

Thoughts from a Local Midtowner

A good friend of mine, Jamie, is a fellow student at Georgia Tech. She lives in an apartment complex called Viewpoint that's located in Midtown. She agreed to tell us why she picked the neighborhood and what she likes about it.






From the descriptions of Midtown and Viewpoint by Jamie, Suburban Nation would consider it a traditional neighborhood. Jamie picked Viewpoint because of the easy access to the grocery store as well as many other necessities like office supplies, CVS pharmacy, clothing stores, etc. She doesn't have a car so it is very convenient that the MARTA station is right down the road. Viewpoint is also very close to Georgia Tech. Jamie can walk down the street for about 5 minutes and arrive at Tech Square.

One important factor that went into her decision of living at Viewpoint was the safety of the neighborhood. I asked Jamie if she felt unsafe or scared walking or riding her bike everyday to and from class. Her reply was "Why would I?" It's a common misconception that people view downtown Atlanta as very unsafe. Jamie said it's really more like how or what situations or areas you're put in. She said she feels very safe in her neighborhood. All the people she passes by when riding her bike to school are friendly and even compliment her on her beautiful beach cruiser bike!

In wrapping up the interview, I asked Jamie if she had any comments to make for other students around the area. She replied by saying that she recommends the neighborhood to students nearby. The prices may be a little expensive but it is downtown. If you find the right place for a decent price, she highly recommends getting it. Jamie got her apartment for a great discounted price and now she can stay there for all her years at Tech!

**Where is Viewpoint exactly? Here's a link to find out: MAP to Viewpoint

posted by: Sarah Chang

The Buford Highway Way

Ahmed Ismail

Creating Loafing is an alternative weekly newspaper that publishes in four cities including Atlanta. On the Creative Loafing website, there are a variety of different topics in which you can read up on such as food, music, food and drink, events, and news & views. In the news section, there are a series of articles named "Six Hours" where they take you through a day-long stroll through one of Atlanta's many neighborhoods around the metro area.

In this particular article, Creative Loafing takes you through a six hour stroll of the strip malls of Buford Highway. Buford Highway is one of those places that you may pass everyday and never actually take the time to see what goes on within its streets. If you drove the length of the highway from beyond I-285 into Buckhead, you might not even notice the wonderland passing you by. Without looking closely, it’s just an ugly stretch of jumbled strip malls and gas stations. But these jumbled strip malls and gas stations include various places that will be able to transport you to the other side of the world, where there are smells and flavors that you might not be able to experience anything.


The tour starts off with a stop at El Rey de Taco with their appetizing mini tacos that will give you a fresh start to the Buford Highway experience and will also leave you room for the other treats that would be sure to come. Following the plan that this site has set for you, the night would end with dinner at a restaurant name Sushi House Hayakawa that claims to one of the city's most authentic Japanese restaurants that has a great selection of sake and sochu.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Loafing

http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/UrbanExplorer/UrbanStory?oid=oid%3A758679

Saratoga Reflects its Website. By Nicki Meyer

I found a website on the subdivision that includes Saratoga Place (the neighborhood I did my project on) and I wanted to know if it was a good reflection of the actual neighborhood itself.
The first thing i noticed that was a major priority on the website was major concern with making residents feel safe. "Pine Hills Security" is an organization that has the main goal of keeping Pine Hills the safest subdivision in Atlanta. This was a direct reflection of what i observed in the actual neighborhood. I felt completely comfortable walking around by myself. It was peaceful and quiet with many residents outside interacting with one another.
Another resemblance between the site and actual neighborhood is the public place available to the public. It is accurately stated on the site that there are playing fields and areas for walking, which I noticed when I observed the neighborhood. On the site, there was an open invitation for a picnic in the park. It took place on October 4th (Sunday) from 1 to 4 p.m. The goal of this was to have residents to meet each other and interact together. Also, a purpose stated on the site was to "strengthen bonds of community." Another way that people are being brought together is a neighborhood yard sale. When I observed the neighborhood I noticed that people were very proactive with one another. This could be a result of all these planned activities.
This website was a great reflection of the neighborhood because it shows how important safety and the sense of community is. This was made very obvious when I visited the neighborhood. Saratoga, located in Pine Hills, represents the website http://www.mypinehills.org/ very closely.

Decatur Metro

Ahmed Ismail

The blog that I reviewed, known as decaturMetro, is another major blog about the major happenings that concern the citizens of the town of Decatur. It seems that this author just had an urge to create some type of place where all the people that live in Decatur could come and report their interesting stories or anything that might affect others within the neighborhood. In the blog's About Me page, the author states, "Discouraged by the fact that the city of Decatur, GA doesn’t have a single source for daily news about our community, I decided to do something about it." The author had only recently moved into Decatur. Not long after, he fell in love with the city, so "[he] found myself trolling the far reaches of web to stay informed about the city’s goings on. I wished for a website that would give me the latest news and opinion about the city in an entertaining and engaging fashion.'

Decatur Metro is dedicated to bringing you all the latest news from incorporated Decatur, Georgia and its surrounding environs every day. On the front page, there is currently a story about Decatur High School's celebrated "Banned Book Day," where there is a "terrific display in the library containing books banned in the past, such as Ayn Rand- “The Fountainhead”, Harper Lee- “To Kill A Mockingbird”, Ernest Hemingway- “A Farewell To Arms”, Jack London- The Call Of The Wild” (according to the book cover, it was burned in Nazi Germany), J.D. Salinger- “The Catcher In The Rye”, and Pat Conroy’s “Beach Music”. In addition to the display, posters throughout the school and morning announcements promote the celebration."



A sense of community is very obviously one of the goals of the writers that post to this blog, as they have posts on there that can have something to do with anything that may be going on around town. There are stores about its high school, community meetings and events, and what may be going on in its city hall. To the author, places such as this blog may well define a neighborhood of people well communed.

"Creating Neighborhood Capital from Strip Malls" by Nicki Meyer

The view of this author is that a small strip mall can be redone to be of service to a lot more people. He believes that instead of it only being helpful at a neighborhood level, it can become a major part of a community. I think that this would be a good idea because it could be extremely convenient to residents. The more convenient things are, the more money is brought into a business. When a tiny, family owned business can be expanded to a community wide business, it is beneficial to both groups. Instead of benefitting only a couple of people, the new model could serve the entire community as a whole and connect them together. It would increase the education level of employees about business. It is good for the community in the sense that it connects businesses together.
The diagram shows how more money will be circulated through the system with the new models of strip malls. The community could be transformed into more of an urban dense society. This makes money flow trough society more efficiently and really could boost the economy. I agree with moving away from the old fashion strip malls and more towards community owned hubs.

A Blog About Decatur

Decatur is a 4.2 square mile city located in metro Atlanta with a population of about 18K. The blog inDECATUR states that this city is in great demand as a place to live. The author of this blog, Dave Kell, may not physically say his position on what a community should be, however implies it in his writing, as well as in pictures and in links on the page. Kell praises his blog to be one of the best, describing it as the oldest active blog and most prolific blog(averaging 6.9 posts/day). He advertises it in multiple ways on his page in writing in his posts like the one of the Editor’s choice Regator or a picture of an article written about this blog and even in the magazine cover Best of Atlanta. InDECATUR also has its own Twitter and Facebook pages. The inDECATUR blog describes news and current events that all relate to metro Atlanta area, specifically Decatur. There are blogs written about the Decatur High School Band Yard Sale, Piece of Cake Open House, and live entertainment at Parker’s on Ponce to an article about off-duty police officers saving a 13-year old from rape. Dave Kell clearly states that this small community of Decatur is a wonderful neighborhood to live in because of its multiple community involvements, great entertainment and the safety of its citizens. The headline of the blog gives it all away, “It's great to be "in Decatur" Georgia.” Dave Kell not only writes about how great of a place Decatur is to live, but also provided links to a map of the city, list of restaurants, housing listings, and even a list of churches in the community. Kell’s position on what a community should be like is clearly implied in his blog, inDECATUR.


posted by: Sarah Chang