ATLANTA'S EDGE CITY CENTERS

The undisputed capital city of the Southland has been on a growing binge for the past sixty-two years. The metropolitan area's expansion kicked into high gear during the Post-World War II era, and has had few respites since that time.

First fueled by the completion of the region's early expressways during the 1950s, the urban sprawl became centered in three particular areas; LENOX, PERIMETER and CUMBERLAND-GALLERIA. Of course, a regional shopping mall was at the epicenter of each of these newly-built edge cities.

The LENOX edge city was the first...centered on LENOX SQUARE SHOPPING CENTER, which opened in the summer of 1959. Ten years later, a second -very upscale- mall was added to Atlanta's auxiliary downtown, PHIPPS PLAZA.

PERIMETER's edge city was the second to emerge, following the dedication of PERIMETER MALL, in the summer of 1971. Driving through the area now, it seems unbelievable that -only thirty-five years ago- it was nothing more than fields, farms and an occasional tract house.

A visit in the present-day reveals a humongous, 1.5 million square foot shopping center, surrounded by towering office buildings, condos and hotels. The commanding skyline of PERIMETER dwarfs that of a medium-sized, US city such as Dayton, Ohio.

The newest -and largest- of Atlanta's edge cities is centered on CUMBERLAND MALL and COBB GALLERIA CENTRE. The CUMBERLAND-GALLERIA suburban nucleus got growing with the summer 1973 dedication of CUMBERLAND MALL. The area now has more office space than downtown Miami.

As the map above indicates, the greatest concentration of urban expansion in and -around- Atlanta has been to points north. The southern environs, although playing host to the enormous Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, still come off like the city's red-headed stepchild suburbs.

Even MARTA, the region's rail rapid transit system, favors the northlands...with service from two major rail lines. The south city suburbs have only one such connection.