Atlanta Unbound: Enabling Sprawl through Policy and Planning

Based on detailed analyses of the post-war development of planning processes and regional institutions, the author makes the provocative argument that the extensive decentralization of Atlanta was a process actively enabled and coordinated across political scales by public institutions engaged in regional planning.

The book examines the structure of public agencies as well as the discourse surrounding them. It uses the material record (built environment) of metropolitan Atlanta as an entry point to see how regional planning evolved over the past decades. It reveals how seemingly loosely connected planning decisions formed part of a complex and coordinated process negotiated by a relatively small group of politicians, planners and public administrators who recognized the value of regional planning.

The author questions who is benefiting from the regional planning that enabled Atlanta’s urban sprawl, and he takes a critical look at the changing role and power of the Atlanta Regional Commission and the state of Georgia. Specific cases of the placement of infrastructure are examined, such as the struggles over the Chattahoochee River and its water supply to the region. Also reviewed are the Regional Development Plan of Metropolitan Atlanta and how a narrow mathematical urban model co-opted the planning process and suppressed public discussion; the transportation crisis in relation to the Northern Arc; and more recently, the Livable Centers Initiative that aims to encourage small-town centres and local infrastructure development across the region.

The book is a valuable resource for people with a specific interest in American metropolitan regions and Atlanta. However, there is also an overall argument about recognizing the importance of regional planning agencies relevant to city sprawl as critical actors that bridge local and national level government. Furthermore, the book includes a methodological claim that tracing institutional development over longer periods can reveal how seemingly independent actions can form part of coherent and powerful development with strong regional impact.

Book note prepared by Julia Wesely