Atlanta’s I-285 perimeter is HUGE! Just to give you an idea, here’s the perimeter layered on top of other cities around the world. The circle inside the perimeter is the size of Atlanta’s Belt-line.
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The city limits of the ATL is 285 I live here and trust it’s like 64 miles around the whole thing, but one thing atlanta is not bigger than NYC or chicago or even LA.
Atlanta IS THE 285 PERIMETER I LIVE HERE so ik for all of u ignorant fucks
yes, its bullshit, as its mostly trees. comparing such a sparsely populated area like this to proper, real huge, real cities with real urban footprints, is crazy.
YOU ARE SERIOUSLY SO BAD AT THIS ITS HILARIOUS. HANG IT UP FUCKBOY, YOU ARE A FAILURE. KEEP PEDDLING TSHIRTS YOU NO-TALENT HACK BITCH. FUCK YOU
Fuck you
Great idea, Jeremy! Wish I knew how to do this for the city I currently live in (Akron, OH)…and loved that you included a city from my past (Berlin).
For what it’s worth, and speaking as a visitor to Atlanta only (traveling to and from suburb outside the ring), getting around on congested 12-lane freeways seemed pretty nightmarish. So the presence and use/convenience of public transportation would have to figure into the assessment of livability, no?
Houston is 5 times bigger than Atlanta because it is 627 square miles versus Atlanta’s 135. You can’t compare city populations if you don’t take into account the amount of land they include.
Wrong. Land area does NOT correlate to population size. Oklahoma City is almost 3 TIMES bigger than Chicago but it’s population is a lot smaller. Chicago is nearly 4 TIMES the size of Paris but Paris has close to Chicago’s population. Oklahoma City is 10 TIMES the size of DC but DC is bigger in population. Houston is 599 sq. mi. when you take out the water. It’s 599 sq. mi. because Texas’ annexation laws are more lenient than Georgia’s. Houston could annex at will pretty much. Land area doesn’t signal much
Only problem with this story is that the premise is bogus. The City of Atlanta is much smaller than 285. 285 is not the boundary of Atlanta.
No the premise is AS STATED. He is comparing the size of the 285 loop ONLY! The city of Atlanta is NOT “much smaller” than 285. A large chunk of Atlanta extends beyond 285 on the southwest side of the loop and another chunk on the south side. As it is, Atlanta is actually about 60% of the territory inside the loop.
I’m not sure if the purpose of this is to show that Atlanta is way bigger than other cities or if I-285 covers a large area of the Atlanta Metro. You included cities on here that are either twice the size or significantly much larger than Atlanta based on land area, which does not include their suburbs of these other cities, while 285 includes suburbs.
Taking the Atlanta suburbs out of your comparison:
-Houston is 5 times bigger than Atlanta
-Dallas is 3 times bigger than Atlanta
-Fort Worth is 3 times bigger than Atlanta, which is also a part of the Dallas metro area.
-Chicago is 2 times bigger than Atlanta
-Moscow is 7 times bigger than Atlanta
-Mexico City is 5 times bigger than Atlanta
-London is 5 times bigger than Atlanta
-Beijing is 48 times bigger than Atlanta
-Mecca is 2 times bigger than Atlanta
Atlanta may be bigger than Boston, MA or Kabul, Afghanistan, but these cities you included listed above? Not so much. Atlanta is pretty small in comparison to other major world cities, actually–area-wise and population-wise.
The circle around Los Angeles looks like they drew a circle around downtown Los Angeles only. You’re right. This is a complete joke.
No it doesn’t. Downtown Los Angeles is the TINY little loop around I-10, I-110, and the 101 frwy.
A lot of the other cities includes water such as Chicago. That city is not much bigger than Atlanta in land. It just has a way larger population. Atlanta is spread out and does not have the population density that many other areas have. Many metro’s are not bigger than Atlanta in reference to land because a lot of them include large areas of water. The metro covers more land than Philly, San Fran, and DC but do not have the population those cities have. Also Atlanta sucks!
Been in Atlanta for 19 years now and I say Atlanta blows. Chicago is far more interesting and livable, and you don’t have ignorant rednecks which still infests Atlanta.
Completely biased opinion. Atlanta’s history is VERY interesting. Gone with the wind, civil war, MLK Jr, civil rights movement, Olympics, etc. The rest of the world disagrees that Chicago is more “livable.” Density is the major cause of UNlivibility. I’d say the sooner you leave the better…
If Atlanta is so much more livable, why does 92% of the metro areas population live in the suburbs? Chicago proper’s population is nearly 3 million people compared to Atlanta’s 443,000. So which city is more unlivable? It seems very few people want to live in Atlanta proper when the metro area has nearly 6 million people yet not even a half a million people live in the city.
You were on the right track until the very end. Chicago is not twice the size of Atlanta, true (227 sq. mi. vs 132 sq. mi.). MOST metros are SMALLER than Atlanta in size but it means little. Metro areas are determined by the size of the counties therein and has no bearing on much of anything. Some states have much bigger counties than others. Population size is the most important factor and again Atlanta is bigger than most. But you are incorrect in your last few statements. Philly is only slightly larger than Atlanta but it won’t be much longer. Atlanta is growing much faster than Philly and it’s MSA will pass it within a couple or few years. You are incorrect that San Fran has more people in it’s metro. It doesn’t in it’s MSA. It’s MSA has about 4 million versus Atlanta’s 5.5 million. Only the San Fran CSA is larger since it includes San Jose’s MSA. DC is also only slightly larger with 5.9 million vs 5.5 million for Atlanta. Atlanta has grown faster for 40 years and will probably pass DC too. Most people don’t agree that Atlanta “sucks” as they have moved there by the millions over the past 50 years.
Oh Lordy, so much is wrong or taken out of context in that it will be tough to correct it all. First of all, the purpose of the article is AS STATED at the beginning! To show the size of the 64 mile loop of 285 and how large it is. I-285 does NOT cover a large portion of the metro. He was NOT comparing city size to city size. Did you even read the opening paragraph??? Now let’s get through your list:
-Houston is not 5 times bigger. It is 599 sq. mi. vs 132 sq. mi. It’s bigger because Texas’ annexation laws are much easier than Georgia’s. City land area means little as metropolitan areas are the most important factor and many cities are bigger than Houston.
-Dallas is not 3 times bigger. It is 340 sq. mi. vs 132 sq. mi. Again, Texas’ laws make it easy to annex but Dallas days of getting bigger are over as it’s hemmed in by incorporated municipalities now.
-Fort Worth is not 3 times bigger. It is 342 sq. mi. vs 132 sq. mi. Again, Texas allowed annexation. Fort Worth is part of the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex but it’s not a “suburb.” It’s always been an independent city with it’s own identity and not dependent on Dallas for it’s social/business life.
-Chicago is not 2 times bigger. It is 227 sq. mi. vs 132 sq. mi.
-Moscow is pretty much 7 times bigger due to a 2012 expansion which increased it’s size by 2.5 times.
-Mexico City is roughly 5 times bigger from a technical standpoint.
-London is not 5 times bigger. The city of London is tiny. It is only 1 sq. mi. What is called “London” is actually the “greater” London area which includes the built-up areas surrounding the “square mile” technical city of London. Oops…
-Beijing is by China’s definition of “city” 48 times bigger. However China’s definition of city is different than the rest of the world. China has prefecture-level cities like Shanghai which includes MOSTLY rural area. Beijing’s territory is defined by the government capital territory and is 6,336 sq. mi. However, it’s URBAN area is only 528 sq. mi. China’s major cities are basically like our consolidated city-counties on a super sized scale. Their cities are sometimes as large as a few US states.
-Mecca is about 2 times larger. It is 290 sq. mi. vs 132 sq. mi.
As everyone else is aware of, statistics can be twisted to mean virtually anything you want them to mean. You seem to be trying to bash Atlanta in every way. The whole of your argument is invalid though because city proper size means essentially nothing. The entire world regards metropolitan areas as one functioning entity socially, culturally, and economically. You stated above that if the suburbs of other major cities were included it would be “even larger than the Atlanta metro.” That is FALSE. Atlanta’s metro built up area extends FAR beyond 285. Atlanta’s urbanized land area is actually one of the largest on Earth at well over 2,000 sq. mi. which is larger than Dallas-Fort Worth’s, Houston’s, Beijing’s, Chicago’s, Philadelphia’s, Boston’s, San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland’s, Mexico City’s, Mecca’s, London’s, and Moscow’s urbanized land area. And MSA land area means little too as it is ENTIRELY dependent on the (highly variable) size of the counties that make them up. No matter how you try to spin it, Atlanta is a large, important city. That’s a fact.
The Atlanta Metro area is actually 8376 square miles, roughly the size of Massachusetts. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_metropolitan_area
I stand corrected… It does appear to show that Atlanta is big. While it is indeed true that SOME of the cities fit inside 285, some of them are bigger than 285 for sure. However, he is talking about the size of Greater Atlanta. Greater Atlanta is indeed FAR larger than 285 and is indeed a major metropolis. Atlanta may have a smallish city proper, but it is a major metropolis and metropolitan areas are the ONLY real way to compare a cities power, influence, and size. Your argument still remains very flawed.
If you are going to include Atlanta suburbs to prove its large size, then you need to include the suburbs of Paris or Moscow or Beijing if you are saying than a city’s entire metro area is what make it. Are still going to claim that Atlanta’s perimeter coverage makes it bigger then? Do you really believe that metro Atlanta is bigger than Chicagoland?
You argument is flawed. Cities like Paris or Chicago don’t need to rely on their suburbs to make up their size, or to give them power or influence. Atlanta needs to because the city itself is small, there isn’t much of major importance at it’s core (it has a downtown that is greatly lacking), it is not a major industrialized or commercial city like New York or Chicago, and it’s not at all dense or urban, with a population of less than half a million people. These are characteristics that truly make a city a metropolis. Atlanta is none of that.
I find it rather curious and convenient that you want to split hairs over what make these other cities truly a city but want to include Atlanta’s suburbs to prove it’s greatness and size.
That is correct, you DO need to take into account suburbs of major cities. Paris is 60 square miles. It’s suburban areas (developed land area) takes it to about 1,000 or more. Still smaller than Atlanta’s 2,646 square miles. Beijing’s urbanized land area is 528 square miles. Atlanta is 2,645 square miles. And no, I don’t BELIEVE Atlanta is bigger than Chicago in area, I KNOW it. As of the last data (2010), Chicago’s developed land area was 2,445 square miles. Atlanta was 2,645. This data is readily available on the internet. If one is interested in actual data it can be found with simple search just like I did.
The rest of your statements are pure anti-Atlanta opinionated BULLOCKS. Metropolitan areas are the way the world judges cities. You can’t just pretend those millions of people aren’t there. The world regards metropolitan areas as ONE functioning cultural/economic/social entity. Everyone else recognizes that. As for Paris, it has more people, but it’s only 60 square miles, far smaller than Atlanta. And Chicago has MANY more people in it’s suburbs than in it’s city proper. Your other statements are hardly factual and are based on a highly opinionated clear dislike of Atlanta. It’s core includes Buckhead and Midtown too. It is in no way “lacking.” It’s core contains numerous historic sites, cultural attractions, museums, and restaurants. It isn’t as concentrated downtown as it could be, but it’s still in the city proper. And as for not being a major commercial/industrial city, that’s PURE bologny too. Atlanta’s always been a commercial hub. That’s WHY IT EXISTS! It is one of the top business cities on the globe with numerous MAJOR corporations, the 4th largest distribution hub in the nation, one of the largest inland ports, and a huge airport hub. It was a historic industrial hub also, with steel mills and textile mills in the city proper and today the metropolitan area remains a major manufacturing center. New York and Chicago aren’t industrial either really. Both are majority white collar towns as city proper’s nationwide ceased being major centers of industry long ago. That’s why factories and warehouses are being converted to apartments and lofts NATIONWIDE from Pittsburgh to Boston to L.A. You FALSELY claim it’s not dense or urban but those terms are widely variable. Density and urbanity are variable terms and your OPINION that it isn’t dense enough for you are PERSONAL OPINIONS and INVALID in debate. Many people like Atlanta’s lowish density and trees. You FALSELY claim it’s not urban but that’s truly ridiculous. It certainly ain’t the country… There are MANY urban nodes around the city. And you will find that NO city is 100% urban. Even New York has areas that are NOTHING but residential. Chicago has many square miles of NOTHING but tree lined single family homes. I guess theirs is “urban” but Atlanta’s isn’t because you don’t like Atlanta? Or is it because the houses aren’t close enough to suit YOU??
I find it rather curious and convenient that you want to split hairs over what makes these other cities truly a city but want to pretend YOUR definitions of size/importance/power are the only ones that matter. These aren’t MY personal opinions, they are the world’s. The WORLD focuses on metropolitan areas, not JUST city proper. Arbitrary lines and boundaries mean little in today’s metropolitan world. China calls Beijing a “city” when it’s 6,336 square miles and about 5,800 square miles of it is rice paddy farms, empty land, farms, and rural villages. London is ONE SQUARE MILE. It is surrounded by hundreds of square miles of built up areas so I guess we should forget those areas and focus on the actual square mile city of London, huh??? Your anti-Atlanta bigotry does not make what you say factual. You are allowed to dislike Atlanta, but you aren’t allowed your own facts to prove some agenda.
Joke? Everything inside I-285 is NOT Atlanta. Worse than comparing apples to oranges.
Exactly.
Great example of such was during the 3 inch snow debacle last Winter. Kassim Reed denied being responsible for anything outside what everyone was judging to be Atlanta within 285. What is the purpose of this article? It makes absolutely no sense.
Well not really since the WORLD pretty much regards metropolitan areas to be the same city. Suburbs exist primarily in service to the core city as everyone else knows. But some of Atlanta is OUTSIDE the 285 loop also. On the southwest side, a sizable chunk of the city of Atlanta is outside the loop.
And?
Houston…wow!