Library Resource - Adam Karabenli

I agree with the previously writen post. I grew up in Cobb County, and I've seen many incidences where historical battle sited are being consumed by suburban sprawl. In Marietta, there is a golf course (Marietta Country Club) that is partially built on a Civil War battle feild. Also, I live close to Kennisaw Mountain, another Civil War battle site where wealthy sprawling houses back up to the mountain's property.

I used the eJournal application on the Georgia Tech library website. I found an article, "A question of sprawl: Live in the past or plan for the future?" about suburban sprawl by The Globe and Mail (Canada). It talked about identifying that sprawl exists, and the need to plan smarter for the future. It gave the example of Ottawa, and how they are struggling from sprawl. Some of their consiqences are bad pollution from automobiles. It also talks about how the Ottawa City Council is making plans to better their problems arrised from suburban sprawl.

Using Library Resources

I used the online database for my research and found an interesting article, from March of 2007, about suburban sprawl threatening historical sites, specifically Civil War battlefields. This article begins by discussing how Cobb County's historical sites are in danger and uses sprawl as one of it's key factors to this destruction. The article also says that in ten years, the fight of preservation for Civil War sites will be over for the most part; they will be "saved or paved."
Being from Virginia I know how important historical sites are and the many reasons that they should be kept safe. First and foremost, they preserve a piece of history and honor those who fought in the war. Second, they are a good resource for learning and for families and tourists to visit. Lastly, the sites bring in money to the county and to the site in order to help maintain and improve the preservation of the site.

-Paul DeVito

Neighborhood Evaluation Topic - Adam Karabenli

Like Niall, I also chose Atlantic Station for my neighborhood evaluation project. I also decided to add Home Park in as well. Atlantic Station is located just north from Tech. Home Park is located right south of Atlantic Station, and that is mostly a residential area.

Here's a video documentary / tour of Atlantic Station and Home Park:



I chose to write about Atlantic Staion because of its unique atmosphere, and I've been there several times. I would consider it a traditional neighborhood according to Suburban Nation. I agree, and Atlantic Station also complements my proposed criteria. Most everthing there is within walking distance, and the diversity is great. In addition, green spaces and the city square promote social interaction. In Atlantic Station there is always something to do, whether it be exercising, working, watching a movie, or eating out.

Map of Atlantic Station:

My Neighborhood

I decided to write my paper on the Atlantic Station neighborhood. Originally I decided to write my paper on Atlantic Station because it was close to the school, but there is actually a lot found at Atlantic Station. Of course, there is the promenade that everybody thinks about with Atlantic Station. The promenade is filled with clothing stores, and grocery stores, as well as the movie theater. Around the the promenade there are a lot of different types of houses from condos, to town homes, and single standing homes. The greatest part is probably the proximity to the rest of the city. Any place can be reached quickly from Atlantic Station. Checking out Atlantic Station definately opened my eyes to how nice an inner city neighborhood can be.

-Niall Longobardi

Neighborhood Project

I chose a small neighborhood in Buckhead called "The Georgian." This small community is right off of Wieuca Rd and sits at a 5-10 minute walk to Lenox Mall. It's a small set of very nice homes, that are kept in pristine condition. In addition to being well lit and safe, the lawns are green and colorful, the houses are all a light brown brick with compliments of yellows, greens and browns, and it's an easy walk to get to all your needs. This neighborhood is close to almost everything, which is a big part of being a traditional neighborhood from Suburban Sprawl, and it is a nice addition in my opinion. There is a church, many businesses, and a very good mall all very close to the neighborhood. Also, it is a safe place to live and it has a great elementary school very close to it. There is also enough space to do anything from going on a run to going out in the yard to spend quality time with your family; that's a plus from both Suburban Nation and my own personal preferences. Honestly, I thought it was a really nice neighborhood, but I think it's too small for my taste. I was really attracted to many aspects of it like how well it was kept and its close proximity to everything, but I don't its for me and I want to keep my criteria the way it is.

-Paul DeVito

Blog Review- Paul DeVito

I chose the "Is Atlanta Southern" blog. This specific blogger chose to talk about Atlanta's level of "southern-ness," in their eyes. They see Atlanta as a pretty southern area; they brought up all the people getting out of church on Sunday and "perfumed ladies and seersucker clad gentlemen with that “old south” accent." Atlanta's hospitality and friendliness was also mentioned. Lastly, they brought up how often the phrase "Ya'll" is used, which is almost always associated with the south. Throughout the blog, they seemed almost surprised that nobody had picked up on this except for them. I think they chose to write about this because they wanted to get there opinion out there, and let people know that their area is definitively southern place to be. Also, no mutimedia tools were used in this blog.

I agree with what Adam is saying about why the bloggers are writing about their specific communities. It is definitely a personal issue, it is about what is close to them and what is directly affecting them. They are faced with these thoughts every day and had get them out there.
I think with my specific blogger, they really just wanted to find some people who agreed with them about southern Atlanta is, due to the fact that everyone at their office disagreed with them.

-Paul DeVito

Blog Review - Adam Karabenli

I read the "Atlanta Unsheltered" blog, and it mainly discussed some of the issues Atlanta is facing today. For example, this blog talks about toxic waste problems in some MARTA stations and garbage problems throughout the city. Another issue was suburban sprawl. The blog tells us of an Atlanta city councilwoman that lives on a three-quarter acre property in Buckhead, and she stated, "there's not that much suburban territory in the city." Those two things contradict each other.



The writers of this blog write about their own community because that's the community that affects them the most. I feel like the writers of this blog hope to accomplish the goal of identifying residents and government officials of the issues in Atlanta. By doing this, the writers hope that these residents and government officials will make efforts toward bettering the city.