Atlanta makes list of "most ambitious transit projects"

The Atlanta area gets a lot of grief for its transit issues, car dependence, pedestrian unfriendliness, etc. but we must also recognize that there is a lot of innovation under way.

We need look no further than the many trails that the PATH Foundation has created, including our own South Peachtree Creek Trail.

So, it is a little gratifying to see that Atlantic Cities has an article titled A Guide to America's Most Ambitious Transit Projects and that Atlanta actually gets mentioned in the Transit Space Race 2013 report. A clickable map allows you to see Atlanta-area projects in progress, most of which involve some type of rail transport.

The report was produced by Reconnecting America, "a national nonprofit that advises civic and community leaders on how to overcome community development challenges to create better communities for all."

If you are interested in urban design, also check out Reconnecting America's "Are we there yet?" report, released last October. Reconnecting America proposes that "complete communities" can be defined by 33 indicators (income, access to public transit and affordable housing, proximity to job centers, pedestrian/cyclist safety, access to parks, education level, etc.). Complete communities are ideal for people of all ages because proximity and public transportation allows independence (and financial leeway--they note that maintaining a car costs ~$8,946/year, per 2012 data). The report concludes by saying:

"If manifest destiny drove America’s ever-outward expansion, facilitated first by wagons and railroads and then by highways and suburban tracts of single-family homes in the last century, the younger generation and boomers alike seem to be driven by a need to
return to the center in the 21st century, redeveloping older communities to make them more complete, and making our economy more resilient and sustainable by doing things more efficiently across our regions."

At the bottom, but at least we made the list!
from http://reconnectingamerica.org/assets/PDFs/20121001AreWeThereYet-web.pdf

See full-size Atlanta Score Card @ Reconnecting America

The overall Atlanta-are report is... full of opportunity.

DeKalb Co. BOE approves new school construction plans

 Ty Tagami at the AJC reports on yesterday's Board of Education meeting:

The facilities plan, which will be funded in part by local sales tax revenue, calls for the expansion of several buildings. Austin, Fernbank, Pleasantdale and Rockbridge elementaries will grow to 900 students . . . The plan adopted by a 6-3 vote Wednesday scraps school closures and is silent on major redistricting.   Read the report @ AJC

UPDATE: DeKalb School Watch posted the document the Board voted on.

Intown Ace Hardware featured by Huffington Post

This feature describes how the owners of Ace Hardware Store didn't just cope but thrived in response to Home Depot's opening on Lawrenceville Highway. Their insights will keep them on top of their game when Walmart opens at Suburban Plaza:

"Jones decided to differentiate his store on the diversity and quality of its offerings. ...changed up his business plan, going from a building supply provider to something more like a general store. ... Today, the store does more than $3 million in sales, an increase of 285 percent since the mid-90s when Home Depot moved to the nearby location, Jones said. The store's success even garnered it recognition as the "Coolest Ace on the Planet" by the hardware franchise in 2012. Read on @ Huffington Post"

Coolest Ace on the Planet? Why yes:

And we agree: Intown Ace's customer service and (like the fancy blogs like to say) artfully curated inventory is the secret sauce!

Winter activities @ Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area

Although not in our neighborhood, the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area it is less than 20 miles away.

The winter program includes activities such as a ranger-led hikes (both daylight and moon-lit), exploration of old ruins and historical sites, archery and cooking. See the schedule at http://arabiaalliance.org/events/ for a full listing of events.

Arabia Mountain includes the Davidson-Arabia Nature Preserve, Panola Mountain State Park, the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, the Flat Rock Archives, and the Atlanta Wild Animal Rescue Effort (AWARE).

Flu season continues

If the flu season seems more intense than last year's, perhaps you are not delirious.

ILI means influenza-like illness. Figure via the Weekly Georgia Influenza Report. 

Google.org's Flu Trends page compares its search engine data to epidemiological data from the CDC to explore whether search patterns reflect cases on the ground. Their data for past years suggests that their model does predict cases, and it would seem this year is no different.

Google Flu Trends for Atlanta: darkest blue line shows 2012-2013 searches for flu-type terms, with lighter blue lines representing searches conducted from the previous 6 years

If you are fascinated by this information, check out CDC's Weekly Flu Update while you rest, take plenty of fluids and follow CDC's home care guidelines.

Service Day at the Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve

A big thank you to all the neighbors and other volunteers
who came to support the Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve
on this service day.

King of the mountain! Service can be fun.

A young garter snake made a brief appearance.

An exuberant young helper at one point exclaimed "If only we were big enough to get that tree!" Not to worry, little guy, lots of hands (and a few chainsaws) usually does the trick.

A grant from the GA Forestry Service is helping the Clyde Shepherd Nature preserve eliminate privet (an invasive species) to make way for native plants. Volunteers brought a large amount of brush to the curb for chipping later this week. Bonus points if you can spot Bigfoot. Click to enlarge.

Google spies.... urban agriculture

North DeKalb Mall Employe Community Garden: pre-garden [GoogleMaps] and currently [GoogleEarth, image dated Oct. 31, 2012]. Click to enlarge.

Atlantic Cities has a report on how urban planners at the University of Illinois used Google satellite images to map the true extent of urban agriculture in Chicago. While surveys completed by individuals and non-profits estimated around 700 urban food gardens, Google's eye in the sky told a story of 4,400+ thriving food gardens.

"There is often this idea that urban agriculture is something that’s new and sometimes perceived to be trendy," Taylor says. "But of course it’s just been going on for generations in people’s backyards and in these interstitial spaces, like right-of-ways and vacant lots. Across the city, there are lots of folks who are doing this on their own, or with support from their neighbors."

Might aerial views of our area tell a similar story?

If you are interested in urban gardening, from growing fruits and vegetables to keeping bees and poultry, stay tuned to the coming legislative session. Concerned citizens have been working to strengthen Georgia law to ensure that local governments (cities, and counties such as our own) cannot pre-empt our right to grow food. For more information, visit the Georgia Food Rights website and join their Facebook group. The proposed Sustainable Food Act is supported by Georgia Organics and the Wylde Center, among others.

For a reflection on the inherent inconsistency of laws affecting unincorporated DeKalb, see this item on Southern Spaces.