Atlanta#Transportation

{{Main|History of Atlanta}}

{{For timeline|Timeline of Atlanta}}

For thousands of years prior to the arrival of European settlers in North Georgia, the indigenous Creek people and their ancestors inhabited the area.{{cite web |url=http://chieftainstrail.com/ |title=Northwest Georgia's Native American History |publisher=Chieftains Trail |access-date=June 27, 2011 |archive-date=July 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708144206/http://chieftainstrail.com/ |url-status=dead }} Standing Peachtree, a Creek village where Peachtree Creek flows into the Chattahoochee River, was the closest Native American settlement to what is now Atlanta.{{cite web|url=http://www.buckhead.net/history/fort-peachtree/index.html|title=Fort Peachtree | website=Buckhead.net | access-date=February 19, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026163022/http://www.buckhead.net/history/fort-peachtree/index.html |archive-date=October 26, 2017 }} Through the early 19th century, European Americans systematically encroached on the Creek of northern Georgia, forcing them out of the area from 1802 to 1825.{{cite web|url=http://ngeorgia.com/history/indianla.html |title=Land Cessions of American Indians in Georgia |publisher=Ngeorgia.com |date=June 5, 2007 |access-date=June 27, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514054503/http://ngeorgia.com/history/indianla.html |archive-date=May 14, 2011 }} The Creek were forced to leave the area in 1821, under Indian Removal by the federal government, and European American settlers arrived the following year.{{cite web |last1=Owens |first1=Sue Ellen |title=DeKalb County |url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/dekalb-county/ |website=New Georgia Encyclopedia |publisher=University of Georgia Press |access-date=February 28, 2024}}

In 1836, the Georgia General Assembly voted to build the Western and Atlantic Railroad in order to provide a link between the port of Savannah and the Midwest.{{cite web|title=Creation of the Western and Atlantic Railroad|work=About North Georgia|publisher=Golden Ink|url=http://ngeorgia.com/railroads/warr01.html|access-date=November 12, 2007|archive-date=October 3, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071003030525/http://ngeorgia.com/railroads/warr01.html|url-status=dead}} The initial route was to run southward from Chattanooga to a terminus east of the Chattahoochee River, which would be linked to Savannah. After engineers surveyed various possible locations for the terminus, the "zero milepost" was driven into the ground in what is now Foundry Street, Five Points. When asked in 1837 about the future of the little village, Stephen Harriman Long, the railroad's chief engineer said the place would be good "for one tavern, a blacksmith shop, a grocery store, and nothing else".{{Cite news|last=McQuigg|first=Jackson|date=January 9, 2022|title=Atlanta didn't build the railroad – The railroads built Atlanta|page=6|work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution}} A year later, the area around the milepost had developed into a settlement, first known as Terminus, and later Thrasherville, after a local merchant who built homes and a general store in the area.{{cite web|title=Thrasherville|url=http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/fulton/thrasherville|website=Georgia Info|access-date=February 6, 2017}} By 1842, the town had six buildings and 30 residents and was renamed Marthasville to honor Governor Wilson Lumpkin's daughter Martha. Later, John Edgar Thomson, Chief Engineer of the Georgia Railroad, suggested the town be renamed Atlanta, supposedly a feminine version of the word "Atlantic", referring to the Western and Atlantic Railroad.{{cite web|last1=Ambrose|first1=Andy|title=Atlanta|url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/atlanta#Population-Patterns|website=New Georgia Encyclopedia|publisher=Georgia Humanities Council|access-date=February 6, 2017}} (Atalanta was also Martha Lumpkin's middle name.) The residents approved, and the town was incorporated as Atlanta on December 29, 1847.{{cite web|url=http://ourgeorgiahistory.com/date/December_29|title=Georgia History Timeline Chronology for December 29|publisher=Our Georgia History|access-date=August 30, 2007|archive-date=September 27, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222414/http://ourgeorgiahistory.com/date/December_29|url-status=dead}}

File:Auction and negro sales 1864.jpg's 1864 photograph of a slave trader's business on Whitehall Street shows a corporal from the United States Colored Troops sitting by the door.]]

By 1860, Atlanta's population had grown to 9,554.{{cite web|last=Storey|first=Steve|title=Atlanta & West Point Railroad|publisher=Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage|url=http://railga.com/atlwp.html|access-date=September 28, 2007}}{{cite web|title=Atlanta Old and New: 1848 to 1868|work=Roadside Georgia|publisher=Golden Ink|url=http://roadsidegeorgia.com/city/atlanta02.html|access-date=November 13, 2007|archive-date=October 21, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021093026/http://roadsidegeorgia.com/city/atlanta02.html|url-status=usurped}} During the American Civil War, the nexus of multiple railroads in Atlanta made the city a strategic hub for the distribution of military supplies.{{cite web |title=Atlanta's Role in the Civil War |url=https://www.americaslibrary.gov/es/ga/es_ga_atlanta_1.html |website=americaslibrary.gov |publisher=Library of Congress |access-date=January 12, 2022 |quote=Because of its location and commercial importance, Atlanta was used as a center for military operations and as a supply route by the Confederate army during the Civil War. Therefore, it also became a target for the Union army.}}

In 1864, the Union Army moved southward following the capture of Chattanooga and began its invasion of north Georgia. The region surrounding Atlanta was the location of several major army battles, culminating with the Battle of Atlanta and a four-month-long siege of the city by the Union Army under the command of General William Tecumseh Sherman. On September 1, 1864, Confederate General John Bell Hood decided to retreat from Atlanta, and he ordered the destruction of all public buildings and possible assets that could be of use to the Union Army. On the next day, Mayor James Calhoun surrendered Atlanta to the Union Army, and on September 7, Sherman ordered the city's civilian population to evacuate. On November 11, 1864, Sherman prepared for the Union Army's March to the Sea by ordering the destruction of Atlanta's remaining military assets.{{cite web|url=http://www.civilwarlibrary.org/sherman-s-march-chronology.html|title=Sherman's March Chronology|website=civilwarlibrary.org}}

File:Marietta-Street-Atlanta.jpgAfter the Civil War ended in 1865, Atlanta was gradually rebuilt during the Reconstruction era. The work attracted many new residents. Due to the city's superior rail transportation network, the state capital was moved from Milledgeville to Atlanta in 1868.{{cite web|last=Jackson|first=Edwin L.|title=The Story of Georgia's Capitols and Capital Cities|publisher=Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia|url=http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/capital.htm#anchor671763|access-date=November 13, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009145856/http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/capital.htm|archive-date=October 9, 2007|url-status=dead}} In the 1880 Census, Atlanta had surpassed Savannah as Georgia's largest city.{{cite web |title=1880 Census: Volume 1. Statistics of the Population of the United States |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1880/vol-01-population/1880_v1-09.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1880/vol-01-population/1880_v1-09.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live |access-date=July 2, 2022}}

Beginning in the 1880s, Henry W. Grady, the editor of the Atlanta Constitution newspaper, promoted Atlanta to potential investors as a city of the "New South" that would be based upon a modern economy and less reliant on agriculture. By 1885, the founding of the Georgia School of Technology (now the Georgia Institute of Technology) and the Atlanta University Center, a consortium of historically black colleges made up of units for men and women, had established Atlanta as a center for higher education. In 1895, Atlanta hosted the Cotton States and International Exposition, which attracted nearly 800,000 attendees and successfully promoted the New South's development to the world.{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1895/06/08/102515577.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1895/06/08/102515577.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=The South: Vast Resources, Rapid Development, Wonderful Opportunities for Capital and Labor ...|work=The New York Times|date=June 8, 1895}}

File:Peachtree1907.jpg

During the first decades of the 20th century, Atlanta enjoyed a period of unprecedented growth. In three decades' time, Atlanta's population tripled as the city limits expanded to include nearby streetcar suburbs. The city's skyline grew taller with the construction of the Equitable, Flatiron, Empire, and Candler buildings. Sweet Auburn emerged as a center of Black commerce. The period was also marked by strife and tragedy. Increased racial tensions led to the Atlanta Race Riot of 1906, when Whites attacked Blacks, leaving at least 27 people dead and over 70 injured, with extensive damage in Black neighborhoods. In 1913, Leo Frank, a Jewish-American factory superintendent, was convicted of the murder of a 13-year-old girl in a highly publicized trial. He was sentenced to death, but the governor commuted his sentence to life. An enraged and organized lynch mob took him from jail in 1915 and hanged him in Marietta. The Jewish community in Atlanta and across the country were horrified.{{cite web|title=The Jewish Community of Atlanta|url=https://dbs.bh.org.il/place/atlanta|website=Beit Hatfutsot Open Databases Project|publisher=The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot|access-date=July 19, 2018|archive-date=July 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718174348/https://dbs.bh.org.il/place/atlanta|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Teachinghistory.org|url=https://teachinghistory.org/history-content/beyond-the-textbook/25059|access-date=January 6, 2022|website=teachinghistory.org}} On May 21, 1917, the Great Atlanta Fire destroyed 1,938 buildings in what is now the Old Fourth Ward, resulting in one fatality and the displacement of 10,000 people.

On December 15, 1939, Atlanta hosted the premiere of Gone with the Wind, the epic film based on the best-selling novel by Atlanta's Margaret Mitchell. The gala event at Loew's Grand Theatre was attended by the film's legendary producer, David O. Selznick, and the film's stars Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, and Olivia de Havilland, but Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel, an African-American actress, was barred from the event due to racial segregation laws.{{cite web|url=http://ngeorgia.com/ang/Atlanta_Premiere_of_Gone_With_The_Wind|title=Atlanta Premiere of Gone with the Wind|publisher=Ngeorgia.com|access-date=April 5, 2010|archive-date=January 15, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115033241/http://ngeorgia.com/ang/Atlanta_Premiere_of_Gone_With_The_Wind|url-status=dead}}

Atlanta played a vital role in the Allied effort during World War II. Colonel Blake Van Leer, the president of Georgia Tech, played a significant part by lobbying war-related manufacturing companies like Lockheed Martin to move to Atlanta, successfully lobbying the Government to build military bases, in turn helping attract thousands of new residents through new jobs. Van Leer also launched major research centers, which included Neely Nuclear Research Center and funds to help make Georgia Tech the "MIT" of the south while also founding Southern Polytechnic State University.{{cite web|url=https://web.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/TimLenoir/SiliconValley99/ScientificAtlanta.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://web.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/TimLenoir/SiliconValley99/ScientificAtlanta.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live |work=Stanford|title=The Case of Scientific Atlanta|author=Richard S Combes|date=February 26, 1999}}{{cite journal |last1=Hair |first1=William I. |title=Engineering the New South: Georgia Tech, 1885-1985 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40581436 |journal=The Georgia Historical Quarterly |pages=509–517 |date=1985|volume=69 |issue=4 |jstor=40581436 }}{{cite news|url=http://smartech.gatech.edu/handle/1853/26051|title=New Microscope For Experiment Installed at Tech|work=The Technique|date=January 19, 1946|access-date=January 26, 2010|archive-date=December 15, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215033106/http://smartech.gatech.edu/handle/1853/26051|url-status=dead}}

These new defense industries attracted thousands of new residents and generated revenues, resulting in rapid population and economic growth. In the 1950s, the city's newly constructed highway system, supported by federal subsidies, allowed middle class Atlantans the ability to relocate to the suburbs. As a result, the city began to make up an ever-smaller proportion of the metropolitan area's population.

File:Martin Luther King Jr Coretta Scott King Tomb.jpg for Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King is within the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta proper.]]

African-American veterans returned from World War II seeking full rights in their country and began heightened activism. In exchange for support by that portion of the Black community that could vote, in 1948 the mayor ordered the hiring of the first eight African-American police officers in the city.{{Cite news |last=admin |date=February 7, 2021 |title=The "YMCA" Cops |url=https://nleomf.org/the-ymca-cops/ |access-date=April 6, 2024 |website=National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund |language=en-US}}

Much controversy preceded the 1956 Sugar Bowl, when the Pitt Panthers, with African-American fullback Bobby Grier on the roster, met the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Cs9RAAAAIBAJ&pg=4796%2C5131560 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |last=Sell |first=Jack |title=Panthers defeat flu; face Ga. Tech next |date=December 30, 1955 |page=1}} There had been controversy over whether Grier should be allowed to play due to his race, and whether Georgia Tech should even play at all due to Georgia's Governor Marvin Griffin's opposition to racial integration.Mulé, Marty – {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070610185435/http://www.blackathlete.net/artman/publish/article_01392.shtml "A Time For Change: Bobby Grier And The 1956 Sugar Bowl"]}}. Black Athlete Sports Network, December 28, 2005{{cite web|title=Bobby Grier broke bowl's color line|url=https://old.post-gazette.com/pg/05280/584401.stm|access-date=January 6, 2022|website=old.post-gazette.com|archive-date=January 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106023605/https://old.post-gazette.com/pg/05280/584401.stm|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|last=Thamel|first=Pete |author-link=Pete Thamel |date=January 1, 2006 |title=Grier Integrated a Game and Earned the World's Respect|language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/01/sports/ncaafootball/grier-integrated-a-game-and-earned-the-worlds-respect.html|access-date=January 6, 2022|issn=0362-4331}} After Griffin publicly sent a telegram to the state's Board of Regents requesting Georgia Tech not to engage in racially integrated events, Georgia Tech's president Blake R. Van Leer rejected the request and threatened to resign. Later, students from both Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia held a protest against Griffin's stance, which soon turned into a riot. The students broke windows, upturned parking meters, hung Griffin in effigy, and marched all the way to the governor's mansion, surrounding it until 3:30 a.m. Griffin publicly blamed Georgia Tech's president for the "riots" and requested he be replaced and Georgia Tech's state funding be cut off. On December 5 the Georgia Tech board of regents voted 13–1 in favor of allowing the game to proceed as scheduled.{{cite web|url=https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2019/11/14/20914927/rearview-revisited-segregation-and-the-sugar-bowl-georgia-tech-pittsburgh-bobby-grier-1955-1956-game |publisher=Georgia Tech|title=Rearview Revisited: Segregation and the Sugar Bowl|author=Jake Grantl|date=November 14, 2019|access-date=November 14, 2019}}

In the 1960s, Atlanta became a major organizing center of the civil rights movement, with Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, and students from Atlanta's historically black colleges and universities playing major roles in the movement's leadership. While Atlanta in the postwar years had relatively minimal racial strife compared to other cities, Blacks were limited by discrimination, segregation, and continued disenfranchisement of most voters.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c5763Zgu4_oC&pg=PP1|title=White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of Modern Conservatism|author=Kevin Michael Kruse|publisher=Princeton University Press|date=February 1, 2008|isbn=978-0-691-09260-7}} In 1961, the city attempted to thwart blockbusting by realtors by erecting road barriers in Cascade Heights, countering the efforts of civic and business leaders to foster Atlanta as the "city too busy to hate."{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,874660,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220123816/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,874660,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 20, 2008|title=The South: Divided City|magazine=Time|date=January 18, 1963|access-date=June 27, 2011}}

Desegregation of the public sphere came in stages, with public transportation desegregated by 1959,{{cite web|last1=Hatfield|first1=Edward|title=Bus Desegregation in Atlanta|url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/bus-desegregation-atlanta|website=New Georgia Encyclopedia|publisher=Georgia Humanities Council|access-date=February 6, 2017}} the restaurant at Rich's department store by 1961,{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1888|title=Rich's Department Store|encyclopedia=New Georgia Encyclopedia}} movie theaters by 1963,{{Cite news|title=Negroes Attend Atlanta Theaters|newspaper=Atlanta Journal|date=May 15, 1962}} and public schools by 1973 (nearly 20 years after the US Supreme Court ruled that segregated public schools were unconstitutional).{{cite web|url=http://www.atlantahighered.org/civilrights/essay_detail.asp?phase=3|title=APS Timeline|publisher=Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education|access-date=February 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113134157/http://www.atlantahighered.org/civilrights/essay_detail.asp?phase=3|archive-date=January 13, 2016|url-status=dead}}

In 1960, Whites comprised 61.7% of the city's population.{{cite web|title=Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html|access-date=January 2, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812191959/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html|archive-date=August 12, 2012}} During the 1950s–70s, suburbanization and White flight from urban areas led to a significant demographic shift. By 1970, African Americans were the majority of the city's population and exercised their recently enforced voting rights and political influence by electing Atlanta's first Black mayor, Maynard Jackson, in 1973. Under Mayor Jackson's tenure, Atlanta's airport was modernized, strengthening the city's role as a transportation center. The opening of the Georgia World Congress Center in 1976 further confirmed Atlanta's rise as a convention city.{{cite web|title=Campus Development|url=https://www.gwcca.org/about-the-gwcca/campus-development/|website=gwcca.org|publisher=Georgia World Congress Center Authority|access-date=February 6, 2017}} Construction of the city's subway system began in 1975, with rail service commencing in 1979.{{cite web|url=http://itsmarta.com/about/history02.htm|title=History of MARTA – 1970–1979|access-date=March 2, 2008|publisher=Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050204222807/http://itsmarta.com/about/history02.htm|archive-date=February 4, 2005}} Despite these improvements, Atlanta lost more than 100,000 residents between 1970 and 1990, over 20% of its population.{{cite news|url=http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/do-olympic-host-cities-ever-win/|title=Do Olympic Host Cities Ever Win? |work=The New York Times |date=October 2, 2009|access-date=July 16, 2012}} At the same time, it developed new office space after attracting numerous corporations, with an increasing portion of workers from northern areas.{{Cite web |last=Green |first=Josh |date=October 10, 2022 |title=Report: Atlanta just packed on most new office space in 20+ years |url=https://atlanta.urbanize.city/post/report-most-new-office-space-q3-20-years-third-quarter |access-date=April 6, 2024 |website=Urbanize Atlanta |language=en}}

File:JO Atlanta 1996 - Drapeau.jpg

Atlanta was selected as the site for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Following the announcement, the city government undertook several major construction projects to improve Atlanta's parks, sporting venues, and transportation infrastructure; however, for the first time, none of the $1.7 billion cost of the games was governmentally funded. While the games experienced transportation and accommodation problems and, despite extra security precautions, there was the Centennial Olympic Park bombing,{{cite encyclopedia|title=Olympic Games Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., 1996|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica online|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-249564/Olympic-Games|access-date=January 2, 2008}} the spectacle was a watershed event in Atlanta's history. For the first time in Olympic history, every one of the record 197 national Olympic committees invited to compete sent athletes, sending more than 10,000 contestants participating in a record 271 events. The related projects such as Atlanta's Olympic Legacy Program and civic effort initiated a fundamental transformation of the city in the following decade.

File:DARLINGTON ATLANTA DAY SKYLINE 1.jpg

During the 2000s, the city of Atlanta underwent a profound physical, cultural, and demographic change. As some of the African-American middle and upper classes also began to move to the suburbs, a booming economy drew numerous new migrants from other cities in the United States, who contributed to changes in the city's demographics. African Americans made up a decreasing portion of the population, from a high of 67% in 1990 to 54% in 2010.{{cite web|url=http://www.spelman.edu/academics/enrichment/census/pdf/cicnewsletterjan2009vs2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111208211609/http://www.spelman.edu/academics/enrichment/census/pdf/cicnewsletterjan2009vs2.pdf |archive-date=December 8, 2011 |title=The U.S. Census in the Past and Present|author=Tiffany Davis, B.A.|publisher=Spelman College|date=January 22, 2009}} From 2000 to 2010, Atlanta gained 22,763 white residents, 5,142 Asian residents, and 3,095 Hispanic residents, while the city's Black population decreased by 31,678.{{cite web|first=Jim |last=Galloway |url=https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/a-census-speeds-atlanta-toward-racially-neutral-ground/52AG4EFMIBARFCUHPNRKXAMWSE/ |title=A census speeds Atlanta toward racially neutral ground |work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=March 23, 2011 |access-date=June 4, 2021 }}{{cite news |work=The New York Times |first=Shaila |last=Dewan |date=March 11, 2006 |title=Gentrification Changing Face of New Atlanta |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/11/national/11atlanta.html}} Much of the city's demographic change during the decade was driven by young, college-educated professionals: from 2000 to 2009, the three-mile radius surrounding Downtown Atlanta gained 9,722 residents aged 25 to 34 and holding at least a four-year degree, an increase of 61%.{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-04-01-1Ayoungrestless01_ST_N.htm |work=USA Today |title=Urban centers draw more young, educated adults |date=April 1, 2011}} This was similar to the tendency in other cities for young, college educated, single or married couples to live in downtown areas.{{cite news|last=Schneider |first=Craig |url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/young-professionals-lead-surge-intown-living/4kQU4TmoIKuorXuV3FPDPP/ |title=Young professionals lead surge of intown living |newspaper=ajc.com |date=April 13, 2011 |access-date=June 4, 2021}}

In the lead-up to the 1996 Summer Olympics, the Atlanta Housing Authority demolished nearly all of its public housing.{{cite web|url=http://urbanhealth.gsu.edu/files/gsu_public_housing_report1.pdf |author1=Deirdre Oakley |author2=Erin Ruel |author3=G. Elton Wilson |title=A Choice with No Options: Atlanta Public Housing Residents' Lived Experiences in the Face of Relocation |publisher=Georgia State University |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218203321/http://urbanhealth.gsu.edu/files/gsu_public_housing_report1.pdf |archive-date=December 18, 2014}}{{cite news|accessdate=2025-02-02|title=By 2011, Atlanta Had Demolished All of Its Public Housing Projects. Where Did All Those People Go?|first=Stephanie|last=Garlock|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-05-08/by-2011-atlanta-had-demolished-all-of-its-public-housing-projects-where-did-all-those-people-go|website=www.bloomberg.com}}{{cite web|first1=Cassandra|last1=Douglas|accessdate=2025-02-02|title=The '96 Olympics: Techwood And The New Face Of Public Housing|url=https://www.wabe.org/96-olympics-techwood-and-new-face-public-housing/|date=19 July 2016|website=WABE}} Residents instead received vouchers to pay for private housing; a wave of mixed housing was built using funding from the HOPE VI program under CEO Renee Lewis Glover (1994–2013).{{cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/atlanta-housing-authority-chief-glover-sues-agency-for-legal-fees/XN8ny9KeM7eF52QesPbMzM/|last=Trubey|first=J. Scott|title=Ex-Atlanta Housing Authority chief Glover sues agency for legal fees|work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|date=August 6, 2018|access-date=August 29, 2019}}

In 2005, the city approved the $2.8 billion BeltLine project. It was intended to convert a disused 22-mile freight railroad loop that surrounds the central city into an art-filled multi-use trail and light rail transit line, which would increase the city's park space by 40%.{{cite web|title=The Atlanta BeltLine in 5|url=https://beltline.org/about/the-atlanta-beltline-project/atlanta-beltline-overview/|website=Atlanta Beltline|publisher=Atlanta Beltline Inc.|access-date=February 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207033044/https://beltline.org/about/the-atlanta-beltline-project/atlanta-beltline-overview/|archive-date=February 7, 2017|url-status=dead}} The project stimulated retail and residential development along the loop, but has been criticized for its adverse effects on some Black communities.{{cite web|url=https://www.curbed.com/2020/7/16/21315678/city-racism-urbanism-atlanta-beltline|title=Urbanism Hasn't Worked for Everyone|last=Walker|first=Alissa|date=July 16, 2020|website=Curbed|access-date=November 7, 2020}} In 2013, the project received a federal grant of $18 million to develop the southwest corridor. In September 2019, the James M. Cox Foundation gave $6 million to the PATH Foundation which will connect the Silver Comet Trail to The Atlanta BeltLine, which was expected to be completed by 2022. Upon completion, the total combined interconnected trail distance around Atlanta for the Atlanta BeltLine and Silver Comet Trail will be the longest paved trail surface in the U.S., totaling about {{convert|300|miles}}.

Atlanta's cultural offerings expanded during the 2000s: the High Museum of Art doubled in size; the Alliance Theatre won a Tony Award; and art galleries were established on the once-industrial Westside.{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704415104576250962970106874 |work=The Wall Street Journal |first=Timothy W. |last=Martin |title=The New New South |date=April 16, 2011}} The College Football Hall of Fame relocated to Atlanta and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights museum was constructed. The city of Atlanta was the subject of a massive cyberattack which began in March 2018.{{cite news |last1=Perlroth |first1=Nicole |last2=Benner |first2=Katie |title=Iranians Accused in Cyberattacks, Including One That Hobbled Atlanta |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/28/us/politics/atlanta-cyberattack-iran.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/28/us/politics/atlanta-cyberattack-iran.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |url-access=limited |work=The New York Times |date=November 28, 2018 }}{{cbignore}} In December 2019, Atlanta hosted the Miss Universe 2019 pageant competition.{{cite web|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/miss-universe-2019-pageant-held-atlanta/J0ykuejGEi9l82VHkUqG7N/|title=Miss Universe 2019 pageant to be held in Atlanta|last=Coyne|first=Amanda|date=October 31, 2019|website=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|access-date=February 5, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/dcfdb0e1085a4ba5a8e6fc0ad9c22056|title=Tyler Perry's new studio to host 2019 Miss Universe pageant|date=October 31, 2019|website=Associated Press|access-date=February 5, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/miss-universe-2019-crowned-steve-harvey-blunders-again|title=Miss Universe 2019 crowned, Steve Harvey blunders again|date=December 8, 2019|website=Fox 5 Atlanta|access-date=February 5, 2023}} On June 16, 2022, Atlanta was selected as a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.{{cite news|url=https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026/media-releases/media-release-greater-than-fwc-2026-greater-than-host-cities-announcement|title=FIFA unveils stellar line-up of FIFA World Cup 2026 Host Cities|publisher=FIFA|date=June 16, 2022|access-date=June 16, 2022}}

{{Main|Geography of Atlanta}}File:Atlanta by Sentinel-2 2022-04-19.jpg

Atlanta encompasses {{convert|347.1|sqkm|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|344.9|sqkm|order=flip}} is land and {{convert|2.2|sqkm|order=flip}} is water.{{cite web|url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US1304000|title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Atlanta city, Georgia|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder|access-date=October 21, 2015}}{{dead link|bot=medic|date=April 2020}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} The city is situated in the Deep South of the southeastern United States among the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. At {{convert|1050|ft|m|0}} above mean sea level, Atlanta has the highest elevation among major cities east of the Mississippi River.{{cite web |last1=Champlin |first1=Eric |title=Get high in Atlanta: great high-elevation spots for a summer chill |url=https://www.ajc.com/entertainment/get-high-atlanta-great-high-elevation-spots-for-summer-chill/dLsRTDdU5VgfEv0WATIZpM |website=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |access-date=May 28, 2021 |date=October 4, 2018}} Atlanta straddles the Eastern Continental Divide. Rainwater that falls on the south and east side of the divide flows into the Atlantic Ocean, while rainwater on the north and west side of the divide flows into the Gulf of Mexico.{{cite web|last = Yeazel |first = Jack |title = Eastern Continental Divide in Georgia |date= March 23, 2007 |url = http://www.gpsinformation.org/jack/Divide/Divide.html |access-date=July 5, 2007}} Atlanta developed on a ridge south of the Chattahoochee River, which is part of the ACF River Basin. The river borders the far northwestern edge of the city, and much of its natural habitat has been preserved, in part by the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.{{cite web |title = Florida, Alabama, Georgia water sharing |publisher = WaterWebster |url = http://www.waterwebster.com/FloridaAlabamaGeorgia.htm |format = news archive |access-date = July 5, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070624223432/http://www.waterwebster.com/FloridaAlabamaGeorgia.htm |archive-date = June 24, 2007 |url-status = dead }}

Atlanta is {{convert|21|mi|km}} southeast of Marietta,{{cite web|url=https://www.distance-cities.com/distance-marietta-ga-to-atlanta-ga|title=Distance between Marietta, GA and Atlanta, GA|website=distance-cities.com|access-date=February 5, 2023}} {{convert|27|mi|km}} southwest of Alpharetta, {{convert|146|mi|km}} southwest of Greenville, South Carolina,{{cite web|url=https://www.distance-cities.com/distance-greenville-sc-to-atlanta-ga|title=Distance between Greenville, SC and Atlanta, GA|website=distance-cities.com|access-date=February 5, 2023}} {{convert|147|mi|km}} east of Birmingham, Alabama,{{cite web|url=https://www.distance-cities.com/distance-birmingham-al-to-atl|title=Distance between Birmingham, AL and Atlanta, GA|website=distance-cities.com|access-date=February 5, 2023}} and {{convert|245|mi|km}} southwest of Charlotte, North Carolina.{{cite web|url=https://www.distance-cities.com/distance-charlotte-nc-to-atlanta-ga|title=Distance between Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA|website=distance-cities.com|access-date=February 6, 2023}}

Despite having lost significant tree canopy coverage between 1973 and 1999, Atlanta now has the densest urban tree coverage of any major city in the United States and is often called "City of Trees" or "The City in a Forest".{{cite web | last=Balch | first=Oliver | title=Green streets: which city has the most trees? | website=The Guardian | date=November 5, 2019 | url=http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/nov/05/green-streets-which-city-has-the-most-trees | access-date=March 1, 2021}}{{cite web | title=Atlanta's moniker, City of Trees, focus of new book | website=ajc | date=August 19, 2020 | url=https://www.ajc.com/life/arts-culture/atlantas-moniker-city-of-trees-focus-of-new-book/ZHJONNO5HVHQHBU6APQKU7H3P4/|first=Felicia |last=Feaster | access-date=March 1, 2021}}{{cite web | title=Preserving the City of Trees| website=geospatial.gatech.edu | url=http://geospatial.gatech.edu/Greenspace/ | access-date=March 1, 2021}}

{{See also|List of tallest buildings in Atlanta}}

{{wide image|Atlanta Downtown Skyline.jpg|align-cap=center|1000px|The Downtown skyline at sunset}}

{{wide image|Midtown atlanta (cropped).jpg|1000px|align-cap=center|Midtown Atlanta as seen along the Downtown Connector}}

{{wide image|Buckhead2018.jpg|1000px|align-cap=center|Partial view of North Buckhead skyline looking southwest}}

File:Peachtree St in Midtown.jpg in Midtown Atlanta]]{{Main|Neighborhoods in Atlanta}}

Atlanta is divided into 242 officially defined neighborhoods.{{cite web |title=NPU by Neighborhood |url=https://www.atlantaga.gov/government/departments/city-planning/office-of-zoning-development/neighborhood-planning-unit-npu/npu-by-neighborhood |website=City of Atlanta |access-date=May 15, 2020}} The city contains three major high-rise districts, which form a north–south axis along Peachtree: Downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead.{{cite web|url=http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bo/?id=101302 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040602033112/http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/bo/?id=101302 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=June 2, 2004 |title=Districts and Zones of Atlanta |publisher=Emporis.com |access-date=June 26, 2007 }} Surrounding these high-density districts are leafy, low-density neighborhoods, most of which are dominated by single-family homes.{{cite book|author1=Joseph F. Thompson|author2=Robert Isbell|title=Atlanta: A City of Neighborhoods|url=https://archive.org/details/atlantacityofnei0000thom|url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=University of South Carolina Press|isbn=978-0-87249-979-9}}

Downtown contains the most office space in the metro area, much of it occupied by government entities. Downtown is home to the city's sporting venues and many of its tourist attractions.{{cite web|url=https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2022/06/10/south-downtown-atlanta-redevelopment-projects|title=The Megaprojects that will redefine downtown|last=Wheatley|first=Thomas|date=June 10, 2022|website=Axios Atlanta|access-date=November 16, 2023}} Midtown is the city's second-largest business district, containing the offices of many of the region's law firms. Midtown is known for its art institutions, cultural attractions, institutions of higher education, and dense form.{{cite news|last=Southerland|first=Randy|title=What do Atlanta's big law firms see in Midtown?|newspaper=Atlanta Business Chronicle|date=November 19, 2004|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2004/11/22/focus10.html|access-date=December 1, 2008}}{{cite web|url=https://atlanta.urbanize.city/post/midtown-before-after-photos-decade-growth-transformed-midtown-atl|title=Before/After: Decade of growth has transformed Midtown Atlanta|last=Green|first=Josh|date=June 9, 2023|website=Urbanize Atlanta|access-date=November 16, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2023/02/09/midtown-future-development-tech-real-estate.html|title=Midtown Atlanta continues to set pace, has room for more transformation|last=Sams|first=Douglas|date=February 9, 2023|website=BizJournals.com|publisher=Atlanta Business Chronicle|access-date=November 16, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.11alive.com/article/money/business/atlanta-tallest-buildings-rockefeller-midtown-west-peachtree-retail-deck-views-rental/85-b63c72bf-7c8d-4e7b-a9e5-4f0b74c4fc59|title=Midtown's newest high-rise expect to be tallest mixed-use development in city: Developers|last=Richards|first=Makayla|date=July 27, 2023|website=11Alive.com|access-date=November 16, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2022/02/04/midtown-enjoys-record-growth.html|title=Midtown's allure sparks record growth|last=McKillips|first=Gary|date=February 4, 2022|website=BizJournals.com|publisher=Atlanta Business Chronicle|access-date=November 16, 2023}} Buckhead, the city's uptown district, is {{convert|8|mi|km|spell=in}} north of Downtown and the city's third-largest business district. The district is marked by an urbanized core along Peachtree Road, surrounded by suburban single-family neighborhoods situated among woods and rolling hills.{{cite news|first=David|last=Kirby|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/02/travel/a-tab-of-two-cities-atlanta-old-and-new.html|title=A Tab of Two Cities: Atlanta, Old And New|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 2, 2003|access-date=July 16, 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2023/09/11/buckhead-path-to-growth.html|title=You can't say no to growth: After cityhood fails, Buckhead looks to future|last=Sams|first=Douglas|date=September 11, 2023|website=BizJournals.com|access-date=November 16, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/what-would-buckhead-city-look-like-we-crunched-the-numbers/WRIYJBY2PBCEJFKWTFK2YDWXYA/|title=What would 'Buckhead City' look like? We crunched the numbers|last=Capelouto|first=J.D.|date=April 25, 2021|website=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|access-date=November 16, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-atlantas-buckhead-neighborhood-rising-crime-fuels-move-to-secede-11642687201|title=In Atlanta's Buckhead Neighborhood, Rising Crime Fuels Move to Secede|last=McWhirter|first=Cameron|date=January 20, 2022|website=Wall Street Journal|access-date=November 16, 2023}}File:Beath Dickey House Exterior 2018.jpg (1890) in Inman Park neighborhood, 2018]]

Surrounding Atlanta's three high-rise districts are the city's low- and medium-density neighborhoods, where the craftsman bungalow single-family home is dominant.[AIA guide to the architecture of Atlanta, edited by Gerald W. Sams, University of Georgia Press, 1993, p. 195] The eastside is marked by historic streetcar suburbs, built from the 1890s to the 1930s as havens for the upper middle class. These neighborhoods, many of which contain their own villages encircled by shaded, architecturally distinct residential streets, include the Victorian Inman Park, Bohemian East Atlanta, and eclectic Old Fourth Ward.{{cite book |last=Gournay |first=Isabelle |title=AIA Guide to the Architecture of Atlanta |publisher=University of Georgia Press |year=1993 |isbn=0820314501}}{{cite news|last=Greenfield |first=Beth |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E0DC1239F93AA15756C0A9639C8B63 |title=Surfacing – East Atlanta – The Signs of Chic Are Emerging |location=Atlanta (Ga); Georgia |work=The New York Times|date=May 29, 2005 |access-date=October 16, 2012}} On the westside and along the BeltLine on the eastside, former warehouses and factories have been converted into housing, retail space, and art galleries, transforming the once-industrial areas such as West Midtown into model neighborhoods for smart growth, historic rehabilitation, and infill construction.{{cite news|last=Dewan|first=Shaila|url=http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/travel/22surfacing.html|title=An Upstart Art Scene, on Atlanta's West Side |work=The New York Times |location=Atlanta (Ga)|date=November 19, 2009|access-date=July 16, 2012}}

In southwest Atlanta, neighborhoods closer to downtown originated as streetcar suburbs, including the historic West End, while those farther from downtown retain a postwar suburban layout. These include Collier Heights and Cascade Heights, historically home to most of the city's upper middle-class African-American population.{{cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/atlanta-mayor-race-words-support/IKXiSw5xbFHUYhNC9kyMfM/|title=Atlanta mayor's race: Words of support |newspaper=Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=November 1, 2009|access-date=June 4, 2021 |author1=Stirgus, Eric |author2=Torpy, Bill }}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YKXsm19fBpkC&pg=PA38|title="The Black Middle Class: Where It Lives"|access-date=October 28, 2014 |date=August 1987 |publisher=Johnson Publishing Company }}{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2004/06/27/atlantas-minorities-see-dramatic-rise-in-homeownership/|title=Atlanta's minorities see dramatic rise in homeownership| date= June 27, 2004|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=October 28, 2014}} Northwest Atlanta contains the areas of the city to west of Marietta Boulevard and to the north of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, including those neighborhoods remote to downtown, such as Riverside, Bolton and Whittier Mill. The latter is one of Atlanta's designated Landmark Historical Neighborhoods. Vine City, though technically Northwest, adjoins the city's Downtown area and has recently been the target of community outreach programs and economic development initiatives.{{cite web|last=Wheatley |first=Thomas |url=https://creativeloafing.com/content-170602-the-prince-and-the-paupers-of-vine |title=Wal-Mart and Prince Charles give Vine City a boost |work=Creative Loafing|date=December 15, 2010 |access-date=July 16, 2012}}

Gentrification of the city's neighborhoods is one of the more controversial and transformative forces shaping contemporary Atlanta. The gentrification of Atlanta has its origins in the 1970s, after many of Atlanta's neighborhoods had declined and suffered the urban decay that affected other major American cities in the mid-20th century. When neighborhood opposition successfully prevented two freeways from being built through the city's east side in 1975, the area became the starting point for Atlanta's gentrification. After Atlanta was awarded the Olympic games in 1990, gentrification expanded into other parts of the city, stimulated by infrastructure improvements undertaken in preparation for the games. New development post-2000 has been aided by the Atlanta Housing Authority's eradication of the city's public housing. As noted above, it allowed development of these sites for mixed-income housing, requiring developers to reserve a considerable portion for affordable housing units. It has also provided for other former residents to be given vouchers to gain housing in other areas.{{cite web|url=http://www.city-journal.org/2010/20_4_atlanta-public-housing.html |title=Atlanta's Public-Housing Revolution |last=Husock |first=Howard |work=City Journal |date=Autumn 2010|access-date=July 16, 2012}} Construction of the Beltline has stimulated new and related development along its path.{{cite news|last=Powers |first=Benjamin |url=https://www.citylab.com/equity/2017/11/putting-the-brakes-on-runaway-gentrification-in-atlanta/545555/ |title=Putting the Brakes on Runaway Gentrification in Atlanta |work=CityLab |date=November 10, 2017 |access-date=September 28, 2018}}

{{Main|Architecture of Atlanta}}

Most of Atlanta was burned in the final months of the American Civil War, depleting the city of a large stock of its historic architecture. Yet architecturally, the city had never been traditionally "southern": Atlanta originated as a railroad town rather than a southern seaport dominated by the planter class, such as Savannah or Charleston. Because of its later development, many of the city's landmarks share architectural characteristics with buildings in the Northeast or Midwest, as they were designed at a time of shared national architectural styles.

File:Atlanta Skyline - Piedmont Park.png) emerged with the construction of modernist Colony Square in 1972.]]

During the late 20th century, Atlanta embraced the global trend of modern architecture, especially for commercial and institutional structures. Examples include the State of Georgia Building built in 1966, and the Georgia-Pacific Tower in 1982. Many of the most notable examples from this period were designed by world renowned Atlanta architect John Portman. Most of the buildings that define the downtown skyline were designed by Portman during this period, including the Westin Peachtree Plaza and the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. In the latter half of the 1980s, Atlanta became one of the early homes of postmodern buildings that reintroduced classical elements to their designs. Many of Atlanta's tallest skyscrapers were built in this period and style, displaying tapering spires or otherwise ornamented crowns, such as One Atlantic Center (1987), 191 Peachtree Tower (1991), and the Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta (1992). Also completed during the era was the Bank of America Plaza built-in 1992. At {{convert|1023|ft|m|0}}, it is the tallest building in the city and the 14th-tallest in the United States.{{cite web |title=World's Tallest Buildings |url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001338.html |access-date=June 26, 2007 |website=Infoplease.com}}

The city's embrace of modern architecture has often translated into an ambivalent approach toward historic preservation, leading to the destruction of many notable architectural landmarks. These include the Equitable Building (1892–1971), Terminal Station (1905–1972), and the Carnegie Library (1902–1977).{{cite web |last1=Van Mead |first1=Nick |date=October 23, 2018 |title=The lost city of Atlanta |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/oct/23/lost-city-of-atlanta-historic-building-parking-lot |access-date=May 16, 2020 |website=The Guardian}} In the mid-1970s, the Fox Theatre, now a cultural icon of the city, would have met the same fate if not for a grassroots effort to save it. More recently, preservationists may have made some inroads. For example, in 2016 activists convinced the Atlanta City Council not to demolish the Atlanta-Fulton Central Library, the last building designed by noted architect Marcel Breuer.{{cite news |last1=Jason |first1=Sayer |date=July 21, 2016 |title=Marcel Breuer's Central Library in Atlanta to be renovated and NOT demolished |url=https://archpaper.com/2016/07/marcel-breuer-central-library-atlanta-saved/ |access-date=May 16, 2020 |work=The Architect's Newspaper |publisher=The Architect's Newspaper, LLC}}

{{Multiple image

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Under the Köppen classification, Atlanta has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa){{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228553732|title=Impact of Climate Change on Buildings|website=ResearchGate|language=en|access-date=December 2, 2018}} with generous precipitation year-round, typical for the Upland South. The city is situated in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 8a, with the northern and western suburbs, as well as part of Midtown transitioning to 7b.{{cite web|url=https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/Maps.aspx|title=View Maps – USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map|website=planthardiness.ars.usda.gov|access-date=June 28, 2019|archive-date=March 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330021508/https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/Maps.aspx|url-status=dead}} Summers are hot and humid, with temperatures somewhat moderated by the city's elevation. Winters are overall mild but variable, occasionally susceptible to snowstorms even if in small quantities on several occasions, unlike the central and southern portions of the state.{{cite web |url=http://www.sercc.com/ClimateoftheSoutheastUnitedStates.pdf |title=Climate of the Southeast of the United States |publisher=National Climate Assessment Regional Technical Input Report Series |page=27 |access-date=July 18, 2020 |archive-date=March 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328213706/https://www.sercc.com/ClimateoftheSoutheastUnitedStates.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://www.sercc.com/climateinfo/historical/avgsnowfall.html|title=Average Total Snowfall (inches) for Selected Cities in the Southeast {{pipe}} Welcome – Southeast Regional Climate Center|publisher=Sercc.com|access-date=June 10, 2013|archive-date=April 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130417204503/http://www.sercc.com/climateinfo/historical/avgsnowfall.html|url-status=dead}} Warm air from the Gulf of Mexico can bring spring-like highs while strong Arctic air masses can push lows into the teens °F (−7 to −12 °C).

July averages {{convert|80.9|°F|1}}, with high temperatures reaching {{convert|90|°F|0}} on an average of 47 days per year, though {{convert|100|°F|0}} readings are not seen most years. January averages {{convert|44.8|°F|1}}, with temperatures in the suburbs slightly cooler due largely to the urban heat island effect. Lows at or below freezing can be expected 36 nights annually, but the last occurrences of temperatures below {{convert|10|°F|0}} were December 24, 2022, and January 2014, eight years apart. Extremes range from {{convert|-9|°F|0}} on February 13, 1899 to {{convert|106|°F|0}} on June 30, 2012. Average dewpoints in the summer range from {{convert|17.6|°C|order=flip}} in June to {{convert|19.9|°C|order=flip}} in July.

Typical of the southeastern U.S., Atlanta receives abundant rainfall that is evenly distributed throughout the year, though late spring and early fall are somewhat drier. The average annual precipitation is {{convert|50.43|in|mm|abbr=on}}, while snowfall is typically light and rare with a normal of {{convert|2.2|in|cm|1}} per winter. The heaviest single snowfall occurred on January 23, 1940, with around {{convert|10|in|cm|0}} of snow.{{cite web|url=http://www.ourgeorgiahistory.com/chronpop/1000010|publisher=Our Georgia History|title=Atlanta, Georgia (1900–2000)|access-date=April 2, 2006|archive-date=March 27, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060327073140/http://www.ourgeorgiahistory.com/chronpop/1000010|url-status=dead}} However, ice storms usually cause more problems than snowfall does, the most severe occurring on January 7, 1973.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/02/13/us/atlanta-1973-ice-storm|title=This is how bad it could have been: Atlanta's crippling ice storm of 1973|last=Goldberg|first=Steve|date=February 14, 2014|website=CNN|access-date=August 13, 2022}} Tornadoes are rare in the city itself, but the March 14, 2008, EF2 tornado damaged prominent structures in downtown Atlanta.{{Cite web|url=https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/march-14-downtown-atlanta-tornado-anniversary/85-3476c9f6-ef64-45ab-b73d-0676f6d24e00|title=14 years ago, a deadly tornado tore through downtown Atlanta|date=March 14, 2022|website=11alive.com|access-date=August 13, 2022}}

{{Atlanta weatherbox}}

{{Main|Demographics of Atlanta}}

{{See also|Hispanic and Latino communities in Metro Atlanta|History of the Jews in Atlanta|African Americans in Atlanta}}

{{US Census population

| 1850 = 2572

| 1860 = 9554

| 1870 = 21789

| 1880 = 37409

| 1890 = 65533

| 1900 = 89872

| 1910 = 154839

| 1920 = 200616

| 1930 = 270366

| 1940 = 302288

| 1950 = 331314

| 1960 = 487455

| 1970 = 495039

| 1980 = 425022

| 1990 = 394017

| 2000 = 416474

| 2010 = 420003

| 2020 = 498715

| estyear = 2024

| estimate = 520070

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.html|title=Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decade|publisher=US Census Bureau|access-date=}}
1850–1870{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1870 Census of Population – Georgia – Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties |website=US Census Bureau|date= 1870|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1870/population/1870a-13.pdf |accessdate=|page=}} 1870–1880{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1880 Census of Population – Georgia – Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties |website=US Census Bureau|date= 1880|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1880/vol-01-population/1880_v1-09.pdf |accessdate=|page=}}
1890–1910{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1910 Census of Population – Georgia |website=US Census Bureau|date= 1930|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1910/abstract/supplement-ga.pdf |accessdate=|page=}} 1920–1930{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1930 Census of Population – Georgia |website=US Census Bureau|date= 1930|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/03815512v1ch04.pdf |accessdate=|pages=251–256}}
1940{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1940 Census of Population – Georgia |website=US Census Bureau|date= 1940|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/population-volume-1/33973538v1ch04.pdf |accessdate=}} 1950{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1950 Census of Population – Georgia |website=US Census Bureau|date= 1980|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1950/population-volume-2/37779083v2p11ch2.pdf |accessdate=}}
1960{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1960 Census of Population – Population of County Subdivisions – Georgia |website=US Census Bureau|date= 1960|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1960/population-volume-1/vol-01-12-c.pdf|accessdate=}} 1970{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1970 Census of Population – Population of County Subdivisions – Georgia |website=US Census Bureau|date= 1970|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1970a_ga-01.pdf|accessdate=}} 1980{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1980 Census of Population – Number of Inhabitants – Georgia |website=US Census Bureau|date= 1980|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1980a_gaABC-01.pdf|accessdate=}}
1990{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1990 Census of Population – Summary Social, Economic, and Housing Characteristics – Georgia |website=US Census Bureau|date= 1990|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1990/cph-5/cph-5-12.pdf|accessdate=}} 2000{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 2000 Census of Population – General Population Characteristics – Georgia |website=US Census Bureau|date= 2000|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2003/dec/phc-3-12.pdf |accessdate=}}
2010{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Atlanta city, Georgia|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US1304000&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=United States Census Bureau}} 2020{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Atlanta city, Georgia|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US1304000&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=United States Census Bureau}}2024 estimate:{{Cite web |url=https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww2.census.gov%2Fprograms-surveys%2Fpopest%2Ftables%2F2020-2024%2Fcities%2Ftotals%2FSUB-IP-EST2024-POP-13.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK |title=2024 City and town population estimates: Georgia |website=U.S. Census Bureau |date=May 15, 2025 |access-date=May 15, 2025}}

}}

The 2020 United States census reported that Atlanta had a population of 498,715. The population density was 3,685.45 persons per square mile (1,422.95/km²). The racial and ethnic makeup of Atlanta (including Hispanics) was 51.0% Black or African American, 40.9% non-Hispanic white, 4.2% Asian and 0.3% Native American, and 1.0% from other races. 2.4% of the population reported two or more races.{{cite web|title=U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Atlanta city, Georgia|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/atlantacitygeorgia#qf-headnote-a|access-date=January 6, 2022|website=Census.gov|language=en}} Hispanics and Latinos of any race made up 6.0% of the city's population.{{cite web |url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml |title=Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010" (Select Atlanta (city), Georgia) |publisher=US Census Bureau |access-date=October 28, 2014 }} The median income for a household in the city was $77,655 in 2022.{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/atlantacitygeorgia/INC110222 |title=QuickFacts: Atlanta city, Georgia |website=census.gov |access-date=July 10, 2024}} The per capita income for the city was $60,778 in 2022. Approximately 17.7% percent of the population was living below the poverty line in 2022. Circa 2024, of the Atlanta residents, 391,711 of them lived in Fulton County and 28,292 of them lived in DeKalb County.{{cite web|url=https://www.dot.ga.gov/DriveSmart/MapsData/Documents/CountyMaps/Dekalb.pdf|title=General Highway Map DeKalb County Georgia|publisher=Georgia Department of Transportation|access-date=2024-09-24}}

File:Race and ethnicity 2010- Atlanta (5559880279).png

In the 1920s, the Black population began to grow in Southern metropolitan cities like Atlanta, Birmingham, Houston, and Memphis.{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/on-african-american-migrations/|title=The African-American Migration Story|website=PBS (WNET)|date=2013|access-date=November 7, 2020}} Since the 1970s, Atlanta has been widely recognized as a hub of African American political activism, education, entrepreneurship, and culture—earning it the reputation of being a Black mecca.{{cite web|url=https://www.ajc.com/atlanta-weather/a-champion-for-atlanta-maynard-jackson-black-mecca-burgeoned-under-leader/E7QREDVYH5AKXFDZOVK7ZO2XZA/|title=A Champion for Atlanta: Maynard Jackson: 'Black mecca' burgeoned under leader|last1=Poole|first1=Shelia|last2=Paul|first2=Peralte|website=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|date=June 29, 2003|access-date=June 4, 2021}}"the city that calls itself America's 'Black Mecca{{Single+double}} in "Atlanta Is Less Than Festive on Eve of Another 'Freaknik{{Single+double}}, The Washington Post, April 18, 1996{{Cite news|last=Severson|first=Kim|date=November 26, 2011|title=Stars Flock to Atlanta, Reshaping a Center of Black Culture|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/26/us/atlanta-emerges-as-a-center-of-black-entertainment.html|access-date=January 6, 2022|issn=0362-4331}} However, in the 1990s, Atlanta started to experience Black flight.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-feb-27-na-suburbs27-story.html|title=Atlanta Suburbs Bloom for Blacks|first=Ellen|last=Barry|date=February 27, 2004|website=Los Angeles Times}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/metro-atlantas-black-meccas-suburban-layout-is-changing|title='Black Mecca' expanding to north Metro Atlanta suburbs|first=Alex|last=Whittler|date=February 23, 2023|website=Fox 5 Atlanta}} African Americans have moved outside the city seeking a lower cost of living or better public schools. The African-American share of Atlanta's population has declined faster than that of any racial group.{{Cite web|url=https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/census-no-more-black-majority-in-atlanta/85-645bed51-b9bd-4263-bbd3-40c1a97ded61|title=Census: No more Black majority in Atlanta|date=August 26, 2021|website=11Alive.com}} The city's share of Black residents shrank from 67% in 1990 to 47% in 2020. Blacks made up nine percent of new Atlanta residents between 2010 and 2020. At the same time, Atlanta is home to a sizable foreign-born Black population,{{cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-news/atlantas-foreign-born-black-population-soars-new-study-shows/FRCEM6ZQBBEEHLTQBQGWD4VMBA/|title=Atlanta's foreign-born Black population soars, new study shows|website= The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|last1=Grinspan |first1=Lautaro }} notably from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Somalia, Liberia, and Nigeria.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jacwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA81 | title=Working-Class White: The Making and Unmaking of Race Relations | isbn=9780520248090 | last1=McDermott | first1=Monica | date=July 28, 2006 | publisher=University of California Press }}

With many notable investments occurring in Atlanta initiated by the 1996 Summer Olympics, the non-Hispanic White population of Atlanta began to rebound after several decades of White flight to Atlanta's suburbs.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2015/06/03/atlanta-olympics-city-legacy|title=How The Olympics Changed Atlanta, And What Boston Could Learn|website=Wbur.org|date=June 3, 2015 }}{{Cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/white-populations-decline-in-diversifying-atlanta-suburbs/FLQ55YEVD5CMLBEO23OPRT3CE4/|title=White populations decline in diversifying Atlanta suburbs|first=Lautaro|last=Grinspan|newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |via=AJC.com}} Between 2000 and 2020, the proportion of Whites in the city had strong growth. In two decades, Atlanta's White population grew from 33% to 39% of the city's population. Whites made up the majority of new Atlanta residents between 2010 and 2020.{{cite web|last=Gurwitt |first=Rob |url=http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/Atlanta-and-the-Urban.html |title=Atlanta and the Urban Future|work=Governing|publisher=Governing.com |date=July 1, 2008 |access-date=February 2, 2017}}

The Hispanic and Latino populations of metro Atlanta have grown significantly in recent years.{{Cite news|url=https://atlantaregional.org/whats-next-atl/articles/hispanic-population-shows-strong-growth-across-metro-atl/|title=Hispanic population shows strong growth across metro ATL|newspaper=Arc }} The largest Hispanic ancestries in Atlanta are Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban.{{cite web | url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Hispanic&g=1600000US1304000&tid=ACSDT5Y2020.B03001 | title=Explore Census Data|website=Data.census.gov }} There is a growing population of Mexican ancestry throughout the region, with notable concentrations along the Buford Highway and I-85 corridor, and now extending into Gwinnett County.{{Cite web|url=http://documents.atlantaregional.com/gawsnapshots/mexican.pdf|title=Mexicans|website=Documents.atlantaregional.com|access-date=July 28, 2023}} In 2013, Metro Atlanta had the 19th largest Hispanic population in the United States.{{cite web|url=https://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/metro-atlanta-no-19-for-hispanic-population/|title=Metro Atlanta No. 19 for Hispanic population|date=August 30, 2013 }}

The Atlanta area also has a fast growing Asian American population. The largest groups of Asian origin are those of Indian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Pakistani and Japanese descent.{{Cite news|url=https://atlantaregional.org/whats-next-atl/articles/data-dive-metro-atlantas-fast-growing-asian-community/|title=Data Dive: Metro Atlanta's Fast-Growing Asian Community|newspaper=Arc }} Pew Research Center ranks the Atlanta area among the top 10 U.S. metropolitan areas by Indian population in 2019.{{Cite web |date=2021-04-29 |title=Top 10 U.S. metropolitan areas by Indian population, 2019 |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/chart/top-10-u-s-metropolitan-areas-by-indian-population-2019/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}

Early immigrants in the Atlanta area were mostly Jews and Greeks. Since 2010, the Atlanta area has experienced notable immigration from India, China, South Korea, and Jamaica.{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zByZal1b_RsC&q=atlanta+born+in+jamaica+demographic&pg=PA124 |title = African Diaspora in the United States and Canada at the Dawn of the 21st Century, the|isbn = 9781438436852|last1 = Frazier|first1 = John W.|last2 = Darden|first2 = Joe T.|last3 = Henry|first3 = Norah F.|date = September 2010| publisher=Global Academic }}{{cite web|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/metro-atlanta-population-growth-fueled-minorities/fz4aXo7CdyhEai1RgjW8jO/|title=Metro Atlanta population growth fueled by minorities|website=AJC|date=June 24, 2019|access-date=November 7, 2020}} Other notable source countries of immigrants are Vietnam, Eritrea, Nigeria, the Arabian gulf, Ukraine and Poland.{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ByeaAgAAQBAJ&q=atlanta+immigrants+eritrea+nigeria&pg=PA61 |title = The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Volume 2: Geography|isbn = 9780807877210|last1 = Pillsbury|first1 = Richard|date = February 2014| publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press }} Within a few decades, and in keeping with national trends, immigrants from England, Ireland, and German-speaking central Europe were no longer the majority of Atlanta's foreign-born population. The city's Italians included immigrants from northern Italy, many of whom had been in Atlanta since the 1890s; more recent arrivals from southern Italy; and Sephardic Jews from the Isle of Rhodes, which Italy had seized from Turkey in 1912.{{Cite journal|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/743657|title=Toward an "Immigrant Turn" in Jewish Entrepreneurial History: A View from the New South|first=Marni|last=Davis|date=December 17, 2019|journal=American Jewish History|volume=103|issue=4|pages=429–456|via=Project MUSE|doi=10.1353/ajh.2019.0046|s2cid=213779756|url-access=subscription}} Europeans from Great Britain, Ireland and Germany settled in the city as early as the 1840s.{{cite web|url=https://www.historians.org/research-and-publications/perspectives-on-history/december-2015/immigrant-atlanta-how-newcomers-have-enriched-the-city|title=Immigrant Atlanta: How Newcomers Have Enriched the City|access-date=January 26, 2024|archive-date=January 26, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126132218/https://www.historians.org/research-and-publications/perspectives-on-history/december-2015/immigrant-atlanta-how-newcomers-have-enriched-the-city|url-status=dead}} Most of Atlanta's European population are from the United Kingdom and Germany. Bosnian refugees settled in Atlanta.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JkegNOlL5GQC&dq=atlanta+georgia+immigrants+mexico+china&pg=PA95|title=Beyond the Gateway: Immigrants in a Changing America|page=95|isbn=978-0-7391-0636-5 |last1=Gozdziak |first1=Elzbieta M. |last2=Goździak |first2=Elżbieta M. |last3=Martin |first3=Susan Forbes |date=January 28, 2024 |publisher=Lexington Books }}

Vietnamese people, Cambodians, Ethiopians and Eritreans were the earliest refugees formally brought to the city.{{cite web|url=https://ncph.org/history-at-work/atlanta-immigrant-gateway-globalized-south/|title=Atlanta: Immigrant gateway of the globalized South|date=February 19, 2020 }}

Of the total population five years and older, 83.3% spoke only English at home, while 8.8% spoke Spanish, 3.9% another Indo-European language, and 2.8% an Asian language.U.S. Census 2008 American Community Survey Among them, 7.3% of Atlantans were born abroad (86th in the US).{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ByeaAgAAQBAJ&q=atlanta+immigrants+india+mexico+korea&pg=PA61 |title = The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Volume 2: Geography|isbn = 9780807877210|last1 = Pillsbury|first1 = Richard|date = February 2014| publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press }} Atlanta's dialect has traditionally been a variation of Southern American English. The Chattahoochee River long formed a border between the Coastal Southern and Southern Appalachian dialects.{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qeECAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA86 |title="Tongue Twisters"|magazine= Atlanta magazine |date= December 2003 |access-date=May 17, 2012}} Because of the development of corporate headquarters in the region, attracting migrants from other areas of the country, by 2003, Atlanta magazine concluded that Atlanta had become significantly "de-Southernized". A Southern accent was considered a handicap in some circumstances.{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=seECAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA80 |title="Too Southern for Atlanta"|magazine=Atlanta magazine |date=February 2003|access-date=May 17, 2012}} In general, Southern accents are less prevalent among residents of the city and inner suburbs and among younger people; they are more common in the outer suburbs and among older people. At the same time, some residents of the city speak in Southern variations of African-American English.{{cite web|last=Bonesteel |first=Amy |url=http://www.atlantamagazine.com/southern/atlanta-accent/ |title=Is There an Atlanta Accent? |work=Atlanta |date=November 1, 2012 |access-date=July 31, 2017}}

{{See also|LGBT rights in Georgia (U.S. state)|Atlanta Pride|Atlanta Black Pride}}

File:ATL pride.jpg

Atlanta has a thriving and diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. According to a survey by the Williams Institute, Atlanta ranked third among major American cities, behind San Francisco and slightly behind Seattle, with 12.8% of the city's total population identifying as LGB.{{cite web |url=http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Gates-Same-Sex-Couples-GLB-Pop-ACS-Oct-2006.pdf |title=Same-sex Couples and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Population: New Estimates from the American Community Survey |author=Gary J. Gates |date=October 2006 |website=The Williams Institute |access-date=June 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609015224/http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Gates-Same-Sex-Couples-GLB-Pop-ACS-Oct-2006.pdf |archive-date=June 9, 2013 |url-status=dead }} The Midtown and Cheshire Bridge areas have historically been the epicenters of LGBT culture in Atlanta.{{cite web|url=https://www.greatamericancountry.com/places/local-life/atlanta-gay-friendly-neighborhoods|title=Atlanta Gay-Friendly Neighborhoods|website=Great American Country|last=Aguirre|first=Holly|access-date=November 7, 2020|archive-date=November 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129051806/https://www.greatamericancountry.com/places/local-life/atlanta-gay-friendly-neighborhoods|url-status=dead}} Atlanta formed a reputation for being a place inclusive to LGBT people after former mayor Ivan Allen Jr. dubbed it "the city too busy to hate" in the 1960s (referring to racial relations).{{cite web|url=https://theatlanta100.com/history/atlanta-history/2020/04/09/atlanta-too-busy-to-hate/20219|title=Atlanta: 'The City Too Busy To Hate'|website=The Atlanta 100|date=April 9, 2020|access-date=November 7, 2020|last=Thompson|first=Taylor}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ajc.com/life/preserving-atlantas-gay-history/ORUQG5KWDFF3BEASI5IZEIUE4Q/|title=Preserving Atlanta's gay history|last=Bentley|first=Rosalind|date=August 7, 2020|website=AJC|access-date=November 7, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/how-long-can-we-keep-cheshire-bridge-weird/|title=How long can we keep Cheshire Bridge weird?|last=Henry|first=Scott|date=August 23, 2019|website=Atlanta|access-date=November 7, 2020}}{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/4823041/rainbow-crosswalk-atlanta-lgbtq-pride-month/|title=This Rainbow Crosswalk Is Now a Permanent Fixture of LGBTQ Pride|last=Calfas|first=Jennifer|date=June 18, 2017|magazine=Time|access-date=November 7, 2020}} Atlanta has consistently scored 100% on the Human Rights Campaign's Municipal Equality Index that measures how inclusive a city's laws, policies and services are for LGBT people who live or work there.{{cite web|url=https://hrc-prod-requests.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/MEI-2022-Atlanta-Georgia.pdf|title=MEI 2022, Atlanta,Georgia|website=Hrc-prod-requests.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com|access-date=July 28, 2023}}

{{main|Religion in Atlanta}}

Religion in Atlanta, while historically centered on Protestant Christianity, now encompasses many faiths, as a result of the city and metro area's increasingly international population. Some 63% of residents identified as some type of Protestant according to the Pew Research Center in 2014,{{cite web|last=Lipka|first=Michael|title=Major U.S. metropolitan areas differ in their religious profiles|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/29/major-u-s-metropolitan-areas-differ-in-their-religious-profiles/|access-date=January 6, 2022|website=Pew Research Center|date=July 29, 2015 |language=en-US}}{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/ |title=America's Changing Religious Landscape |publisher=Pew Research Center: Religion & Public Life |date=May 12, 2015}} but in recent decades the Roman Catholic Church has increased in numbers and influence because of new migrants to the region. Metro Atlanta also has numerous ethnic or national Christian congregations, including Korean and Indian churches. Per the Public Religion Research Institute in 2020, overall, 73% of the population identify with some tradition or denomination of Christianity;{{cite web |title=PRRI – American Values Atlas |url=https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2020/MetroAreas/religion/m/1 |access-date=July 14, 2022 |website=ava.prri.org |archive-date=April 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404161714/https://ava.prri.org/#religious/2020/MetroAreas/religion/m/1 |url-status=dead }} despite continuing religious diversification, historically African-American Protestant churches continue prevalence in the whole metropolitan area alongside historic Black Catholic churches. The larger non-Christian faiths according to both studies are Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism. Overall, there are over 1,000 places of worship within Atlanta.{{cite web|url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108481.html|title=Atlanta, Ga. |website=Infoplease.com|publisher= Pearson Education, Inc |access-date=May 17, 2006}}

{{Main|Economy of Atlanta}}

File:Coca Cola Building from condo buidling at Peachtree St and North Ave.JPG world headquarters]]

File:Norfolk Southern Headquarters, Atlanta 1.jpg headquarters]]

With a GDP of $385 billion,{{cite news|url=https://www.bea.gov/system/files/2018-09/gdp_metro0918_0.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.bea.gov/system/files/2018-09/gdp_metro0918_0.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Gross Domestic Product by Metropolitan Area, 2017|publisher=Bureau of Economic Analysis|access-date=September 2, 2018|date=September 20, 2018}} the Atlanta metropolitan area's economy is the 8th-largest in the country and the 15th-largest in the world. Corporate operations play a major role in Atlanta's economy, as the city claims the nation's third-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies (tied for third with Chicago).{{cite web|url=https://www.georgia.org/newsroom/blogs/georgia-companies-make-2020-fortune-500-and-1000-rankings#:~:text=The%20City%20of%20Atlanta%20is,%2C%20Georgia%2C%20Primerica%2C%20Inc.|title=Georgia companies make up 2020 Fortune 500 and 1000 rankings|website=Georgia.org|access-date=February 5, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://saportareport.com/atlanta-region-maintains-its-spot-as-a-fortune-500-hq-city/columnists/mariasmetro/maria_saporta/|title=Atlanta region maintains its spot as a Fortune 500 HQ city|last=Saporta|first=Maria|date=June 7, 2021|website=saportareport.com|access-date=February 5, 2023}} It also hosts the global headquarters of several corporations such as The Coca-Cola Company,{{Cite web|url=https://www.coca-colacompany.com/careers/who-we-are/locations|title=Locations: Our home in Atlanta|website=The Coca Cola Company|access-date=August 12, 2022}} The Home Depot,{{cite web|url=https://www.homedepot.com/|title=The Official website of Home Depot|website=The Home Depot|access-date=February 5, 2023}} Delta Air Lines,{{Cite web|url=https://www.delta.com/us/en/legal/imprint|title=Imprint – Delta Air lines|website=delta.com|publisher=Delta Air Lines|access-date=August 12, 2022}} Arby's,{{cite web|url=https://www.arbys.com/about-us/|title=About Arby's: Who We Are And What We Do|website=Arby's|access-date=June 26, 2022}} AT&T Mobility,{{cite web|url=https://www.att.com/wireless/|title=Explore AT&T Wireless|website=att.com|access-date=February 8, 2023}} Georgia-Pacific,{{cite web|url=https://www.gp.com/about-us/|title=Overview – Georgia Pacific|website=gp.com|access-date=February 8, 2023}} Chick-fil-A,{{cite web|url=https://www.chick-fil-a.com/about/who-we-are|title=Who we are – More Than The Original Chicken Sandwich|website=Chick-fil-A|access-date=June 26, 2022}} Church's Chicken,{{cite web|url=https://www.churchs.com/contact/|title=Contact Us|website=churchs.com|publisher=Church's Chicken|access-date=February 5, 2023}} Dunkin' Donuts,{{cite web|url=https://www.wsbtv.com/news/atlanta-based-company-buys-dunkin-donuts-11-billion/7MU62R6HZZEXVIQC6VNVYNXWQQ/|title=Atlanta-based company buys Dunkin' Donuts for $11.3 billion|date=October 31, 2020|website=WSBTV.com|access-date=February 5, 2023}} Norfolk Southern Railway,{{cite web|url=http://www.nscorp.com/content/nscorp/en/news/norfolk-southern-opens-new-headquarters-building-in-atlanta.html|title=Norfolk Southern opens new headquarters building in Atlanta|date=November 10, 2021|website=Norfolk Southern|access-date=February 5, 2023}} Mercedes-Benz USA,{{cite web|url=https://www.mbusa.com/en/legal-notices/privacy-statement|title=Contact us: Mercedes-Benz USA|website=Mercedes-Benz|access-date=June 26, 2022}} NAPA Auto Parts, Papa Johns,{{cite web|url=https://ir.papajohns.com/news-releases/news-release-details/papa-johns-new-atlanta-headquarters-headed-three-ballpark-center|title=Papa John's New Atlanta Headquarters Headed to Three Ballpark Center in the Battery Atlanta|date=November 17, 2020|website=Papa John's|access-date=February 8, 2023|archive-date=February 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208215354/https://ir.papajohns.com/news-releases/news-release-details/papa-johns-new-atlanta-headquarters-headed-three-ballpark-center|url-status=dead}} Porsche AG,{{cite web|url=https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/company/porsche-experience-center-headquarters-atlanta-11000.html|title=Porsche opens new headquarters in Atlanta|date=August 5, 2015|website=newsroom.porsche.com|publisher=Porsche AG|access-date=February 8, 2023}} Newell Brands, Rollins, Inc., Marble Slab Creamery, and UPS.{{Cite web|url=https://about.ups.com/us/en/contact-us.html|title=Contact Us – About UPS|publisher=UPS|access-date=August 12, 2022}} Over 75% of Fortune 1000 companies conduct business operations in the city's metro area, and the region hosts offices of over 1,250 multinational corporations.{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/cities/|title=Fortune 500 2011: Cities with most companies|website=Fortune}} Many corporations are drawn to the city by its educated workforce; {{As of|2014|lc=y}}, 45% of adults aged 25 or older residing in the city have at least four-year college degrees, compared to the national average of 28%.{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/14_5YR/S1501/1600000US1304000|title=Educational Attainment 2010–2014 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates Atlanta, Georgia|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=September 9, 2016|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213101435/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/14_5YR/S1501/1600000US1304000|archive-date=February 13, 2020|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/S1501/0100000US1600000US1304000|title=Educational Attainment 2010–2014 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates U.S|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=September 9, 2016}}{{dead link|date=February 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/betting-on-Atlanta/|title=Betting on Atlanta|work=The New York Times |first=Edward L.|last=Glaeser|date=March 9, 2010 }}

Atlanta was born as a railroad town, and logistics continue to represent an important part of the city's economy to this day. In 2021, major freight railroad Norfolk Southern moved their headquarters to Atlanta,{{cite web |title=Norfolk Southern opens new Atlanta headquarters |url=https://www.railjournal.com/regions/north-america/norfolk-southern-opens-new-atlanta-headquarters/ |website=International Railway Journal |date=November 14, 2021 |publisher=Simmons-Boardman Publishing, Inc. |access-date=February 26, 2024 |ref=Norfolk Southern HQ}} and the city hosts major classification yards for Norfolk Southern and CSX. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world's busiest airport,{{cite web |title=THE BUSIEST AIRPORTS OF 2023 |url=https://www.oag.com/busiest-airports-world-2023 |website=oag.com |publisher=OAG |access-date=February 26, 2024 |ref=Busiest Airport}} and the headquarters of Delta Air Lines. Delta operates the world's largest airline hub at Hartsfield-Jackson and is metro Atlanta's largest employer.{{cite web |last1=Conn |first1=Patsy |title=Atlanta's 25 Largest Employers |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/subscriber-only/2023/07/14/atlantas-25-largest-employers.html |website=Atlanta Business Chronicle |publisher=American City Business Journals |access-date=February 26, 2024 |ref=Largest Employers 2022}} UPS, the world's largest courier company, operates an air cargo hub at Hartsfield-Jackson, and has their headquarters in neighboring Sandy Springs.

Media is also an important aspect of Atlanta's economy. In the 1980s, media mogul Ted Turner founded the Cable News Network (CNN), Turner Network Television (TNT),{{cite web|url=https://www.tntdrama.com/|title=TNT Home Page|website=tntdrama.com|access-date=February 8, 2023}} HLN (HLN), Turner Classic Movies (TCM), The Cartoon Network, Inc. and its namesake television network, TruTV (truTV) and the Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) in the city.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/about|title=About CNN Digital|publisher=CNN|access-date=August 12, 2022}} Around the same time, Cox Enterprises, now the nation's third-largest cable television service and the publisher of over a dozen American newspapers, moved its headquarters to the city.{{cite web|title=Atlanta Headquarters|url=https://www.cox.com/aboutus/headquarters.html|website=cox.com|publisher=Cox Communications, Inc.|access-date=February 6, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128174133/https://www.cox.com/aboutus/headquarters.html|archive-date=January 28, 2017}} Notable sports networks headquartered in Atlanta include TNT Sports, NBA TV, Bally Sports South, and Bally Sports Southeast.{{cite web|url= https://www.ballysports.com/south/|title=South & Southeast|website=ballysports.com|publisher=Bally Sports|access-date=February 5, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://warnermediaforbrands.com/brands/turner-sports|title=Turner Sports|website=WarnerMedia For Brands|publisher=WarnerMedia|access-date=February 5, 2023|archive-date=February 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203214225/https://warnermediaforbrands.com/brands/turner-sports|url-status=dead}} The Weather Channel is also based just outside of the city in suburban Cobb County.{{cite web|url=https://weather.com/|title=The Official website of The Weather Channel|website=weather.com|publisher=The Weather Channel|access-date=April 23, 2022}}

Information technology (IT) has become an increasingly important part of Atlanta's economic output, earning the city the nickname the "Silicon peach". {{As of|2013}}, Atlanta contains the fourth-largest concentration of IT jobs in the US, numbering 85,000+. The city is also ranked as the sixth fastest-growing for IT jobs, with an employment growth of 4.8% in 2012 and a three-year growth near 9%, or 16,000 jobs. Companies are drawn to Atlanta's lower costs and educated workforce.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/joelkotkin/2013/05/23/the-cities-winning-the-battle-for-information-jobs/ |title=The Cities Winning The Battle For Information Jobs |magazine=Forbes |date=April 18, 2012 |access-date=June 2, 2013 |first=Joel |last=Kotkin}}{{cite news|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2011/10/28/growing-our-region-as-high-tech-hub.html |title=Growing our region as high-tech hub |publisher=Atlanta Business Chronicle |first1=Donna |last1=Hyland |url-access=subscription |date=October 28, 2011 |access-date=June 2, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420052048/http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2011/10/28/growing-our-region-as-high-tech-hub.html?page=all |archive-date= April 20, 2014 }}{{cite web|author= tsabulis |first2= J. Ed |last2=Marston |first3=Sam |last3=Williams |url=http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-forward/2012/12/19/technology-thriving/ |title=Technology thriving {{pipe}} Atlanta Forward |publisher=Blogs.ajc.com |date=December 19, 2012 |access-date=June 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121224082302/http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-forward/2012/12/19/technology-thriving/ |archive-date=December 24, 2012 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=295449 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130616031235/http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=295449 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 16, 2013 |title=Atlanta becoming Southeast "Silicon Valley" |publisher=11alive.com |date=June 6, 2013 |access-date=June 10, 2013 }}

Recently, Atlanta has been the center for film and television production, largely because of the Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act, which awards qualified productions a transferable income tax credit of 20% of all in-state costs for film and television investments of $500,000 or more.{{cite news |last1=Watson |first1=Andrea V. |title=Georgia Ranks No. 1 In Film Production With Perry, 'Ozark,' More |url=https://patch.com/georgia/atlanta/georgia-ranks-number-1-film-production |access-date=August 9, 2020 |work=Patch |publisher=Patch Media |date=August 4, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200809194131/https://patch.com/georgia/atlanta/georgia-ranks-number-1-film-production|archive-date= August 9, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.georgia.org/industries/film-entertainment/georgia-film-tv-production/resources-frequently-asked-questions|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213175803/http://www.georgia.org/GeorgiaIndustries/Entertainment/FilmTV/Pages/FilmFacts.aspx|url-status=dead|title=Film in Georgia |archive-date=February 13, 2012|website=Georgia Department of Economic Development}} Film and television production facilities based in Atlanta include Techwood Studios, Pinewood Atlanta Studios, Tyler Perry Studios, Williams Street Productions, and the EUE/Screen Gems soundstages. Film and television production injected $9.5 billion into Georgia's economy in 2017, with Atlanta garnering most of the projects.{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/07/10/georgias-film-industry-generates-9-5-billion.html|title=Georgia's film industry generates $9.5 billion economic impact in fiscal 2017|date=July 10, 2017|work=Atlanta Business Chronicle|access-date=September 28, 2018}} Atlanta has emerged as the all-time most popular destination for film production in the United States and one of the 10 most popular destinations globally.{{cite web|last1=Ho|first1=Rodney|title=Atlanta is the 10th most popular city for TV and film production in the world|url=https://www.myajc.com/blog/radiotvtalk/atlanta-the-10th-most-popular-city-for-and-film-production-the-world/priYfHYxkBJjGGL2b2XlQL/|website=myajc.com|publisher=Cox Media Group|access-date=July 1, 2018}} [https://www.ajc.com/blog/radiotvtalk/atlanta-the-10th-most-popular-city-for-and-film-production-the-world/priYfHYxkBJjGGL2b2XlQL/ Alt URL]

Compared to other American cities, Atlanta's economy was disproportionately affected by the Great Recession, with the city's economy being ranked 68th among 100 American cities in a September 2014 report due to an elevated unemployment rate, declining real income levels, and a depressed housing market.{{cite web|url=http://www.brookings.edu/research/interactives/metromonitor#/M12060|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121029021850/http://www.brookings.edu/research/interactives/metromonitor|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 29, 2012|title= "Metro Monitor – September 2014 – Atlanta – Sandy Springs – Marietta Georgia", Brookings Institution|date=September 26, 2014}}{{cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/business-boosters-admit-atlanta-crisis-amid-effort-boost-city-economy/hfG5Euk2RNKOvIxONQi5gN/|title=Business boosters admit Atlanta in 'crisis' amid effort to boost city's economy| author=Bluestein, Greg | date=June 25, 2012 | newspaper=Atlanta Journal-Constitution | access-date=June 4, 2021 }}{{cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/opinion/new-olympic-moment/S3UWICR2OFHP3NBB3CSDQZ4P5U/|title=New Olympic moment|access-date=June 4, 2021 |author=Leinberger, Christopher B. | date=May 28, 2012 | newspaper=Atlanta Journal-Constitution }}{{cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/opinion/hotlanta-isn-what-once-was/ImxwAjPHGPO6u8gz3nNecP/|title='Hotlanta' isn't what it once was|access-date=June 4, 2021 |date=January 25, 2012 | author=Leinberger, Christopher B. | newspaper=Atlanta Journal-Constitution }} From 2010 to 2011, Atlanta saw a 0.9% contraction in employment and plateauing income growth at 0.4%. Although unemployment had decreased to 7% by late 2014, this was still higher than the national unemployment rate of 5.8%.{{cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2014/11/metro-atlanta-unemployment-rate-falls-to-7-percent.html|title=Metro Atlanta unemployment rate falls to 7 percent|date=November 27, 2014|work=Atlanta Business Chronicle|access-date=June 12, 2015}} Atlanta's housing market has also struggled, with home prices dropping by 2.1% in January 2012, reaching levels not seen since 1996. Compared with a year earlier, the average home price in Atlanta plummeted to 17.3% in February 2012, thus becoming the largest annual drop in the history of the index for any American or global city.{{cite web|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-home-prices-drop-6th-130235133.html|title= "US home prices drop for 6th straight month", Christopher s. Rugaber, Associated Press|date=April 24, 2012|work=Yahoo Finance|access-date=October 28, 2014}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/01/business/economy/in-atlanta-housing-woes-reflect-nations-economic-pain.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/01/business/economy/in-atlanta-housing-woes-reflect-nations-economic-pain.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |url-access=limited|title=In Atlanta, Housing Woes Reflect Nation's Pain|date=February 1, 2012|work=The New York Times}}{{cbignore}} The decline in home prices prompted some economists to deem Atlanta the worst housing market in the nation at the height of the depression.{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/atlanta-is-the-worst-housing-market-in-the-country-2012-3|title= Presenting: The Worst Housing Market in the Country |last=Platt|first=Eric|date=March 27, 2012|work=Business Insider|access-date=October 28, 2014}} Nevertheless, the city's real estate market has resurged since 2012, so much median home value and rent growth significantly outpaced the national average by 2018, thanks to a rapidly-growing regional economy.{{cite news|url=https://www.myajc.com/business/atlanta-rent-growth-among-nation-fastest/fZ7DCMDwjEjiH004ZqzP1L/|title= Atlanta rent growth among nation's fastest |last=Kanell|first=Michael|date=March 26, 2018|work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|access-date=September 29, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://atlanta.curbed.com/2018/4/17/17247758/atlanta-housing-prices-sales-remax|title= Atlanta housing price gains have (yikes) nearly doubled national average |last=Green|first=Josh|date=April 17, 2018|publisher=Curbed|access-date=September 29, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/atlanta-named-among-america-fastest-growing-economies-new-ranking/uT3CYl472BJckpY8liW57J/|title= Atlanta named among America's fastest-growing economies in new ranking|last=Pirani|first=Fiza|date=October 3, 2017|work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|access-date=September 29, 2018}}

File:Museum oF Design Atlanta.jpg (MODA)]]

Atlanta has drawn residents from many other parts of the U.S., in addition to many recent immigrants to the U.S. who have made the metropolitan area their home, establishing Atlanta as the cultural and economic hub of an increasingly multi-cultural metropolitan area.{{cite web|title=Census.gov|url=https://www.census.gov/en.html|access-date=January 6, 2022|website=Census.gov|language=EN-US}}{{cite news|last1=Garner |first1=Marcus K. |last2=Schneider |first2=Craig |url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/foreign-born-population-continues-grow-metro-atlanta/tO8S1vQ3sJN4dfWKtwXFYK/ |title=Foreign-born population continues to grow in metro Atlanta |newspaper=Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=December 18, 2010 |access-date=June 4, 2021}} This unique cultural combination reveals itself in the arts district of Midtown, the quirky neighborhoods on the city's eastside, and the multi-ethnic enclaves found along Buford Highway.{{cite web |url=http://www.frommers.com/destinations/atlanta/0002010001.html |title=Introduction in Atlanta at Frommer's |publisher=Frommers.com |access-date=June 27, 2011 |archive-date=June 18, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070618034127/http://www.frommers.com/destinations/atlanta/0002010001.html |url-status=dead }}

{{Main|Arts in Atlanta}}

Atlanta is one of few United States cities with permanent, professional, and resident companies in all major performing arts disciplines: opera (Atlanta Opera), ballet (Atlanta Ballet), orchestral music (Atlanta Symphony Orchestra), and theater (the Alliance Theatre).{{cite web|url=https://www.atlantaopera.org/about/|title=The Atlanta Opera: About the Company|website=Atlanta Opera|access-date=February 5, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.atlantaballet.com/about|title=About us – Atlanta Ballet|website=Atlanta Ballet|access-date=February 6, 2023}}{{cite web|url= https://www.aso.org/about-the-aso/mission-history|title=Mission and History of the ASO|website=ASO.org|access-date=February 6, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.alliancetheatre.org/|title=Alliance Theatre Season – Atlanta's National Treasure|website=Alliancetheatre.org|access-date=February 6, 2023}} Atlanta attracts many touring Broadway acts, concerts, shows, and exhibitions catering to a variety of interests. Atlanta's performing arts district is concentrated in Midtown Atlanta at the Woodruff Arts Center, which is home to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Alliance Theatre. The city frequently hosts touring Broadway acts, especially at The Fox Theatre, a historic landmark among the highest-grossing theaters of its size.{{cite web|quote="1988: Performance magazine names the Fox Theatre the number one grossing theater in the 3,000–5,000 seat category with the most events, the greatest box office receipts, and the highest attendance in the U.S. and 2009: Billboard magazine names the Fox the No. 1 non-residency theater for the decade with 5,000 seats or less."|url=http://www.foxtheatre.org/foxtimeline.aspx|title=Fox Timeline|website=Fox Theatre|access-date=February 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314030422/https://foxtheatre.org/foxtimeline.aspx|archive-date=March 14, 2014}}

As a national center for the arts,{{cite journal |title=Top 25 Big Cities |first=Jennifer |last= Clary |date=Summer 2010 |journal=AmericanStyle |issue=72}} Atlanta is home to significant art museums and institutions. The renowned High Museum of Art is arguably the South's leading art museum. The Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) and the SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film are the only such museums in the Southeast.{{cite web | url=http://www.museumofdesign.org/history/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202194928/http://www.museumofdesign.org/history/ | access-date=February 13, 2017 | archive-date=February 2, 2017 | url-status=dead | title=History – MODA | publisher=Museum of Design Atlanta }}{{cite web|url=https://www.ajc.com/entertainment/arts--theater/new-scad-atlanta-museum-dedicated-fashion-open-october/4oTZ8zfpAPFZBulzDar5ZM/|title= New SCAD-Atlanta museum dedicated to fashion to open in October|last=Feaster|first=Felicia|date=August 28, 2015|work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|access-date=September 29, 2018}} Contemporary art museums include the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia. Institutions of higher education contribute to Atlanta's art scene, with the Savannah College of Art and Design's Atlanta campus providing the city's arts community with a steady stream of curators. Emory University's Michael C. Carlos Museum contains the largest collection of ancient art in the Southeast.{{cite web|url=http://travel.aol.com/travel-guide/united-states/georgia/atlanta-photo-michael-c-carlos-museum-pid-6093735/ |title=Michael C. Carlos Museum Pictures, Atlanta, GA – AOL Travel |publisher=Travel.aol.com |access-date=June 27, 2011}} The Spelman College Museum of Fine Art is the only museum in the nation to focus on art by women of the African diaspora.{{cite web | url=https://www.spelman.edu/about-us/news-and-events/news-releases/2023/01/30/black-american-portraits-travels-to-spelman-college-museum-of-fine-art-featuring-new-acquisitions-including-a-new-work-by-calida-rawles | title="Black American Portraits" travels to Spelman College Museum of Fine Art Featuring New Acquisitions, Including a New Work by Calida Rawles | access-date=June 1, 2024 | archive-date=June 1, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240601215736/https://www.spelman.edu/about-us/news-and-events/news-releases/2023/01/30/black-american-portraits-travels-to-spelman-college-museum-of-fine-art-featuring-new-acquisitions-including-a-new-work-by-calida-rawles | url-status=dead }} Georgia Tech's Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking features the largest collection of paper and paper-related artifacts in the world.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ipst.gatech.edu/amp |title=Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking Website |access-date=June 1, 2024 |archive-date=January 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190113232848/http://ipst.gatech.edu/amp/ |url-status=dead }}

Atlanta has become one of the U.S.'s best cities for street art in recent years.{{Cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/16/street-art-american-cities_n_7594180.html|title=The 19 Best Cities To See Street Art In The United States|last=Brooks|first=Katherine|date=June 16, 2015|work=Huffington Post|access-date=January 24, 2018|language=en-US}} It is home to Living Walls, an annual street art conference and the Outerspace Project, an annual event series that merges public art, live music, design, action sports, and culture. Examples of street art in Atlanta can be found on the Atlanta Street Art Map.{{Cite news|url=http://www.accessatlanta.com/news/local/new-website-provides-street-art-map-murals-all-over-atlanta/axKnRtljbLBEqoXrMUT3PL/|title=New website provides street art map to murals all over Atlanta|work=accessatlanta|access-date=January 24, 2018|archive-date=January 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115234719/http://www.accessatlanta.com/news/local/new-website-provides-street-art-map-murals-all-over-atlanta/axKnRtljbLBEqoXrMUT3PL/|url-status=dead}}

{{Main|Music of Atlanta|Atlanta hip hop}}

File:Tabernacle wide.jpg during a live performance by the band STS9]]

Atlanta is home to the nationally known Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, whose music directors have included Robert Shaw (1967–1988),

Yoel Levi (1988–2000), Robert Spano (2001–2021), and Nathalie Stutzmann (2022–present). The orchestra presents a season-long series of concerts including prominent world soloists such as pianists Kirill Gerstein, Yeol Eum Son, Inon Barnatan, Lang Lang, Francesco Piemontesi, cellist Alisa Weilerstein, singer Andrea Bocelli and many others.

Atlanta has played a major or contributing role in the development of various genres of American music at different points in the city's history. Beginning as early as the 1920s, Atlanta emerged as a center for country music, which was brought to the city by migrants from Appalachia.{{cite book |author=Wayne W. Daniel |title=Pickin' on Peachtree: A History of Country Music in Atlanta, Georgia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UzSc88iNbXkC |year=2001 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |isbn=978-0-252-06968-0}} During the countercultural 1960s, Atlanta hosted the Atlanta International Pop Festival, with the 1969 festival taking place more than a month before Woodstock and featuring many of the same bands. The city was also a center for Southern rock during its 1970s heyday: the Allman Brothers Band's hit instrumental "Hot 'Lanta" is an ode to the city, while Lynyrd Skynyrd's famous live rendition of "Free Bird" was recorded at the Fox Theatre in 1976, with lead singer Ronnie Van Zant directing the band to "play it pretty for Atlanta".{{cite news |title=Rock's Top Southern Sound Viewed as Lynyrd Skynyrd |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7MtVAAAAIBAJ&pg=6799%2C459278 |newspaper=The Robesonian |location=Lumberton, N.C. |date=November 7, 1976 |access-date=October 28, 2014}} During the 1980s, Atlanta had an active punk rock scene centered on two of the city's music venues, 688 Club and the Metroplex, and Atlanta famously played host to the Sex Pistols' first U.S. show, which was performed at the Great Southeastern Music Hall.{{cite web |url=https://creativeloafing.com/content-165784-atlanta-punk-a-reunion-for-688-and |title= Atlanta punk! A reunion for 688 and Metroplex |last=Henry |first=Scott |date=October 1, 2008 |work=Creative Loafing|access-date=October 28, 2014}}

The 1990s saw the city produce major mainstream acts across many different musical genres. Country music artist Travis Tritt, and R&B sensations Xscape, TLC, Usher and Toni Braxton, were just some of the musicians who call Atlanta home. The city also gave birth to Atlanta hip hop, a sub-genre that gained relevance and success with the introduction of the home-grown Atlantans known as Outkast, along with other Dungeon Family artists such as Organized Noize and Goodie Mob; however, it was not until the 2000s that Atlanta moved "from the margins to becoming hip-hop's center of gravity with another sub-genre called Crunk, part of a larger shift in hip-hop innovation to the South and East".{{Cite news|last=Caramanica|first=Jon|date=December 11, 2009|title=Gucci Mane, No Holds Barred|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/13/arts/music/13gucci.html|access-date=January 6, 2022|issn=0362-4331}}{{cite web|url=https://www.atlantamagazine.com/list/20-reasons-why-atlanta-americas-music-capital/we-are-trap/|title=20 Reasons Why Atlanta is America's Music Capital|page=1|website=Atlanta|date=May 11, 2018|access-date=November 7, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/remember-chainz-pink-trap-house-going-torn-down/q5K56M1MdI4L7W9Y3LCGSK/|title=Remember 2 Chainz's Pink Trap House? It's going to be torn down|website=AJC|date=July 13, 2018|last=Northam|first=Mitchell|access-date=November 7, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://happymag.tv/the-rise-and-fall-and-rise-again-of-atlanta-trap-music/|title=The rise and fall and rise again of Atlanta trap music|last=Saunders|first=Luke|date=February 4, 2020|website=HappyMag.tv|access-date=November 7, 2020}} In the 2000s, Atlanta was recognized by the Brooklyn-based Vice magazine for its indie rock scene, which revolves around the various live music venues found on the city's alternative eastside.{{cite news |last = Radford |first = Chad |title = Damn hipsters: Is Atlanta falling prey to its indie cachet? |url = https://creativeloafing.com/content-160928-damn-hipsters-is-atlanta-falling-prey-to-its-indie |work=Creative Loafing |date = February 25, 2009 |access-date=February 25, 2012}}{{cite web|last=Hines |first=Jack |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/intro-100-guide-atlanta/ |title=The VICE Guide to Atlanta |date=January 2000 |publisher=VICE |access-date=July 16, 2012}} To facilitate further local development, the state government provides qualified businesses and productions a 15% transferable income tax credit for in-state costs of music investments.{{cite magazine|last=Wicker |first=Jewel |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7997377/atlanta-music-industry-next-creative-business-hub |title=Can Atlanta Become the Music Industry's Next Business Hub? |magazine=Billboard |date=October 11, 2017 |access-date=September 29, 2018}}

{{Main|Economy of Atlanta#Film and television}}

As the national leader for motion picture and television production,{{cite web|url=https://atlantafi.com/heres-the-list-of-movies-being-filmed-in-atlanta-georgia-in-2019/|title=Here are the movies being filmed in Atlanta right now|publisher=AtlantaFi.com|access-date=April 2, 2019}} and a top ten global leader, Atlanta plays a significant role in the entertainment industry. Atlanta is home to the Tyler Perry Studios which is one of the largest film production studios in the U.S.{{cite web | url=https://perkinseastman.com/projects/tyler-perry-studios-creative-offices/ | title=Tyler Perry Studios Creative Offices }}{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2020/03/01/industry-leaders-say-tyler-perry-has-paved-the-way-for-filmmakers-of-color-to-succeed-in-georgia/4747702002/|title='Hollywood of the South:' After a decade, industry leaders succeed in making Atlanta a hub for filmmakers of color |last=Ellis|first=Nicquel Terry|date=March 1, 2020|website=USA Today|language=en-US|access-date=March 1, 2020}} Atlanta doubles for other parts of the world and fictional settlements in blockbuster productions, among them the newer titles from The Fast and the Furious franchise and Marvel features such as Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), The Change Up (2011), Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War (both 2018).{{cite web |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/04/13/how-much-did-fast-furious-8-spend-filming-in.html |title=How much did 'Fast & Furious 8' spend filming in Georgia?|first=Ellie |last=Hensley |date=April 13, 2017|work=Atlanta Business Chronicle |access-date=September 29, 2018}}{{cite web|last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |url=https://deadline.com/2017/04/marvel-black-panther-california-tax-credit-kevin-feige-atlanta-1202071374/ |title=Marvel Boss Says He'd 'Love To' Shoot Blockbuster Films In California, But Tax Incentives 'A Big Part' Why They're Not |work=Deadline Hollywood |date=April 18, 2017 |access-date=September 29, 2018}} On the other hand, Gone With the Wind (1939), Smokey and the Bandit (1977), The Dukes of Hazzard (1979), Sharky's Machine (1981), The Slugger's Wife (1985), Driving Miss Daisy (1989),{{cite web|url=https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/house-with-driving-miss-daisy-ties-listed-for-sale-druid-hills/Qbgx3LppTcqvJxtnUexxKI/|title=House with Driving Miss Daisy ties listed for sale in Druid Hills|last=Kueppers|first=Courtney|date=March 12, 2020|website=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|access-date=February 5, 2023}} ATL (2006), Ride Along (2014) and Baby Driver (2017) are among several notable examples of films actually set in Atlanta.Barth, Jack (1991) Roadside Hollywood: The Movie Lover's State-By-State Guide to Film Locations, Celebrity Hangouts, Celluloid Tourist Attractions, and More. Contemporary Books. Page 157. {{ISBN|9780809243266}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2017/06/baby-driver-loves-atlanta|title='Baby Driver' Is a High Octane Love Letter to Atlanta|first=Justin|last=Days|date=June 28, 2017|work=Complex|access-date=September 29, 2018|archive-date=December 1, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20181201212130/https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2017/06/baby-driver-loves-atlanta|url-status=dead}} It was announced in 2022 a film about the 1956 Sugar Bowl and '56 Atlanta riots would be produced here.{{cite web | url=https://www.timesonline.com/story/news/local/2021/12/29/pitts-bobby-grier-sr-became-first-black-play-sugar-bowl-in-1956/9025252002/ | title=Pitt football player changed course of history at 1956 Sugar Bowl }}{{cite web | url=https://bowlgamearmageddon.com/investors/ | title=Investors | access-date=December 20, 2022 | archive-date=November 30, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130094700/https://bowlgamearmageddon.com/investors/ | url-status=dead }}

{{Main|List of television shows set in Atlanta}}

The city also provides the backdrop for shows such as Ozark, Watchmen, The Walking Dead, Stranger Things, Love Is Blind, Star, Dolly Parton's Heartstrings, The Outsider, The Vampire Diaries, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta and Atlanta, in addition to a myriad of animated and reality television programming.{{cite web|last=Marquez |first=Jennifer |url=https://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/why-reality-tv-shows-flocking-to-atlanta/ |title=Here's why reality TV shows keep flocking to Atlanta |work=Atlanta |date=May 9, 2017 |access-date=September 29, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/four-animated-shows-you-didn-know-were-made-atlanta/vDAvYrrG5naHeSRLTiUimK/|title= Four animated shows you didn't know were made in Atlanta|last=Watson|first=Melanie|date=April 1, 2015|work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|access-date=September 29, 2018}}

{{Main|Festivals in Atlanta}}

Atlanta's festival season stretches from January through November.{{cite web|url=https://atlantafi.com/things-to-do-in-this-weekend-in-atlanta/ |title=Best Things To Do In Atlanta This Weekend|website=AtlantaFi.com|date=January 24, 2024 }} Atlanta has more festivals than any city in the southeastern United States.{{cite web|url=https://atlantafi.com/2019-atlanta-festivals-guide-live-music-good-food-drinks-galore/|title=All the 2019 Atlanta festivals|date=June 19, 2019 |publisher=AtlantaFi.com|access-date=June 27, 2019}} Some notable festivals in Atlanta include the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, Shaky Knees Music Festival, Dragon Con, the Peachtree Road Race, Music Midtown, the Atlanta Film Festival, National Black Arts Festival, Festival Peachtree Latino, the neighborhood festivals in Inman Park, Atkins Park, Virginia-Highland (Summerfest), and the Little Five Points Halloween festival.{{cite web|url=https://www.l5phalloween.com/|title=Little 5 Points Halloween Festival & Parade|website=Little 5 Points Halloween Festival & Parade}}{{cite web|url=https://365atlantatraveler.com/|title=Home – 365 Atlanta Traveler|website=365atlantatraveler.com}}

{{Main|Tourism in Atlanta|List of museums in Atlanta|Cuisine of Atlanta}}

File:MLK's Boyhood home.jpg's childhood home]]

File:The World of Coca-Cola.jpg]]

{{As of|2010}}, Atlanta is the seventh-most visited city in the United States, with over 35 million visitors per year.{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/2010/04/28/tourism-new-york-lifestyle-travel-las-vegas-cities_slide_5.html |work=Forbes |first=Valaer |last=Murray |title=List: America's Most-Visited Cities}} Although the most popular attraction among visitors to Atlanta is the Georgia Aquarium,{{cite web|url=http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/members-and-donors/about-us.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101009013533/http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/members-and-donors/about-us.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 9, 2010 |title=Members & Donors {{pipe}} About Us |publisher=Georgia Aquarium |date=November 23, 2005 |access-date=June 27, 2011 }} and until 2012, the world's largest indoor aquarium, Atlanta's tourism industry is mostly driven by the city's history museums and outdoor attractions. Atlanta contains a notable number of historical museums and sites, including the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, which includes the preserved childhood home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as his final resting place; the Atlanta Cyclorama & Civil War Museum, which houses a massive painting and diorama in-the-round, depicting the Battle of Atlanta in the Civil War; the World of Coca-Cola, featuring the history of the world-famous soft drink brand and its well-known advertising; the College Football Hall of Fame, which honors college football and its athletes; the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, which explores the civil rights movement and its connection to contemporary human rights movements throughout the world; the Carter Center and Presidential Library, housing U.S. President Jimmy Carter's papers and other material relating to the Carter administration and the Carter family's life; and the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum, where Mitchell wrote the best-selling novel Gone with the Wind.{{Cite web |title=Atlanta History Center Midtown |url=https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/buildings-and-grounds/atlanta-history-center-midtown/ |access-date=April 6, 2024 |website=Atlanta History Center |language=en-US}}

Atlanta contains several outdoor attractions.{{cite web |url=http://www.cjnews.com/node/89451 |title=Many quiet delights to be found in Atlanta |work=The Canadian Jewish News |author=Nancy Wigston |date=March 2, 2012 |access-date=July 16, 2012 |archive-date=September 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918043907/http://www.cjnews.com/node/89451 |url-status=dead }} The Atlanta Botanical Garden, adjacent to Piedmont Park, is home to the {{convert|600|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} Kendeda Canopy Walk, a skywalk that allows visitors to tour one of the city's last remaining urban forests from {{convert|40|ft|m|}} above the ground. The Canopy Walk is the only canopy-level pathway of its kind in the United States.{{Cite web |title=Arborguard Tree Specialists {{!}} Botanical Garden |url=https://www.arborguard.com/success-stories/atlanta-botanical-garden-canopy-walk/ |access-date=April 6, 2024 |website=www.arborguard.com |language=en-US}} Zoo Atlanta, in Grant Park, accommodates over 1,300 animals representing more than 220 species. Home to the nation's largest collections of gorillas and orangutans, the zoo is one of only four zoos in the U.S. to house giant pandas.{{cite web|url=https://zooatlanta.org/about/our-story/history/pandas-to-present/|title=1999–2017: Pandas to Present |publisher=Zoo Atlanta |access-date=June 27, 2011}} Festivals showcasing arts and crafts, film, and music, including the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, the Atlanta Film Festival, and Music Midtown, respectively, are also popular with tourists.{{cite web |title = Park History |publisher=Piedmont Park Conservancy |url = http://www.piedmontpark.org/history/history.html |access-date=July 7, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070704150329/http://www.piedmontpark.org/history/history.html |archive-date = July 4, 2007}}

Tourists are drawn to the city's culinary scene,{{cite web|url=https://atlantafi.com/best-new-atlanta-restaurants-to-try-in-2019/ |title=Best new Atlanta restaurants in 2019|publisher=AtlantaFi.com|access-date=July 27, 2019}} which comprises a mix of urban establishments garnering national attention, ethnic restaurants serving cuisine from every corner of the world, and traditional eateries specializing in Southern dining. Since the turn of the 21st century, Atlanta has emerged as a sophisticated restaurant town.{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna12923158 |title=Frommer's best bets for dining in Atlanta |work=NBC News |date=May 30, 2006 |access-date=June 27, 2011}} Many restaurants opened in the city's gentrifying neighborhoods have received praise at the national level, including Bocado, Bacchanalia, and Miller Union in West Midtown, Empire State South in Midtown, and Two Urban Licks and Rathbun's on the east side.{{cite web|url=http://www.twourbanlicks.com/p/about-two.html |title=About two |publisher=TWO urban licks |access-date=June 27, 2011}}{{cite web |url=http://www.kevinrathbun.com/details-magazine.html |title=Details Magazine – Official Site |publisher=Kevinrathbun.com |access-date=June 27, 2011 |archive-date=November 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111101160854/http://www.kevinrathbun.com/details-magazine.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2010/11/18/america-s-hottest-new-restaurants.html |title=America's Hottest New Restaurants |website=The Daily Beast |date=November 18, 2010 |access-date=June 27, 2011}} In 2011, The New York Times characterized Empire State South and Miller Union as reflecting "a new kind of sophisticated Southern sensibility centered on the farm but experienced in the city".{{cite news |last=Severson |first=Kim |url=http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/travel/08choice-atlanta.html |title=Atlanta serves sophisticated Southern |department=Atlanta (Ga) |work=The New York Times |date=May 6, 2011 |access-date=May 17, 2012}} Visitors seeking to sample international Atlanta are directed to Buford Highway, the city's international corridor, and suburban Gwinnett County. There, the nearly-million immigrants that make Atlanta home have established various authentic ethnic restaurants representing virtually every nationality on the globe.{{cite web|last=Stuart|first=Gwynedd|url=https://creativeloafing.com/content-184840-cover-story-highway-to-heaven|title=Highway to heaven|work=Creative Loafing|date=June 24, 2004|access-date=June 27, 2011}}{{cite web|last=Yeomans |first=Curt |url=https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/gwinnett-a-large-draw-for-koreans-in-georgia/article_02338702-b0a7-56af-9dbd-355df0fd17ac.html |title=Gwinnett a large draw for Koreans in Georgia |work=Gwinnett Daily Post |date=April 18, 2016 |access-date=September 29, 2018}} For traditional Southern fare, one of the city's most famous establishments is The Varsity, a long-lived fast food chain and the world's largest drive-in restaurant.{{cite web|title = Welcome to the Varsity: What'll Ya Have?|url = http://www.thevarsity.com/|publisher=The Varsity |access-date=July 7, 2007}} Mary Mac's Tea Room and Paschal's are more formal destinations for Southern food.{{cite web|url=https://marymacs.com/|title=Mary Mac's Tea Room Homepage: Welcome to Atlanta's Dining Room!|website=marymacs.com|access-date=February 5, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.paschalsatlanta.com/|title=Welcome to Paschal's Restaurant & Event Space|website=paschalsatlanta.com|access-date=February 5, 2023}}

{{main|Cuisine of Atlanta}}

Atlanta is best known for its barbecue, hamburgers, Southern fried chicken, and lemon pepper wings.{{cite web |url=https://www.atlantaeats.com/blog/lemon-pepper-wings/ |title=Why lemon pepper wings reign supreme in Atlanta |first=Joey |last=Weiss |date=November 1, 2021 |website=atlantaeats.com}}{{cite web|url=https://discoveratlanta.com/dining/what-food-is-atlanta-known-for/ |title=What Food is Atlanta Known For? Try These |work=Discover Atlanta |access-date=July 24, 2022}} Buford Highway (immediately northeast of Atlanta) is home to many authentic ethnic cuisines such as Mexican and Asian foods.{{cite web|url=https://discoveratlanta.com/dining/buford-highway/ |title=Where to Eat on Atlanta's Buford Highway |work=Discover Atlanta |access-date=July 24, 2022}} Atlanta's culinary landscape is highlighted by its inclusion in the prestigious Michelin Guide, featuring several restaurants recognized for their exceptional cuisine and premier dining destination in the Southeast.{{Cite web |title=This Southern U.S. City Now Has Michelin-star Restaurants for the First Time |url=https://www.travelandleisure.com/atlanta-georgia-first-ever-michelin-guide-8386464#:~:text=The%20newly%20starred%20restaurants%20are,,%20and%20Muj%C5%8D%20(Japanese). |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Travel + Leisure |language=en}} Atlanta's rapidly expanding food scene is marked by a notable diversity, particularly with the increasing variety and number of Indian restaurants across the city and its metropolitan area,{{Cite web |last=Godbole |first=Nandita |date=2022-11-16 |title=12 Must-Try Indian Restaurants Around Atlanta |url=https://atlanta.eater.com/maps/best-indian-food-restaurants-atlanta |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Eater Atlanta |language=en}} including Chai Pani, a Michelin Guide restaurant.

{{Main|Sports in Atlanta}}{{Multiple image

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| alt1 = Truist Park

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| image3 = Mercedes Benz Stadium time lapse capture 2017-08-13.jpg

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Sports are an important part of the culture of Atlanta. The city is home to professional franchises for four major team sports: the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball,{{Cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/braves|title=Official Atlanta Braves Website|website=Atlanta Braves|publisher=MLB Advanced Media|access-date=August 12, 2022}} the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association,{{Cite web|url=https://www.nba.com/hawks|title=The Official website of the Atlanta Hawks|website=Hawks.com|publisher=Atlanta Hawks|access-date=August 12, 2022}} the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League,{{Cite web|url=https://www.atlantafalcons.com/|title=Atlanta Falcons Homepage|website=Atlantafalcons.com|publisher=Atlanta Falcons|access-date=August 12, 2022}} and Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer.{{Cite web|url= https://www.atlutd.com/|title=Atlanta United FC Official website|website=atlutd.com|access-date=August 12, 2022}} In addition, many of the city's universities participate in collegiate sports. The city also regularly hosts international, professional, and collegiate sporting events.{{Cite web |title=Sporting Events in Atlanta |url=https://discoveratlanta.com/events/sports/ |access-date=October 14, 2022 |website=Discover Atlanta |language=en}}

The Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966. Originally established as the Boston Red Stockings in 1871, they are the oldest continually operating professional sports franchise in the United States.{{cite web|last1=Stirgus|first1=Eric|title=Braves go back, back, back|url=http://www.politifact.com/georgia/statements/2010/dec/14/atlanta-braves/braves-go-back-back-back/|website=Politifact|access-date=October 13, 2016|date=December 14, 2010}} The Braves franchise overall has won eighteen National League pennants and four World Series championships in three different cities, with their first in 1914 as the Boston Braves, in 1957 as the Milwaukee Braves, and in 1995 and 2021 as the Atlanta Braves.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/ATL/index.shtml|title=Atlanta Braves Team History & Encyclopedia|publisher=Baseball-Reference.Com|access-date=July 8, 2022}} The 1995 title occurred during an unprecedented run of 14 straight divisional championships from 1991 to 2005."[http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/atl/history/story_of_the_braves.jsp The Story of the Braves] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030062629/http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/atl/history/story_of_the_braves.jsp |date=October 30, 2015 }}." Atlanta Braves. Retrieved on April 29, 2008.{{cite web|title=Braves win 1st World Series title since 1995|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/braves-win-world-series-2021|access-date=November 8, 2021|website=MLB.com|language=en}} The team plays at Truist Park, having moved from Turner Field for the 2017 season. The new stadium is outside the city limits, located {{convert|10|mi|km}} northwest of downtown in the Cumberland/Galleria area of Cobb County.{{cite news|title=Braves break in new ballpark with 8–5 win over Yankees|first=Dave|last=O'Brien|url=http://www.ajc.com/sports/baseball/braves-break-new-ballpark-with-win-over-yankees/IiwSEvdTwNb7aON319YxPP/|newspaper=Atlanta Journal-Constitution|date=March 31, 2017|access-date=April 2, 2017|archive-date=April 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401051850/http://www.ajc.com/sports/baseball/braves-break-new-ballpark-with-win-over-yankees/IiwSEvdTwNb7aON319YxPP/|url-status=live}}

The Atlanta Falcons have played in Atlanta since their inception in 1966. The team plays its home games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, having moved from the Georgia Dome in 2017. The Falcons have won the division title six times (1980, 1998, 2004, 2010, 2012, 2016) and the NFC championship in 1998 and 2016. They have been unsuccessful in both of their Super Bowl trips, losing to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999 and to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI in 2017,{{cite web |url=http://www.atlantafalcons.com/People/Alumni/History.aspx |title=History: Atlanta Falcons |publisher=Atlanta Falcons |access-date=April 29, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225201702/http://www.atlantafalcons.com/People/Alumni/History.aspx |archive-date=February 25, 2009 }} the largest comeback in Super Bowl history.{{cite web|url=http://www.footballdb.com/games/boxscore.html?gid=2017020501|title=Super Bowl LI Box Score|work=The Football Database|publisher=Patrick Gilligan|date=February 5, 2017|access-date=February 7, 2017}} In 2019, Atlanta also briefly hosted an Alliance of American Football team, the Atlanta Legends, but the league was suspended during its first season and the team folded.

The Atlanta Hawks were founded in 1946 as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, playing in Moline, Illinois. They moved to Atlanta from St. Louis in 1968 and play their games in State Farm Arena.{{Cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/ATL/|title=Atlanta Hawks Franchise Index|publisher=Basketball-Reference.Com|access-date=August 14, 2022}} The Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association shared an arena with the Hawks for most of their existence; however the WNBA team moved to a smaller arena in the southern Atlanta suburb of College Park in 2021.{{cite web|title =Welcome to the Official Home of the Atlanta Dream|work=WNBA.com|publisher=WNBA Enterprises, LLC|date = January 22, 2008|url = http://dream.wnba.com/|access-date=February 19, 2017}}

Professional soccer has been played in some form in Atlanta since 1967. Atlanta's first professional soccer team was the Atlanta Chiefs of the original North American Soccer League which won the 1968 NASL Championship and defeated English first division club Manchester City F.C. twice in international friendlies. In 1998 the Atlanta Silverbacks were formed, playing the new North American Soccer League. They now play as an amateur club in the National Premier Soccer League. In 2017, Atlanta United FC began play as Atlanta's first premier-division professional soccer club since the Chiefs.{{Cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/sports/pro-sports/atlanta-gets-mls-franchise/HvSPqVRFe47jyYxbmMAJTP/|title=Atlanta gets MLS franchise|work=ajc|access-date=November 22, 2018}} They won MLS Cup 2018, defeating the Portland Timbers 2–0. Fan reception has been very positive; the team has broken several single-game and season attendance records for both MLS and the U.S. Open Cup. The club is estimated by Forbes to be the most valuable club in Major League Soccer.{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2018/11/14/mls-most-valuable-teams-2018/|title=Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Teams 2018: Atlanta United Debuts On Top|last=Smith|first=Chris|work=Forbes|access-date=November 22, 2018|language=en}} The United States Soccer Federation moved their headquarters from Chicago to Atlanta in 2023 with the help of Falcons and Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank, with the new training center bearing his name.

In ice hockey, Atlanta has had two National Hockey League franchises, both of which relocated to a city in Canada after playing in Atlanta for fewer than 15 years. The Atlanta Flames (now the Calgary Flames) played from 1972 to 1980, and the Atlanta Thrashers (now the Winnipeg Jets) played from 1999 to 2011. The Atlanta Gladiators, a minor league hockey team in the ECHL, have played in the Atlanta suburb of Duluth since 2003.{{cite web|date=September 14, 2015|title=Official Website – Gwinnett Gladiators|url=http://www.atlantagladiators.com/site/news/article.asp?art=3435|access-date=December 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914063526/http://www.atlantagladiators.com/site/news/article.asp?art=3435|archive-date=September 14, 2015}}

The ASUN Conference moved its headquarters to Atlanta in 2019.{{Cite news|url=https://asunsports.org/general/2019-20/releases/20190701kv6vpp|title=ASUN Conference Headquarters Relocates to Atlanta|access-date=January 29, 2021|archive-date=November 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126074159/https://asunsports.org/general/2019-20/releases/20190701kv6vpp|url-status=dead}}

Several other emerging sports also have professional franchises in Atlanta. The Georgia Swarm compete in the National Lacrosse League. The Atlanta Vibe compete in the Pro Volleyball Federation. In Rugby union, on September 21, 2018, Major League Rugby announced that Atlanta was one of the expansion teams joining the league for the 2020 season{{cite web |url=http://www.americasrugbynews.com/2018/09/21/major-league-rugby-confirms-boston-atlanta-2020/ |title=Major League Rugby confirms Boston and Atlanta for 2020 – Americas Rugby News |website=Americasrugbynews.com |date=September 21, 2018}} named Rugby ATL.{{cite web |url=https://www.usmlr.com/news/atlantas-new-major-league-rugby-team-picks-a-name/ |title=Atlanta's New Major League Rugby Team Picks a Name |website=USMLR.com |date=February 26, 2019 |access-date=August 9, 2019 |archive-date=August 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809214236/https://www.usmlr.com/news/atlantas-new-major-league-rugby-team-picks-a-name/ |url-status=dead }} while in Rugby league, on March 31, 2021, Atlanta Rhinos left the USA Rugby League and turned fully professional for the first time, joining the new North American Rugby League.{{cite web|url=https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/new-north-american-rugby-league-not-sanctioned-by-governing-body/|title=New North American rugby league 'not sanctioned' by governing body|first=James|last=Gordon|date=April 15, 2021|website=LoveRugbyLeague}}

Atlanta has long been known as the "capital" of college football in America.{{cite web |title=How Atlanta Became The College Football Capital of America |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/rayglier/2019/12/27/how-atlanta-became-the-college-football-capital-of-america/ |website=Forbes}} It is home to four-time national champion Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football and the Georgia State Panthers. Also, Atlanta is within a few hours driving distance of many of the universities that make up the Southeastern Conference, college football's most profitable and popular conference,{{cite web |url=https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2016/4/26/11456612/athletic-department-finances-sec-big-ten-pac-12-acc|title=The SEC makes more money than every other conference, and it's not close|last=Berkes|first=Peter|website=SB Nation|date=April 26, 2016|access-date=November 7, 2020}} and annually hosts the SEC Championship Game. Other annual college football events include the Aflac Kickoff Game, the Celebration Bowl, the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl which is one of College Football's major New Year's Six Bowl games and a College Football Playoff bowl.{{cite news|url= http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2011/04/29/atlanta-has-what-it-takes-to-host.html|title=Atlanta has what it takes to host major events|newspaper=Atlanta Business Chronicle|access-date=February 1, 2011|first=Dan|last=Corso|date=April 29, 2011}} Atlanta additionally hosted the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship and eventually would the host the 2025 event in the city as well.

Atlanta regularly hosts a variety of sporting events. Most famous was the Centennial 1996 Summer Olympics.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-09-19-mn-539-story.html|title=Atlanta Selected to Host Olympic Games in 1996|last=Harvey|first=Randy|date=September 19, 1990|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 12, 2022}}{{Cite web|url= https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/1996-olympics-energized-atlanta-but-uneven-legacy-lives-on/PAW3MLS4DZF5VJGH3KXFBG2SI4/|title=1996 Olympics energized Atlanta, but uneven legacy lives on|last=Hallerman|first=Tamar|date=August 7, 2021|website=Atlanta Journal-Constitution|access-date=August 12, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.11alive.com/article/sports/olympics/olympification-of-atlanta-transformation-of-the-black-mecca/85-45d5b791-16d3-490e-8b7c-fd037eec0daf|title=The Olympification of Atlanta: Transformation of the Black Mecca|last=Abdulahi|first=Neima|date=July 16, 2021|website=11Alive.com|access-date=November 14, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/lasting-legacy-1996-olympics-park-that-pushed-atlanta-into-spotlight/BVTHHEYEQNGVDKF54JUJGJAARY/|title=A Lasting Legacy: the 1996 Olympics and the park that pushed Atlanta into the spotlight|last=Corona|first=Wendy|date=July 11, 2023|website=WSBTV.com|access-date=November 14, 2023}} The city has hosted the Super Bowl three times: Super Bowl XXVIII in 1994, Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000, and Super Bowl LIII in 2019.{{cite news |last1=Culpepper |first1=JuliaKate |title=Atlanta Super Bowl date announced |url=https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-super-bowl-date-announced/yiA8SP0acoKpernbvjuivJ/ |newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |access-date=October 10, 2018}} In professional golf, The Tour Championship, the final PGA Tour event of the season, is played annually at East Lake Golf Club. In 2001 and 2011, Atlanta hosted the PGA Championship, one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, at the Atlanta Athletic Club. In 2011, Atlanta hosted professional wrestling's annual WrestleMania.{{Cite web|url=https://corporate.wwe.com/news/company-news/2010/02-01-2010b|title=Atlanta to Host WrestleMania XXVII|date=February 1, 2010|website=corporate.wwe.com|publisher=WWE|access-date=August 12, 2022}} In soccer, Atlanta has hosted numerous international friendlies and CONCACAF Gold Cup matches. The city has hosted the NCAA Final Four Men's Basketball Championship five times, most recently in 2020.{{cn|date=April 2025}} Atlanta will serve as one of the eleven US host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/articles/fifa-to-announce-host-cities-for-fifa-world-cup-2026|title=FIFA announces hosts cities for FIFA World Cup 2026|website=Fifa.com|access-date=July 28, 2023}} Every summer, Atlanta hosts the Atlanta Open, a men's professional tennis tournament.

Running is a popular local sport, and the city declares itself to be "Running City USA".{{cite news|url= https://www.atlantatrackclub.org/news/atlanta-track-club-declares-atlanta-is|title=Atlanta Track Club Declares; Atlanta is Running City USA|website=Atlanta Track Club|access-date=November 23, 2018|date=July 2, 2018}} The city hosts the Peachtree Road Race, the world's largest 10K run, annually on Independence Day.{{cite news|url= http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2005/11/14/focus3.html|title=Peachtree race director deflects praise to others|newspaper=Atlanta Business Chronicle|access-date=January 1, 2008|first=Allison|last=Shirreffs|date=November 14, 2005}} Atlanta also hosts the nation's largest Thanksgiving day half marathon, which starts and ends at Center Parc Stadium.{{cite web|url=https://www.mdjonline.com/neighbor_newspapers/northside_sandy_springs/sports/to-participate-in-invesco-qqq-thanksgiving-day-half-marathon-nation/article_76ca7522-ecd7-11e8-b41f-67e9b610dfb9.html|title=11,000 to participate in Invesco QQQ Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon, nation's largest|website=Northside Neighbor|access-date=November 23, 2018|date=November 20, 2018}} The Atlanta Marathon, which starts and ends at Centennial Olympic Park, routes through many of the city's historic landmarks.{{cite web|url=https://www.ajc.com/sports/nearly-000-participate-12th-annual-publix-georgia-marathon-half-marathon-and/Wba7menXuXXT7AaTKQFPoK/|title=Nearly 10,000 participate in 12th annual Publix Georgia Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K|website=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|last=Moore|first=Maghen|access-date=November 23, 2018|date=March 18, 2018}}

{{Main|Parks in Atlanta}}

File:Fountains Centennial Olympic Park.jpg]]

Atlanta's 343 parks, nature preserves, and gardens cover {{convert|3622|acre|km2}},{{cite web |url=http://www.atlantaga.gov/index.aspx?page=258 |title=List of parks, alphabetical |work=City of Atlanta Online |date=November 27, 2011 |access-date=May 17, 2012 |archive-date=May 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512114248/http://atlantaga.gov/index.aspx?page=258 |url-status=dead }} which amounts to only 5.6% of the city's total acreage, compared to the national average of just over 10%.{{cite news|last=McWilliams |first=Jeremiah |url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/atlanta-parks-system-ranks-below-average/TqRKj06QfRxVm0s2i7s1zK/ |title=Atlanta parks system ranks below average |newspaper=ajc.com |date=May 28, 2012 |access-date=June 4, 2021 }}{{cite web |url=http://oldfourthward.11alive.com/news/news/124252-atlanta-parks-get-low-marks-national-survey |title=Atlanta parks get low marks in national survey |work=Old Fourth Ward News |date=July 6, 2012 |access-date=July 16, 2012 |archive-date=January 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130116020037/http://oldfourthward.11alive.com/news/news/124252-atlanta-parks-get-low-marks-national-survey |url-status=dead }} However, 77% of Atlantans live within a 10-minute walk of a park, a percentage slightly better than the national average of 76%.{{cite web | url=https://atlanta.urbanize.city/post/parkscore-ranking-atl-slips-parks-national-trust-public-land#:~:text=The%20City%20in%20a%20Forest,Kansas%20City%20and%20Baltimore%2C%20respectively | title=Despite park additions, Atlanta slips in national ParkScore ranking | date=May 30, 2023 }} In its 2023 ParkScore ranking, The Trust for Public Land reported that among the park systems of the 100 most populous U.S. cities, Atlanta's park system received a ranking of 28. Piedmont Park, in Midtown, is Atlanta's most iconic green space.{{cite web|last=Kahn |first=Michael |url=https://atlanta.curbed.com/2016/5/4/11585312/parks-in-atlanta-past-present |title=Atlanta's Parks: Then and Now – Curbed Atlanta |publisher=Atlanta.curbed.com |date=May 4, 2016 |access-date=May 18, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://piedmontpark.org/things-to-do/tours-and-guides/ |title=Tours, Attractions and Sightseeing in Atlanta's Piedmont Park |publisher=Piedmontpark.org |date=February 16, 2022 |access-date=May 18, 2022}} The park, which underwent a major renovation and expansion in recent years, attracts visitors from across the region and hosts cultural events throughout the year. Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry, a 280-acre green space and reservoir, opened in 2021 and is the city's largest park. Other notable city parks include Centennial Olympic Park, a legacy of the 1996 Summer Olympics that forms the centerpiece of the city's tourist district; Woodruff Park, which anchors the campus of Georgia State University; Grant Park, home to Zoo Atlanta; and Chastain Park, which houses an amphitheater used for live music concerts.{{cite web | url=https://www.atlantaareaparks.com/parks/westside-reservoir-park/ | title=Westside Reservoir Park, Fulton }} The Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, in the northwestern corner of the city, preserves a {{convert|48|mi|abbr=on}} stretch of the river for public recreation opportunities.{{cite web | url=https://www.nps.gov/chat/planyourvisit/index.htm | title=Plan Your Visit – Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service) }}

The Atlanta Botanical Garden, adjacent to Piedmont Park, contains formal gardens, including a Japanese garden and a rose garden, woodland areas, and a conservatory that includes indoor exhibits of plants from tropical rainforests and deserts. The BeltLine, a former rail corridor that forms a {{convert|22|mi|abbr=on}} loop around Atlanta's core, has been transformed into a series of parks, connected by a multi-use trail, increasing Atlanta's park space by 40%.{{cite web|first=Kaid|last=Benfield|url=http://grist.org/cities/2011-07-26-the-countrys-most-ambitious-smart-growth-project/ |title=The Atlanta BeltLine: The country's most ambitious smart growth project |publisher=Grist |date=July 27, 2011 |access-date=July 16, 2012}}

Atlanta offers resources and opportunities for amateur and participatory sports and recreation. Golf and tennis are popular in Atlanta, and the city contains six public golf courses and 182 tennis courts. Facilities along the Chattahoochee River cater to watersports enthusiasts, providing the opportunity for kayaking, canoeing, fishing, boating, or tubing. The city's only skate park, a {{convert|15000|sqft|m2}} facility that offers bowls, curbs, and smooth-rolling concrete mounds, is at Historic Fourth Ward Park.{{cite web|url=http://www.atlanta.net/things-to-do/old-fourth-ward-skate-park/|title=Old Fourth Ward Skate Park |access-date=February 14, 2017}}

{{Main|Atlanta tree canopy}}

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| source = —National Geographic magazine, in naming Atlanta a "Place of a Lifetime"{{cite web|first=Jamie|last=Gumbrecht |url=http://blogs.ajc.com/inside-access/2009/09/17/atlanta-a-national-geographic-traveler-place-of-a-lifetime/ |title=Atlanta a National Geographic Traveler 'Place of a Lifetime' |publisher=Inside Access |date=September 17, 2009 |access-date=June 27, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230102913/http://blogs.ajc.com/inside-access/2009/09/17/atlanta-a-national-geographic-traveler-place-of-a-lifetime/ |archive-date=December 30, 2011}}

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Atlanta has a reputation as a "city in a forest" due to an abundance of trees that is rare among major cities.{{cite news |last=Brown |first=Robbie |date=July 21, 2011 |title=Atlanta Finds Its Identity as Tree Haven Is Threatened |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/22/us/22trees.html |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/22/us/22trees.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}{{cbignore}}{{cite web |last=Bonner |first=Jeanne |date=March 4, 2010 |title=WABE: Atlanta's tree canopy at risk (March 4, 2010) |url=http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wabe/news.newsmain/article/0/6/1619579/Science/Atlanta%27s.tree.canopy.at.risk |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623132657/http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wabe/news.newsmain/article/0/6/1619579/Science/Atlanta%27s.tree.canopy.at.risk |archive-date=June 23, 2011 |access-date=June 27, 2011 |publisher=WABE}}{{cite web |last=Warhop |first=Bill |title=City Observed: Power Plants |url=http://www.atlantamagazine.com/article.php?id=207 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607192757/http://www.atlantamagazine.com/article.php?id=207 |archive-date=June 7, 2007 |access-date=September 28, 2007 |work=Atlanta}} The city's main street is named after a tree, and beyond the Downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead business districts, the skyline gives way to a dense canopy of woods that spreads into the suburbs. The city is home to the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, an annual arts and crafts festival held one weekend during early April, when the native dogwoods are in bloom. The nickname is factually accurate, as vegetation covers 47.9% of the city as of 2017,{{cite web |last=Saporta |first=Maria |date=May 7, 2017 |title=Atlanta's urban tree canopy leads the nation; but most trees are not protected |url=https://saportareport.com/atlantas-urban-tree-canopy-leads-nation-trees-not-protected/ |access-date=September 28, 2018 |publisher=Saporta Report}} the highest among all major American cities, and well above the national average of 27%.{{cite web |date=April 25, 2010 |title=Tree Cover % – How Does Your City Measure Up? |url=http://www.deeproot.com/blog/blog-entries/tree-cover-how-does-your-city-measure-up |access-date=June 27, 2011 |publisher=DeepRoot Blog}} Atlanta's tree coverage does not go unnoticed—it was the main reason cited by National Geographic in naming Atlanta a "Place of a Lifetime".{{cite web |title=Atlanta, Georgia – National Geographic's Ultimate City Guides |url=http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/city-guides/atlanta-georgia/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725081657/http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/city-guides/atlanta-georgia/ |archive-date=July 25, 2011 |access-date=June 27, 2011 |publisher=National Geographic Society}}

The city's lush tree canopy, which filters out pollutants and cools sidewalks and buildings, has increasingly been under assault from man and nature due to heavy rains, drought, aged forests, new pests, and urban construction. A 2001 study found Atlanta's heavy tree cover declined from 48% in 1974 to 38% in 1996.{{cite web |date=October 30, 2008 |title=Changes in Atlanta's Tree Canopy |url=http://www.treenextdoor.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=148&Itemid=179 |access-date=June 27, 2011 |publisher=Treenextdoor.org}} Community organizations and the city government are addressing the problem. Trees Atlanta, a non-profit organization founded in 1985, has planted and distributed over 113,000 shade trees in the city,{{cite web |title=About Us |url=http://www.treesatlanta.org/aboutus.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070922033545/http://www.treesatlanta.org/aboutus.html |archive-date=September 22, 2007 |access-date=September 28, 2007 |publisher=Trees Atlanta}} and Atlanta's government has awarded $130,000 in grants to neighborhood groups to plant trees. Fees are additionally imposed on developers that remove trees on their property per a citywide ordinance, active since 1993.{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Matt |date=May 16, 2018 |title=Atlanta's Building Boom Is Destroying Its Famous Forests |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/atlantas-building-boom-is-destroying-its-famous-forests |access-date=September 28, 2018 |work=The Daily Beast}}

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{{Main|Government of Atlanta|List of mayors of Atlanta|Crime in Atlanta}}Atlanta is governed by a mayor and the 15-member Atlanta City Council. The city council consists of one member from each of the city's 12 districts and three at-large members. The mayor may veto a bill passed by the council, but the council can override the veto with a two-thirds majority.{{cite web|title=Atlanta City Councilman H Lamar Willis|publisher=H Lamar Willis|url=http://www.hlamarwillis.com/CityCouncil.htm|access-date=June 19, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090824215442/http://www.hlamarwillis.com/CityCouncil.htm|archive-date=August 24, 2009}} The mayor of Atlanta is Andre Dickens, a Democrat elected on a nonpartisan ballot whose first term in office began on January 3, 2022.{{cite news|title=Keisha Lance Bottoms sworn in as the new Mayor of Atlanta|newspaper=Atlanta Journal-Constitution|url=http://www.ajc.com/news/local/keisha-lance-bottoms-begins-her-inauguration-day-with-prayer/ckbTRT2kRvUxJXaTs2iVpL/}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/30/us/andre-dickens-atlanta-mayor-election.html|title=Andre Dickens, a Veteran City Council Member Is Elected Mayor of Atlanta|last=Fausset|first=Richard|date=November 30, 2021|website=The New York Times|access-date=February 5, 2023}} Every mayor elected since 1973 has been Black.{{cite web|first=Lawrence|last=Kestenbaum|title=Mayors of Atlanta, Georgia|website=The Political Graveyard|url=http://www.politicalgraveyard.com/geo/GA/ofc/atlanta.html|access-date=March 7, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080218193526/http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/GA/ofc/atlanta.html|archive-date=February 18, 2008|url-status=live}} In 2001, Shirley Franklin became the first woman to be elected mayor of Atlanta, and the first African-American woman to serve as mayor of a major Southern city.{{cite web|author1=Josh Fecht|author2=Andrew Stevens|name-list-style=amp|title=Shirley Franklin: Mayor of Atlanta|publisher=City Mayors|date=November 14, 2007|url=http://www.citymayors.com/usa/atlanta.html|access-date=January 27, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216164651/http://www.citymayors.com/usa/atlanta.html|archive-date=February 16, 2008|url-status=live}} Atlanta city politics suffered from a notorious reputation for corruption during the 1990s administration of Mayor Bill Campbell, who was convicted by a federal jury in 2006 on three counts of tax evasion in connection with gambling winnings during trips he took with city contractors.{{cite news|title=Atlanta's former mayor sentenced to prison|work=CNN|date=June 13, 2006|url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/06/13/mayor.sentenced/index.html|access-date=January 2, 2008}}

As the state capital, Atlanta is the site of most of Georgia's state government. The Georgia State Capitol building, located downtown, houses the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor and secretary of state, as well as the General Assembly. The Governor's Mansion is in a residential section of Buckhead. Atlanta serves as the regional hub for many arms of the federal bureaucracy, including the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).{{cite web |title = Commemorating CDC's 60th Anniversary |work = CDC Website |publisher = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) |url = https://www.cdc.gov/about/history/60th.htm |access-date = April 18, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080306091649/http://www.cdc.gov/about/history/60th.htm |archive-date = March 6, 2008 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/101493 |title=Georgia Federal Buildings |publisher=Gsa.gov |access-date=May 17, 2012 |archive-date=March 22, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322164754/http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/101493 |url-status=dead }} The City of Atlanta annexed the CDC into its territory effective January 1, 2018.{{cite news|author=Niesse, Mark|url=http://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/city-atlanta-expansion-emory-and-cdc-approved/kMYzghHbvzD6THTyWpN1zH/|title=City of Atlanta's expansion to Emory and CDC approved|work=Atlanta Journal-Constitution|access-date=December 5, 2017}} Atlanta also plays an important role in the federal judiciary system, containing the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.{{Cite web |title=Georgia Federal Buildings |url=https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/gsa-regions/region-4-southeast-sunbelt/buildings-and-facilities/georgia |access-date=April 6, 2024 |website=www.gsa.gov |language=en}}

Historically, Atlanta has been a stronghold for the Democratic Party. Although municipal elections are officially nonpartisan, nearly all of the city's elected officials are registered Democrats. The city is split among 14 state house districts and four state senate districts, all held by Democrats. At the federal level, Atlanta is split between three congressional districts. Most of the city is in the 5th district, represented by Democrat Nikema Williams. Much of southern Atlanta is in the 13th district, represented by Democrat David Scott. A small portion in the north is in the 11th district, represented by Republican Barry Loudermilk.{{cite web|title=Georgia Senators, Representatives, and Congressional District Maps|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/GA#representatives|website=GovTrack.us|language=en|access-date=May 11, 2020}}

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| caption2 = Atlanta Fire Rescue Department vehicle

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The city is served by the Atlanta Police Department (APD), which numbers 2,000 officers{{cite news |author=Leslie, Katie |date=October 25, 2013 |title=APD reaches a once-elusive goal of 2,000 officers |url=http://www.myajc.com/news/local/apd-reaches-once-elusive-goal-000-officers/Ao9jWRR0M23HJNKApTJP1L/ |access-date=February 13, 2017 |newspaper=Atlanta Journal-Constitution}} and oversaw a 40% decrease in the city's crime rate between 2001 and 2009. In 2012, Forbes ranked Atlanta as the 6th most dangerous American city but by 2023 the city dropped out of its top 10.{{Cite web |title=6. Atlanta – 2017-10-04 – Most Dangerous Cities |url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/54f4e712da47a54de8245373/6-atlanta/ |access-date=October 26, 2023 |website=Forbes |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Bloom |first=Laura Begley |title=Report Ranks America's 15 Safest (And Most Dangerous) Cities For 2023 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2023/01/31/report-ranks-americas-15-safest-and-most-dangerous-cities-for-2023/ |access-date=October 26, 2023 |website=Forbes |language=en}} Despite some improvement in crime, street gangs have continued to plague the city since the 1980s.{{Cite news |last1=Torpy |first1=Bill |last2=Visser |first2=Steve |title=30 Deep gang roams far, wide |url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/deep-gang-roams-far-wide/gTnhSMj6m2c4KCpjvFDjGM/ |access-date=October 26, 2023 |work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |language=English |issn=1539-7459}}{{Cite web |date=May 11, 2022 |title=Gang violence is responsible for nearly 75%–80% percent of crime in Atlanta, Fulton County DA says |url=https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/gang-violence-is-responsible-nearly-75-80-percent-crime-atlanta-fulton-county-da-says/NALC6JVLABHSPFYTEH4TII2WQI/ |access-date=October 26, 2023 |website=WSB-TV Channel 2 – Atlanta |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Whittler |first=Alex |date=November 21, 2022 |title=Atlanta police say tactics in fight against rising gang activity are working |url=https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/atlanta-police-say-their-increased-gang-fight-is-working |access-date=October 26, 2023 |website=Fox 5 Atlanta |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=October 22, 2022 |title=3 gang members arrested after opening fire on rival in broad daylight |url=https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/3-rival-gang-members-arrested-after-opening-fire-each-other-broad-daylight/Y55MHJR2QNAYNP6BCEQ6K6IGPE/ |access-date=October 26, 2023 |website=WSB-TV Channel 2 – Atlanta |language=en}} In 2022, there was a 200% increase in gang-related charges in the city. In 2023, Money Inc named Atlanta the third worst gang city in the U.S.{{Cite web |last=Hanson |first=Dana |date=March 19, 2023 |title=The 20 Worst Gang Cities in the U.S. |url=https://moneyinc.com/worst-gang-cities-in-the-u-s/ |website=Money Inc}} Also in 2023, it was estimated that about 1,000 gangs in the Atlanta area were responsible for at least 70% of all crime including identity theft, credit card fraud, drug trafficking, and human trafficking. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation Gang Task Force in partnership with the APD is leading efforts in dismantling gang activity and arresting culprits.{{Cite web |last=Kousouris |first=Abby |date=June 7, 2023 |title=Gang Task Force cracking down on gangs in Georgia |url=https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/06/07/gang-task-force-cracking-down-gangs-georgia/ |access-date=October 26, 2023 |website= |language=en}}

The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department provides fire protection and first responder emergency medical services to the city from its 35 fire stations. In 2017, AFRD responded to over 100,000 calls for service over a coverage area of {{convert|135.7|mi2|1|abbr=off|sp=us}}. The department also protects Hartsfield–Jackson with five fire stations on the property, serving over 1 million passengers from over 100 countries. The department protects over 3000 high-rise buildings, {{convert|23|mi|abbr=off|sp=us}} of the rapid rail system, and {{convert|60|mi|abbr=off|sp=us}} of interstate highway.{{cite web |title=Atlanta, GA : Fire |url=https://www.atlantaga.gov/government/departments/fire |access-date=April 16, 2018 |work=City of Atlanta Online}}

The Georgia National Guard is based in the city.{{Cite web |title=Georgia National Guard Armory {{!}} Georgia Department of Public Safety |url=https://dps.georgia.gov/locations/georgia-national-guard-armory |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=dps.georgia.gov |language=en}}

Emergency ambulance services are provided to city residents by hospital-based Grady EMS (Fulton County),{{cite web |title=Services – Grady EMS |url=https://www.grady-ems.org/services/ |access-date=April 16, 2018 |website=Grady-ems.org}} and American Medical Response (DeKalb County).{{cite web |title=American Medical Response – AMR Medical Transportation |url=https://www.amr.net/home/dekalb |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402102121/https://www.amr.net/home/dekalb |archive-date=April 2, 2018 |access-date=April 16, 2018 |website=Amr.net}}

Atlanta in January 2017 declared the city was a "welcoming city" and "will remain open and welcoming to all". Nonetheless, Atlanta does not consider itself to be a "sanctuary city".{{cite web |date=January 30, 2017 |title=As Trump enacts ban on refugees, Atlanta doubles down as a 'welcoming city' – SaportaReport |url=http://saportareport.com/trump-enacts-ban-refugees-atlanta-doubles-welcoming-city/}} Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said: "Our city does not support ICE. We don't have a relationship with the U.S. Marshal's Service. We closed our detention center to ICE detainees, and we would not pick up people on an immigration violation."{{cite news |date=July 13, 2019 |title=U.S. Cities Prepare For Planned ICE Raids |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/07/13/741118939/u-s-cities-prepare-for-planned-ice-raids-on-sunday?t=1567683134930 |publisher=NPR}}

In 2025, Atlanta Public Safety Training Center opened a $118 million training center for police and firefighters.{{cite web |url=https://safe.menlosecurity.com/https://www.gpb.org/news/2025/04/29/georgia-today-cop-city-opens-in-atlanta-head-start-may-face-cuts-loeffler-event-in |title=Menlo Security |url-access=subscription}}{{cite web |url=https://safe.menlosecurity.com/https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/open-for-business-officials-to-cut-ribbon-on-atlantas-training-center/CVJW5MBI3JFFTC4JG3RZOTUGRY/ |title=Menlo Security |url-access=subscription}}

{{Main|List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Atlanta|Atlanta Public Schools|List of private schools in Atlanta}}

With more than 15 colleges and universities, including three law schools and two medical schools, Atlanta is considered one of the nation's largest hubs for higher education. Three universities have earned the highest classification of "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".{{cite news |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2003/11/03/daily8.html |title=Atlanta a magnet for young, single, educated – Atlanta Business Chronicle |website=Bizjournals.com |date=November 3, 2003 |access-date=July 16, 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://www.atlanta.net/explore/colleges-universities/|title=Visit Atlanta Colleges – Take a Tour of Atlanta, GA Colleges|website=Atlanta.net|access-date=June 28, 2019}}

File:Tech Tower-6.jpg on the Georgia Tech campus]]

The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, is a prominent public research university in Midtown. It offers highly ranked degree programs in engineering, design, industrial management, the sciences, business, and architecture.{{cite web|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/georgia-institute-technology#:~:text=It%20has%20been%20ranked%20by,other%20institution%20in%20the%20nation.|title = Georgia Institute of Technology|date = August 10, 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://www.gatech.edu/about|title=About Georgia Tech|website=GATech.com|access-date=February 5, 2023}}

Georgia State University is a major public research university based in Downtown Atlanta; it is the second largest in student population of the 26 public colleges and universities in the University System of Georgia and is a significant contributor to the revitalization of the city's central business district.{{cite news |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/feature/gsu-impact-on-downtown-all-encompassing.html |title=GSU impact on downtown all-encompassing |work=Atlanta Business Chronicle |last=Sinderman |first=Martin |date=March 10, 2017 |access-date=November 16, 2021}}

Atlanta is home to nationally renowned private colleges and universities, most notably Emory University, a leading liberal arts and research institution that operates Emory Healthcare, the largest health care system in Georgia.{{cite web|url=http://www.emoryhealthcare.org/about-us/index.html|title=About Emory Healthcare|publisher=Emory Healthcare|access-date=August 3, 2011}} The City of Atlanta annexed Emory into its territory effective January 1, 2018.

The Atlanta University Center is also in the city; it is the oldest and largest contiguous consortium of historically black colleges in the nation, comprising Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Morehouse School of Medicine.{{cite web|url=https://www.spelman.edu/|title=Spelman College Homepage|website=spelman.edu|access-date=February 5, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cau.edu/about/index.html|title=About CAU|website=Clark Atlanta University|access-date=February 5, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://morehouse.edu/about/our-history_/|title=Morehouse College: Our History|website=morehouse.edu|access-date=February 5, 2023|archive-date=February 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207003008/https://morehouse.edu/about/our-history_/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.msm.edu/|title=The official website of Morehouse School of Medicine|website=msm.edu|access-date=February 5, 2023}} Atlanta contains a campus of the Savannah College of Art and Design, a private art and design university that has proven to be a major factor in the recent growth of Atlanta's visual art community. Atlanta also boasts American Bar Association accredited law schools: Atlanta's John Marshall Law School, Emory University School of Law, and Georgia State University College of Law.{{cite web|url=https://www.lawyeredu.org/aba-accredited-schools.html|title = List of ABA Accredited Law Schools| date=July 2020 }}

The University of Georgia's Terry College of Business operates a satellite campus in Atlanta's Buckhead district, a major financial center in the city.{{cite web|title=Campuses – Atlanta Buckhead {{!}} Terry College of Business|url=https://www.terry.uga.edu/about/campuses/atlanta-buckhead|access-date=February 18, 2022|website=Terry.uga.edu|archive-date=February 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218060656/https://www.terry.uga.edu/about/campuses/atlanta-buckhead|url-status=dead}} This location facilitates Executive and Professional MBA programs plus executive education offerings. The Buckhead campus also serves as a hub where Terry students, alumni, faculty, and staff can engage with the business community.{{cite web |title=A Peek at the Past: 1912–2002, Celebrating the First State-Chartered Business School, 90 Years in Business |publisher=Terry College of Business, University of Georgia |work=Terry Magazine |date=Fall 2009 |url=http://www.terry.uga.edu/about/peek_at_the_past.html |access-date=April 7, 2022 |archive-date=February 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203231529/http://www.terry.uga.edu/about/peek_at_the_past.html |url-status=dead }}

The Atlanta Regional Council of Higher Education (ARCHE) is dedicated to strengthening synergy among 19 public and private colleges and universities in the Atlanta region. Participating Atlanta region colleges and universities partner on joint-degree programs, cross-registration, library services, and cultural events.{{cite web |title=About |url=http://www.atlantahighered.org/about/ |access-date=November 7, 2020 |website=Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education}}

Approximately 49,000 students are enrolled in 106 schools in Atlanta Public Schools (APS), some of which are operated as charter schools.{{cite web | url=https://www.atlantapublicschools.us/Page/37053#:~:text=Atlanta%20Public%20Schools%20has%2087,enrollment%20is%20approximately%2048%2C702%20students | title=About Our Schools / About Our Schools }}{{cite web|title=Atlanta|url=http://www.school-stats.com/GA/FULTON/ATLANTA_CITY.html|access-date=January 6, 2022|website=School-stats.com}} Atlanta is served by many private schools including, without limitation, Atlanta Jewish Academy,{{Cite web|url=https://www.atljewishacademy.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=1058508&type=d&pREC_ID=1355088|title=Welcome – About JLA|website=atljjewishacademy.org|access-date=August 17, 2022}} Atlanta International School,{{Cite web|url=https://www.aischool.org/#/|title=Atlanta International School website|website=aischool.org|access-date=August 17, 2022}} The Westminster Schools,{{Cite web|url=https://www.westminster.net/|title=The Westminster Schools Homepage|website=westminster.net|access-date=August 16, 2022}} Pace Academy,{{Cite web|url=https://www.paceacademy.org/|title=Pace Academy – Atlanta|website=pace academy.org|access-date=August 16, 2022}} The Lovett School,{{Cite web|url=https://www.lovett.org/|title=The Lovett School Official webpage|website=lovett.org|access-date=August 17, 2022}} The Paideia School,{{Cite web|url=https://www.paideiaschool.org/about-paideia/at-a-glance|title=The Paideia School: At-a-Glance|website=paideiaschool.org|access-date=August 17, 2022}} Holy Innocents' Episcopal School{{Cite web|url=https://www.hies.org/|title=Holy Innocents Episcopal School – Atlanta|website=hies.org|access-date=August 17, 2022}} and Roman Catholic parochial schools operated by the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

In 2018 the City of Atlanta annexed a portion of DeKalb County containing the Centers for Disease Control and Emory University; this portion will be zoned to the DeKalb County School District until 2024, when it will transition into APS.{{cite web|author=McCray, Vanessa|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/aps-dekalb-annexation-deal-could-pay-for-six-school-health-clinics/5mbGjr9WelTTKnoIUmArUJ/|title=APS, DeKalb annexation deal could pay for six school health clinics|work=Atlanta Journal-Constitution|date=December 10, 2019|access-date=March 11, 2020}} In 2017 the number of children living in the annexed territory who attended public schools was nine.{{cite web|author=Niesse, Mark|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/emory-annexation-won-finished-time-for-atlanta-elections/5XmFt1qUhAAH4gAn8yF5QM/|title=9 students and $2.3M stand in the way of Emory's annexation to Atlanta|work=Atlanta Journal-Constitution|date=October 16, 2017|access-date=March 10, 2020}}

{{Main|Media in Atlanta}}

The primary network-affiliated television stations in Atlanta are WXIA-TV 11 (NBC),{{Cite web|url=https://www.11alive.com/|title=11Alive News Homepage|website=11alive.com|access-date=August 14, 2022}} WANF 46 (CBS),{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbs46.com/|title=CBS 46 News|website=cbs46.com|access-date=August 16, 2022}} WSB-TV 2 (ABC),{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsbtv.com/|title=WSB-TV: Atlanta News, Weather, Sports and more|website=wsbtv.com|access-date=August 16, 2022}} and WAGA-TV 5 (Fox).{{Cite web|url=https://www.fox5atlanta.com/|title=Fox 5 Atlanta|website=fox5atlanta.com|access-date=August 16, 2022}} Other major commercial stations include WPXA-TV 14 (Ion), WPCH-TV 17, (CW),{{Cite web |last=Bouma |first=Luke |date=August 30, 2023 |title=Nexstar & Gray Television Extend Their CW Partnership & Launch a New The CW Channel in Atlanta |url=https://cordcuttersnews.com/nexstar-gray-television-extend-their-cw-partnership-launch-a-new-the-cw-channel-in-atlanta/ |access-date=August 30, 2023 |website=Cord Cutters News |language=en-US}} WUVG-TV 34 (Univision/UniMás), WUPA 69 (Ind.),{{Cite web |last=Bouma |first=Luke |date=May 5, 2023 |title=8 Large Markets Are Losing The CW |url=https://cordcuttersnews.com/8-large-markets-are-losing-the-cw/ |access-date=August 30, 2023 |website=Cord Cutters News |language=en-US}} and WATL 36 (MyNetworkTV). WPXA-TV, WUVG-TV and WAGA-TV are network O&O's. The Atlanta metropolitan area is served by two public television stations (both PBS member stations), and two public radio stations. WGTV 8 is the flagship station of the statewide Georgia Public Television network, while WABE-TV is owned by Atlanta Public Schools. Georgia Public Radio is listener-funded and comprises one NPR member station, WABE, a classical music station also operated by Atlanta Public Schools. The second public radio, listener-funded NPR member station is WCLK, a jazz music station owned and operated by Clark Atlanta University.{{cite web|url = https://www.jazzedmagazine.com/news/the-inaugural-jazz-music-awards-celebrating-the-spirit-of-jazz-is-set-for-october-2022-in-atlanta/|title = The Inaugural Jazz Music Awards: Celebrating the Spirit of Jazz is Set for October 2022 in Atlanta|date = November 12, 2021|access-date = March 19, 2022|archive-date = March 31, 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220331082804/https://www.jazzedmagazine.com/news/the-inaugural-jazz-music-awards-celebrating-the-spirit-of-jazz-is-set-for-october-2022-in-atlanta/|url-status = dead}}

Atlanta is served by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, its only major daily newspaper with wide distribution. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the result of a 1950 merger between The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution, with staff consolidation occurring in 1982 and separate publication of the morning Constitution and afternoon Journal ceasing in 2001.{{cite web |url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1807 |title=New Georgia Encyclopedia: Atlanta Journal-Constitution |publisher=New Georgia Encyclopedia |access-date=July 16, 2012 |archive-date=January 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121190020/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1807 |url-status=dead }} Alternative weekly newspapers include Creative Loafing, which has a weekly print circulation of 80,000. Atlanta Daily World is the oldest Black newspaper in Atlanta and one of the earliest Black newspapers in American history.{{cite web|url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/atlanta-daily-world/ |title=Atlanta Daily World – New Georgia Encyclopedia |publisher=New Georgia Encyclopedia |date=December 18, 2009 |access-date=May 11, 2022}} Atlanta magazine is a monthly general-interest magazine based in and covering Atlanta.{{cite web|url=https://www.atlantamagazine.com/about-us/ |title=About Us |publisher=Atlanta Magazine |access-date=May 15, 2022}}

{{Main|Transportation in Atlanta}}

{{For|transportation in the Atlanta metropolitan area|Atlanta metropolitan area#Transportation}}{{Multiple image

| direction = vertical

| image1 = Atlanta, Georgia Skyline.jpg

| alt1 = The John Lewis Freedom Parkway leading to the downtown core.

| caption1 = The John Lewis Freedom Parkway leading to the downtown core.

| image2 = Marta Rail Breda.jpg

| alt2 = The [[Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority] serves the city.

| caption2 = The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority serves the city.

| align = right

| image3 = ATL Concourse A.jpg

| alt3 = Concourse A at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest airport

| caption3 = Concourse A at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest airport

| image4 = Bright Atlanta.jpg

| alt4 = The Downtown Connector, seen at night in Midtown

| caption4 = The Downtown Connector, seen at night in Midtown

}}

Atlanta's transportation infrastructure comprises a complex network that includes a heavy rail rapid transit system, a light rail streetcar loop, a multi-county bus system, Amtrak service via the Crescent, multiple freight train lines, an Interstate Highway System, several airports, including the world's busiest, and over {{convert|45|mi|0}} of bike paths.{{cite web|title=Intercity Visit to Atlanta, GA – 2018|url=https://charlotteregion.com/events/2018/06/20/executive-hidden/intercity-visit-to-atlanta-ga-2018/|access-date=February 22, 2022|website=charlotteregion.com|archive-date=February 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222164113/https://charlotteregion.com/events/2018/06/20/executive-hidden/intercity-visit-to-atlanta-ga-2018/|url-status=dead}}

Atlanta has a network of freeways that radiate out from the city, and automobiles are the dominant means of transportation in the region.{{cite web|title=Atlanta: Smart Travel Tips |work=Fodor's |publisher=Fodor's Travel |url=http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=atlanta@15&cur_section=tra&pg=2 |access-date=September 28, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018043200/http://fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=atlanta%4015&cur_section=tra&pg=2 |archive-date=October 18, 2007 |url-status=dead }} Three major interstate highways converge in Atlanta: I-20 (east-west), I-75 (northwest-southeast), and I-85 (northeast-southwest). The latter two combine in the middle of the city to form the Downtown Connector (I-75/85), which carries more than 340,000 vehicles per day and is one of the most congested segments of interstate highway in the United States.{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/2006/02/06/cx_bm_0207trafficslide_6.html?thisSpeed=6000|work=Worst City Choke Points, Forbes |title= Atlanta, I-75 at I-85 |access-date=April 2, 2006|date=February 6, 2006}} Atlanta is mostly encircled by Interstate 285, a beltway locally known as "the Perimeter" that has come to mark the boundary between "Inside the Perimeter" (ITP), the city and close-in suburbs, and "Outside the Perimeter" (OTP), the outer suburbs and exurbs. The heavy reliance on automobiles for transportation in Atlanta has resulted in traffic, commute, and air pollution rates that rank among the worst in the country.{{cite news|last=Copeland|first=Larry|title=Atlanta pollution going nowhere|work=USA Today |date=January 31, 2001|url=https://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2001/2001-01-31-atlanta-pollution.htm|access-date=September 28, 2007|archive-date=October 19, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019030100/http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2001/2001-01-31-atlanta-pollution.htm|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=Atlanta traffic the worst in America|url=http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/04/28/daily97.html|date=May 1, 2008}}{{cite web |url=http://www.bryancountynews.net/archives/4754/ |title=Forbes says Atlanta now most polluted city in U.S. |publisher=Bryancountynews.net |date=November 11, 2009 |access-date=July 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121201112941/http://www.bryancountynews.net/archives/4754/ |archive-date=December 1, 2012 |url-status=dead }} The City of Atlanta has a higher than average percentage of households without a car. In 2015, 15.2 percent of Atlanta households lacked a car, and increased slightly to 16.4 percent in 2016. The national average is 8.7 percent in 2016. Atlanta averaged 1.31 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8.{{cite journal|title=Car Ownership in U.S. Cities Data and Map|journal=Governing|date=December 9, 2014|url=http://www.governing.com/gov-data/car-ownership-numbers-of-vehicles-by-city-map.html|access-date=May 3, 2018|archive-date=May 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511162014/http://www.governing.com/gov-data/car-ownership-numbers-of-vehicles-by-city-map.html|url-status=dead}}

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) provides public transportation in the form of buses, heavy rail, and a downtown light rail loop.{{cite web|url=https://www.itsmarta.com/|title=The Official website of MARTA: Atlanta's Transportation Authority|website=itsmarta.com|access-date=February 6, 2023}} Notwithstanding heavy automotive usage in Atlanta, the city's subway system is the eighth busiest in the country.{{cite web|url=http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2011_q1_ridership_APTA.pdf|publisher=American Public Transportation Association|title=Transit Ridership Report – First Quarter 2011|date=May 13, 2011|access-date=February 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709091716/http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2011_q1_ridership_APTA.pdf|archive-date=July 9, 2011|url-status=live}} MARTA rail lines connect key destinations, such as the airport, Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead, and Perimeter Center. However, significant destinations, such as Emory University and Cumberland, remain unserved. As a result, a 2011 Brookings Institution study placed Atlanta 91st of 100 metro areas for transit accessibility.{{cite web|url=https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/0512_jobs_transit.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/0512_jobs_transit.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live |title="Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA Metro Area", part of "Missed Opportunity: Transit and Jobs in Metropolitan America", Brookings Institution |date=May 2011|access-date=February 13, 2017}} Emory University operates its Cliff shuttle buses with 200,000 boardings per month, while private minibuses supply Buford Highway. Amtrak, the national rail passenger system, provides service to Atlanta via the Crescent train (New York–New Orleans), which stops at Peachtree Station. In 2014, the Atlanta Streetcar opened to the public. The streetcar's line, which is also known as the Downtown Loop, runs {{convert|2.7|mi|1}} around the downtown tourist areas of Peachtree Center, Centennial Olympic Park, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, and Sweet Auburn.{{cite web|title=Atlanta Streetcar|url=http://streetcar.atlantaga.gov/|website=Atlanta Streetcar|access-date=April 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308042759/http://streetcar.atlantaga.gov/|archive-date=March 8, 2018|url-status=dead}} The Atlanta Streetcar line is also being expanded on in the coming years to include a wider range of Atlanta's neighborhoods and important places of interest, with a total of over {{convert|50|mi}} of track in the plan.{{cite web|last1=Flynn|first1=Jason|title=Atlanta Streetcar Plan Approval May Not Matter Much|url=http://atlanta.curbed.com/2015/12/10/9892580/atlanta-streetcar-plan-approval-may-not-matter-much|website=Curbed Atlanta|date=December 10, 2015|publisher=Vox Media|access-date=October 13, 2016}}

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world's busiest airport as measured by passenger traffic and aircraft traffic.{{cite news|first=Jim|last=Tharpe|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/atlanta-airport-still-the-busiest/YAYECFH2YVCEJDXKJREVYSUINM/|title=Atlanta airport still the "busiest": Hartsfield-Jackson nips Chicago's O'Hare for second year in a row|newspaper=Atlanta Journal-Constitution|date=January 4, 2007 |access-date=June 4, 2021}} The facility offers air service to over 150 U.S. destinations and more than 75 international destinations in 50 countries, with over 2,500 arrivals and departures daily.{{cite web|url=http://www.atl.com/about-atl/atl-factsheet/ |title="ATL Fact Sheet", Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport|date=January 27, 2016 |publisher=Atlanta-airport.com |access-date=February 13, 2017}} Delta Air Lines maintains its largest hub at the airport.{{cite web|url=http://news.delta.com/index.php?s=43&item=615 |title=Delta Invites Customers to Improve Their Handicap with New Service to Hilton Head, Expanded Service to Myrtle Beach |publisher=News.delta.com |access-date=April 5, 2010}} Situated {{nowrap|10 miles}} ({{nowrap|16 km}}) south of downtown in Clayton and Fulton counties, the airport covers most of the land inside a wedge formed by Interstate 75, Interstate 85, and Interstate 285.{{cite web|url=https://www.interstate-guide.com/i-285-ga/|title=Interstate 285 Georgia|date=January 19, 2019|publisher=Interstate-Guide|access-date=October 23, 2021|archive-date=October 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023002146/https://www.interstate-guide.com/i-285-ga/|url-status=dead}} The map is on the sidebar which you can click & see the airport wedge.

Cycling is a growing mode of transportation in Atlanta, more than doubling since 2009, when it comprised 1.1% of all commutes (up from 0.3% in 2000).{{cite web|last=Duda |first=Clay |url=https://creativeloafing.com/content-170635-could-atlanta-be-new-amsterdam |title=Atlanta is on the road to becoming a bike-friendly city |work=Creative Loafing|date=November 23, 2011 |access-date=October 16, 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2011/09/substantial-increases-bike-ridership-across-nation/161/ |title=Is Bicycle Commuting Really Catching On? And if So, Where? – Commute |publisher=The Atlantic Cities |date=September 16, 2011 |access-date=October 16, 2012 |archive-date=October 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021223406/http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2011/09/substantial-increases-bike-ridership-across-nation/161/ |url-status=dead }} Although Atlanta's lack of bike lanes and hilly topography may deter many residents from cycling,{{cite web|last=Duda |first=Clay |url=https://creativeloafing.com/content-230357-opinion---atlanta-s-cycling-community-needs-some |title=Atlanta's cycling community needs some help |work=Creative Loafing|date=June 30, 2010 |access-date=October 16, 2012}} the city's transportation plan calls for the construction of {{convert|226|mi|0}} of bike lanes by 2020, with the BeltLine helping to achieve this goal.{{cite web|last=Duda|first=Clay |url=https://creativeloafing.com/content-185562-cover-story-atlanta-cycling-statistics |title=Atlanta cycling statistics |work=Creative Loafing|date=July 1, 2010 |access-date=October 16, 2012}} In 2012, Atlanta's first "bike track" was constructed on 10th Street in Midtown. The two lane bike track runs from Monroe Drive west to Charles Allen Drive, with connections to the Beltline and Piedmont Park.{{cite web |title = 10th Street Cycle Track | date=July 24, 2013 |url = http://beltline.org/2013/07/24/10th-street-cycle-track/}} Starting in June 2016, Atlanta received a bike sharing program, known as Relay Bike Share, with 100 bikes in Downtown and Midtown, which expanded to 500 bikes at 65 stations as of April 2017.{{cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/04/19/atlanta-launches-first-major-expansion-of-relay.html|title=Atlanta launches first major expansion of Relay Bike Share program|website=Bizjournals.com|access-date=April 26, 2017}}{{cite web |url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/atlanta-kicks-off-bike-sharing-with-ride-through-downtown/uUVMn9bcmHEZLyPe4AiQHJ/ |title=Atlanta kicks off bike sharing with a ride through downtown |work=Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=June 9, 2016 |access-date=June 4, 2021 |author=Corson, Pete}}

According to the 2016 American Community Survey (five-year average), 68.6% of working city of Atlanta residents commuted by driving alone, 7% carpooled, 10% used public transportation, and 4.6% walked. About 2.1% used all other forms of transportation, including taxi, bicycle, and motorcycle. About 7.6% worked at home.{{cite web|publisher=Census Reporter|access-date=May 10, 2018|title=Means of Transportation to Work by Age|url=https://censusreporter.org/data/table/?table=B08101&geo_ids=16000US1304000,160%7C31000US12060&primary_geo_id=16000US1304000}}

The city has also become one of a handful of "scooter capitals", where companies like Lime{{cite web|url=https://atlantafi.com/how-does-lime-scooter-work-in-atlanta/ |title=How to operate a Lime scooter |publisher=AtlantaFi.com |access-date=May 2, 2019}} and Bird{{cite web|url=https://atlantafi.com/how-to-operate-a-bird-scooter-in-atlanta/|title=How to operate a Bird scooter|publisher=AtlantaFi.com|access-date=June 7, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://atlanta.curbed.com/2018/5/3/17315024/bird-scooters-atlanta-commute-last-mile-connectivity|title=Rentable commute option Bird scooters have now landed in Atlanta|last=Green|first=Josh|date=May 3, 2018|website=Curbed Atlanta|language=en|access-date=November 25, 2019}} have gained a major foothold by placing electric scooters on street corners and byways.

{{Main|List of people from Atlanta}}

{{See also|List of sister cities in the United States}}

Atlanta's sister cities are:{{cite web|title=List of Atlanta's 17 Sister Cities|url=https://www.atlantaga.gov/government/mayor-s-office/executive-offices/office-of-international-affairs/atlanta-sister-cities-commission/list-of-atlanta-s-18-sister-cities|website=atlantaga.gov|publisher=City of Atlanta|access-date=January 20, 2021|archive-date=August 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813171542/https://www.atlantaga.gov/government/mayor-s-office/executive-offices/office-of-international-affairs/atlanta-sister-cities-commission/list-of-atlanta-s-18-sister-cities|url-status=dead}}

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

• Montego Bay, Jamaica (1972)
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1972)
• Lagos, Nigeria (1974)
• Toulouse, France (1974)
• Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK (1977)
• Taipei, Taiwan (1979)
• Daegu, South Korea (1981)
• Brussels, Belgium (1983)
• Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (1987)
• Tbilisi, Georgia (1988)
• Olympia, Greece (1994)
• Bucharest, Romania (1994)
• Cotonou, Benin (1995)
• Salcedo, Dominican Republic (1996)
• Torrejon de Ardoz, Spain (1996)
• Nuremberg, Germany (1998)
• Ra'anana, Israel (2000)
• Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2004)
• Fukuoka, Japan (2005)
• Sassari, Italy (2020)

{{div col end}}

• USS Atlanta, 5 ships

{{Notelist}}

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin|35em}}

• Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events: Years of Change and Challenge, 1940–1976 by Franklin M. Garrett, Harold H. Martin
• {{cite book |last = Craig |first = Robert |title = Atlanta Architecture: Art Deco to Modern Classic, 1929–1959 |publisher=Pelican |year = 1995 |location = Gretna, LA |isbn= 0-88289-961-9 }}
• Darlene R. Roth and Andy Ambrose. Metropolitan Frontiers: A Short History of Atlanta. Atlanta: Longstreet Press, 1996. An overview of the city's history with an emphasis on its growth.
• Sjoquist, Dave (ed.) The Atlanta Paradox. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. 2000.
• Stone, Clarence. Regime Politics: Governing Atlanta, 1946–1988. University Press of Kansas. 1989.
• Elise Reid Boylston. Atlanta: Its Lore, Legends and Laughter. Doraville: privately printed, 1968. Many anecdotes about the history of the city.
• Frederick Allen. Atlanta Rising. Atlanta: Longstreet Press, 1996. A detailed history of Atlanta from 1946 to 1996, with much about City Councilman, later Mayor, William B. Hartsfield's work in making Atlanta a major air transport hub, and about the civil rights movement as it affected (and was affected by) Atlanta.
• {{cite book |last=McMahan |first = C. A. |title=The people of Atlanta : a demographic study of Georgia's capital city |year=1950 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |location = Athens, Georgia |isbn=9780820334493 |url = http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/ugapressbks/do-pdf:ugp9780820334493 |access-date=February 20, 2018 }}

{{refend}}

{{Sister project links|auto=yes|voy=Atlanta}}

• {{official website|http://www.atlantaga.gov/}}
• [http://www.discoveratlanta.com/ Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau]
• [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/atlanta Atlanta entry] in the New Georgia Encyclopedia
• [http://album.atlantahistorycenter.com/cdm/landingpage/collection/athpc Atlanta History Photograph Collection] from the Atlanta History Center
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070703230301/http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/atlanta/ Atlanta, Georgia, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary]
• Scientific American, "[https://books.google.com/books?id=YIE9AQAAIAAJ&q=carbonic+oxide The Atlanta Exposition]", October 22, 1881, pp. 257

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Category:Cities in Georgia (U.S. state)

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