Editing Atlanta (section)

===Cityscape===
{{Main|Architecture of Atlanta|Neighborhoods of Atlanta}}
{{See also|List of tallest buildings in Atlanta}}
{{wide image|Atlanta Downtown Skyline.jpg|align-cap=center|1000px|The [[Downtown Atlanta|Downtown]] skyline at sunset}}
{{wide image|Midtown atlanta (cropped).jpg|850px|align-cap=center|[[Midtown Atlanta]] as seen along the Downtown Connector}}

Most of Atlanta was burned during the Civil War, depleting the city of a large stock of its historic architecture. Yet architecturally, the city had never been traditionally "southern" because Atlanta originated as a railroad town, rather than a southern seaport dominated by the planter class, such as [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]] or [[Charleston, South Carolina|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.<ref name="Gournay">{{cite book|title=AIA Guide to the Architecture of Atlanta|last=Gournay|first=Isabelle|publisher=University of Georgia Press|isbn = 0820314501|year = 1993}}</ref>

[[File:Midtown Atlanta.JPG|thumb|The skyline of Midtown (viewed from [[Piedmont Park]]) 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 C. Portman Jr.|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 is the Portman-designed [[Bank of America Plaza (Atlanta)|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001338.html|title=World's Tallest Buildings|publisher=Infoplease |access-date=June 26, 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Peachtree St in Midtown.jpg|thumb|A section of [[Peachtree Street]] in Midtown Atlanta]]

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 (Atlanta 1892)|Equitable Building]] (1892–1971), [[Terminal Station (Atlanta)|Terminal Station]] (1905–1972), and the [[Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System#The Carnegie Library|Carnegie Library]] (1902–1977).<ref name="Guardian preservation">{{cite web |last1=Van Mead |first1=Nick |title=The lost city of Atlanta |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/oct/23/lost-city-of-atlanta-historic-building-parking-lot |website=The Guardian |date=October 23, 2018 |publisher=Guardian News & Media Limited |access-date=May 16, 2020}}</ref> In the mid-1970s, the [[Fox Theatre (Atlanta, Georgia)|Fox Theatre]], now a cultural icon of the city, would have met the same fate if not for a grassroots effort to save it.<ref name="Gournay"/> 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]].<ref name="Central Library Saved">{{cite news |last1=Jason |first1=Sayer |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 |date=July 21, 2016}}</ref>

Atlanta is divided into 242 officially defined [[Neighborhoods of Atlanta|neighborhoods]].<ref name="Atlanta 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 |publisher=City of Atlanta |access-date=May 15, 2020}}</ref> The city contains three major high-rise districts, which form a north–south axis along [[Peachtree Street|Peachtree]]: [[Downtown Atlanta|Downtown]], [[Midtown Atlanta|Midtown]], and [[Buckhead (Atlanta)|Buckhead]].<ref>{{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=dead |archive-date=June 2, 2004 |title=Districts and Zones of Atlanta |publisher=Emporis.com |access-date=June 26, 2007 }}</ref> Surrounding these high-density districts are leafy, low-density neighborhoods, most of which are dominated by single-family homes.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

Downtown Atlanta 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. [[Midtown Atlanta]] 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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> [[Buckhead (Atlanta)|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 Street|Peachtree Road]], surrounded by suburban single-family neighborhoods situated among woods and rolling hills.<ref name="nytimes2003">{{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}}</ref>
[[File:Atlanta etc. 019.jpg|thumb|Craftsman bungalows in [[Inman Park]]]]
[[File:Beath Dickey House Exterior 2018.jpg|alt=|thumb|[[Beath-Dickey House]] (1890) in [[Inman Park]] neighborhood, 2018]]
Surrounding Atlanta's three high-rise districts are the city's low- and medium-density [[Neighborhoods of Atlanta|neighborhoods]],<ref name="nytimes2003"/> where the [[American Craftsman|craftsman]] [[bungalow]] single-family home is dominant.<ref>[AIA guide to the architecture of Atlanta, edited by Gerald W. Sams, University of Georgia Press, 1993, p. 195]</ref> The [[Eastside (Atlanta)|eastside]] is marked by historic [[streetcar suburbs]], built from the 1890s–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 architecture|Victorian]] [[Inman Park]], [[Bohemianism|Bohemian]] [[East Atlanta]], and eclectic [[Old Fourth Ward]].<ref name="Gournay"/><ref>{{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}}</ref> On the [[West Midtown|westside]] and along the [[BeltLine]] on the [[Eastside, Atlanta|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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

In southwest Atlanta, neighborhoods closer to downtown originated as streetcar suburbs, including the historic [[West End (Atlanta)|West End]], while those farther from downtown retain a postwar suburban layout. These include [[Collier Heights]] and [[Cascade Heights]], home to much of the city's affluent African-American population.<ref>{{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 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YKXsm19fBpkC&pg=PA38|title="The Black Middle Class: Where It Lives", ''Ebony'', August 1987|access-date=October 28, 2014|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|date=August 1987}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-06-27/business/0406270223_1_black-homeowners-neighborhoods-home-buyers/2|title=Atlanta's minorities see dramatic rise in homeownership| date= June 27, 2004|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=October 28, 2014}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wheatley |first=Thomas |url=http://clatl.com/atlanta/wal-mart-and-prince-charles-give-vine-city-a-boost/Content?oid=2515713 |title=Wal-Mart and Prince Charles give Vine City a boost |work=Creative Loafing|date=December 15, 2010 |access-date=July 16, 2012}}</ref>

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 [[Interstate 485 (Georgia)|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.<ref name="husock">{{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}}</ref> Construction of the Beltline has stimulated new and related development along its path.<ref>{{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 (web magazine)|CityLab]] |date=November 10, 2017 |access-date=September 28, 2018}}</ref>