Decatur welcomes the Georgia Sierra Club office to 643B E. College Ave. of Sam's Street (behind the Cookie Studio, which is next to the convenience store, which is across the street from the south parking lot of the Avondale MARTA station). About a half dozen Sierra employees and volunteers will be located here.
Roughly 75 people attended the ribbon cutting ceremony last evening.
See a 6.5 minute video collage at a later post (delayed due to technical difficulties in uploading).
The patio faces a large open playground area (also owned by EDS), which seems appropriate for the Sierra Club.
Decaturites should stop by to see the displays, pick up some material, and maybe pay just $25 for a basic membership under a special introductory price (limited time offer).
If you'd like to see the movie "Coal Country" (see trailer) stop by and sign up.
Roughly 80 people showed up for last night's neighborhood workshop, held at the Rec Center by the Civic League of Atlanta.
The session's title made it seem to be about health care (which probably helped generate a larger crowd), but the focus was actually the general "health" of the area (as the fine print at the Civic League site clearly stated).
Seven groups of up to a dozen each followed the agenda. Each had a designated leader/scribe, who reported out at the end of each session.
The first question was how we envisioned metro Atlanta in 2059, fifty years out. In the next session, we sorted out what we'd like to keep, and what we'd like to discontinue or change. We then discussed how we could make our vision happen.
Many of the visions were pipe dreams, like the car not being the dominant form of transportation in Atlanta in fifty years. Others longed fro how Atlanta (or at least Decatur) was fifty years ago, when kids could walk to school and around town without caution; and we could leave our doors unlocked. (The only time we locked our door on Pinehurst St. in the Fifties was when we went on vacation.)
As a final exercise, everyone was asked to line up against the wall between 1and 10 signs, according to how confident they were things would move toward the vision. (A photo will be posted soon.) The facilitator noted those near the 10 were conversant and happy, while those on the 0 end were quiet.
Otis White (shown in the upper left in the image below) says a full report, with all the tear sheets from all the groups typed up, will be published at the Civic League site in one to two weeks.
Do such activities change how an area develops? Was what we have now envisioned by such a group 50 years ago, and worked toward as a result? Or did other forces drive us to what we have, for better or worse. Will the Civic League establish projects to drive the best ideas toward reality? I don't know. But, such sessions can't hurt, and are a better use of one's time than watching reality shows on TV.
Optional personal observations in the continuation.
Decatur has few lots as big as those shown in the linked article, so the difference between infill housing and existing housing is less dramatic, but it's still an active issue.
ATLANTA (AP) - Atlanta's city council is scheduled to vote tomorrow [Monday, 8/20] on a zoning proposal that could rein in the number of million-dollar homes popping up in Atlanta's intown neighborhoods. The debate was spurred by a torrid housing market that turned neighbor against neighbor as developers tore down smaller, older homes and replaced them with ritzy "McMansions" that towered over neighborhoods.
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