Atlanta

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Atlanta
Montage Atlanta.jpg
Seal of Atlanta
seal 		Atlanta flag
flag
Location in Georgia
Fulton County Georgia Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Atlanta Highlighted.svg
Basic data
Foundation : 1847
State : United States
State : Georgia
Counties : Fulton County
DeKalb County
Coordinates : 33 ° 45 ′  N , 84 ° 23 ′  W Coordinates: 33 ° 45 ′  N , 84 ° 23 ′  W
Time zone : Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Inhabitants :
-  Metropolitan Area :		 472,522 (as of 2016)
5,789,700 (as of 2016)
Population density : 1,384.9 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 343 km 2  (approx. 132 mi 2 ) of
which 341.2 km 2  (approx. 132 mi 2 ) are land
Height : 320 m
Postcodes : 30060, 30301-30322, 30324-30334, 30336-30350, 30353
Area code : +1 404 678, 770
FIPS : 13-04000
GNIS ID : 0351615
Website : www.atlantaga.gov
Mayor : Keisha Lance Bottoms (D)
AtlantaGeorgia.jpg
Downtown Atlanta ( 2002 )
Atlanta (USA)
Atlanta
Atlanta
Atlanta on the map of the United States

Atlanta is the capital and largest city of the US state Georgia . It is mostly in Fulton County and a smaller part in DeKalb County . It is the hub of the Atlanta metropolitan area .

history

Foundation and name origin

Originally the area on which the present-day city is located was populated by the Cherokee and Muskogee Indians, who called the place Pakanahuihli (English Standing Peachtree ). The first white colonization began in 1823. In 1836 the place was determined by the Western and Atlantic Railroad as the end point of the railway line from Rossville / Chattanooga (Tennessee) to Georgia and was therefore initially named Terminus in 1837 (roughly: "End station"). 1843 was the then governor of Georgia to Martha Lumpkin, daughter of Wilson Lumpkin , Marthasville baptized before its present name Atlanta received. The origin of the latter name is not entirely clear. The governor's daughter could have had the middle name Atlanta , or it could be the feminine form of Atlantic .

Role in civil war

When the Civil War began in 1861 , the city already had 9,000 inhabitants. Because of its function as a trading point and railroad hub in the southern states, Atlanta was an important target for the opposing Union troops and was besieged for several months. The city was of such importance that it was a day's train ride to any city in the southern states .

The siege began with the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864. After Union general William T. Sherman's troops managed to capture the last supply line to Macon , Southern General John Bell Hood evacuated the city. Sherman was able to announce to President Abraham Lincoln on September 3 that the city had been successfully taken. The capture of Atlanta is considered an important reason for Lincoln's re-election in 1864 and thus the further course of the war and one of the great turning points in the American Civil War.

On November 11, 1864, Union forces burned Atlanta. This resulted from the principle of total war applied by Sherman , which intended to involve the civilian population. Sherman continued this tactic on his campaign through Georgia, which led him to Savannah on the Atlantic coast. The destruction of Atlanta was literary in the novel Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell processed.

After the war ended, it only took a few months for the first residents to return. Although around 90% of the buildings were destroyed by that time, the residents quickly rebuilt their city. In 1868 Atlanta became the capital of Georgia.

Spread of the major fire in 1917

Recent history

Around noon on May 21, 1917, a fire was reported at Skinner's Warehouse near the corner of Fort and Decatur Streets. Since the fire brigade was spread across the entire city due to several previous fires, the fire had already spread far to the north when it arrived. The fire destroyed 1,938 buildings, mostly wooden houses, in an area spanning 73 blocks, and left about 10,000 people homeless. The only fatality was a person who died of a heart attack upon seeing their house destroyed.

A series of murders occurred in the city from 1979 to 1981, known as the Atlanta Child Kills .

In 1996 the 26th Summer Olympics took place in Atlanta . The torchbearer was Muhammad Ali .

Put grave of Martin Luther King and his wife in the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site (2006)

Eight structures and sites in Atlanta have National Historic Landmark status , including the Georgia State Capitol , Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, and the Fox Theater . 208 buildings and sites in the city are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) (as of November 2, 2018).

Coat of arms and motto

Atlanta owes its coat of arms and motto to the reconstruction after the American Civil War . The city's heraldic animal is a phoenix , which is supposed to represent the resurrection from the ashes of war. Likewise, the city motto "Resurgens." (Latin for rising again ).

Demographics

In 2010, 38.4% of the population were white, 54.0% black or African American , 3.1% Asian, 2.0% belonged to two or more groups. 9.1% of the total population were Hispanics or Latinos of any ethnic group. The median income per household in 2015 was $ 47,527. 24.6 percent of the population lived below the poverty line.

climate

Atlanta lies in the subtropical climate zone on the geographical latitude of North Africa . The annual average temperature is 16.4 ° C and the total rainfall is 1197 mm. The warmest month of the year is July with an average of 26.0 ° C, while December is the coldest with an average of 6.7 ° C.

Atlanta owes the climatic middle ground between the heat of the plains of South Georgia and the snowfall of the mountains to the north to its location in the Piedmont , the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains (part of the Appalachian Mountains ). Despite its subtropical location, Atlanta usually has snow for at least a short time during winter . In summer, lack of rain can lead to drought . Tornadoes occur regularly in and around Atlanta, including the Atlanta Tornado Outbreak in 2008.

Atlanta
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
121
 
10
0
 
 
122
 
13
1
 
 
147
 
18th
6th
 
 
108
 
23
10
 
 
109
 
26th
15th
 
 
90
 
30th
19th
 
 
127
 
31
21st
 
 
93
 
31
21st
 
 
87
 
28
18th
 
 
78
 
23
11
 
 
98
 
17th
6th
 
 
110
 
12
2
Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm
Source: WMO 1961–1990; wetterkontor.de
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Atlanta
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 10.2 12.8 17.9 22.6 26.4 29.9 31.1 30.6 27.7 22.6 17.4 12.2 O 21.8
Min. Temperature (° C) −0.3 1.4 5.8 10.1 14.8 19.0 20.8 20.6 17.5 11.1 6.0 1.7 O 10.8
Precipitation ( mm ) 120.6 122.2 146.6 108.2 109.0 90.4 127.3 93.0 86.9 77.5 98.0 110.0 Σ 1,289.7
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 4.8 5.8 6.8 8.5 9.4 9.5 8.7 8.6 7.7 7.7 6.1 4.9 O 7.4
Rainy days ( d ) 9.7 8.4 9.1 7.1 7.8 8.4 10.3 8.0 6.3 5.3 7.3 7.9 Σ 95.6
Humidity ( % ) 69 64 63 63 68 71 76 76 75 70 69 69 O 69.5
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
10.2
−0.3
12.8
1.4
17.9
5.8
22.6
10.1
26.4
14.8
29.9
19.0
31.1
20.8
30.6
20.6
27.7
17.5
22.6
11.1
17.4
6.0
12.2
1.7
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		120.6
122.2
146.6
108.2
109.0
90.4
127.3
93.0
86.9
77.5
98.0
110.0
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source: WMO 1961–1990; wetterkontor.de

Economy and Infrastructure

The metropolitan area of ​​Atlanta generated an economic output of 363.8 billion US dollars in 2016 and thus ranked 10th among the metropolitan areas of the USA and is one of the economically most dynamic cities in the country. The unemployment rate was 3.4 percent and was thus below the national average of 3.8 percent (as of May 2018).

traffic

Atlanta City Train Station

The most famous street in Atlanta is Peachtree Street. It runs in a north-south direction and is known as "Broadway" Atlantas. Many historical buildings are on this street. However, the name Peachtree appears in more than 30 street names. (Peachtree Creek Road, Peachtree Lane, Peachtree Avenue, Peachtree Circle, Peachtree Drive, Peachtree Plaza, Peachtree Way, Peachtree Memorial Drive, New Peachtree Road, Peachtree Valley Road, West Peachtree Street, Peachtree Industrial Boulevard). A famous suburb is Peachtree City.

In Atlanta the interstate highways I-20 , I-75 and I-85 cross in a star shape.

The Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, the airport with the highest passenger traffic worldwide.

Local public transport is operated by the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) with four subway and various bus routes that run between 5:00 a.m. and about 1:00 a.m. Night lines do not exist. The subway usually runs every 10 minutes. As in many major US cities, no timetable is posted at bus stops. The respective connection must be requested via a free telephone number.

Established businesses

In addition to the Coca-Cola Company , Cox Enterprises , CNN , UPS , The Home Depot , PulteGroup , Genuine Parts Company , Georgia-Pacific , Novelis , Veritiv , SunTrust , Southern Company and Delta Air Lines, they have been settling in recent years due to the low Tax rates many companies in and around Atlanta apply. Meanwhile, Atlanta ranks third among American cities with the most Fortune 500 corporate headquarters . Until 2007, the headquarters of BellSouth , the largest telephone company in the southeastern United States, and that of the wireless operator Cingular Wireless were also in Atlanta. However, with the takeover by AT&T , the company's headquarters were relocated to San Antonio , Texas .

education

Atlanta is home to a number of internationally renowned universities such as the Georgia Institute of Technology , Emory University and Georgia State University .

politics

Georgia State Capitol

Atlanta is home to three different governments : the government of the US state of Georgia, that of Fulton County surrounding the city, and the government of the city itself.

Country

As the capital of the state of Georgia , the state government is located in Atlanta. The Georgia State Capitol is located in Downtown Atlanta.

county

The city is also the seat of the Countyverwaltung ( county seat ) of Fulton County . Therefore, the actual urban area extends mainly to Fulton County. However, the metropolitan area goes far beyond that and also includes other counties, especially DeKalb County .

city

Atlanta is ruled by a mayor and the city council. The city council consists of a total of 15 representatives. Of these, twelve are elected as direct candidates in the districts and three by the general population. The mayor has the right to veto regulations of the city council , which can be overruled by the city council with a two-thirds majority. So the city's government is very reminiscent of the United States' Constitution .

Maynard Jackson served as mayor for two terms from 1973 to 1982 ; he was replaced by Andrew Young . Young had a total of three terms, he was replaced in 1990 by Jackson, who completed his third term. In 1994 Bill Campbell became mayor of Atlanta. During Campbell's tenure, the government had a reputation for corruption. Campbell was convicted in 2006.

In 2001, Democrat Shirley Franklin became the first woman to serve in Atlanta mayor's office. She was re-elected in 2005 with 90% of the vote. On January 4, 2010, the also Democratic Kasim Reed became her successor.

Sports

Atlanta is home to a variety of professional sports teams including:

Personalities

Martin Luther King's grave site

The city's most famous son was the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martin Luther King . Born in Atlanta in 1929, he also preached in his father's church, Ebenezer Baptist Church on Auburn Avenue. After his murder on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee , he was buried in Atlanta in the King Memorial Center. His wife Coretta Scott King was buried next to her husband in 2006.

Attractions

Georgia Aquarium
Water features in Centennial Park
Atrium of the Atlanta City Hall with the country flags of the twin cities
Bank of America Plaza

Green spaces and amusement parks

  • An attraction in the Atlanta area is Stone Mountain , the world's largest exposed granite boulder.
  • The largest green spaces in the city are Piedmont Park, Grant Park, and Oakland Cemetery.
  • In 1996 the 26th Summer Olympics took place in Atlanta . A large park in the city center is the Centennial Olympic Park with an area of ​​8.5 hectares and interactive water features in the shape of the five Olympic rings.
  • The Georgia Aquarium opened in Atlanta on November 23, 2005 . It is the largest aquarium in the world and has four whale sharks around five meters long in a tank with 30,000 m³ of salt water as an attraction .
  • The Zoo Atlanta is known for keeping pandas and a large group gorillas .

Museums

building

Town twinning

Atlanta has the following city partnerships:

literature

  • David King Gleason, John Stone: Atlanta. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge 1994, ISBN 978-0-8071-1937-2 .

supporting documents

  1. ^ Georgia (USA): State, Cities & Towns - Population Statistics & Maps
  2. ^ Atlanta. In: New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 11, 2019 .
  3. ^ Teacher's Resources: The Atlanta Fire
  4. ↑ List of NHL by State . National Park Service , accessed November 2, 2018.
  5. ↑ Search mask database in the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed November 2, 2018.
  6. ^ US Department of Commerce, BEA, Bureau of Economic Analysis: Bureau of Economic Analysis. Retrieved July 4, 2018 (American English).
  7. ^ Alan Berube, Jesus Leal Trujillo, Tao Ran, and Joseph Parilla: Global Metro Monitor . In: Brookings . January 22, 2015 ( brookings.edu [accessed July 4, 2018]).
  8. ^ Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA Economy at a Glance. Retrieved July 4, 2018 .
  9. ↑ adversity.net
  10. ↑ Former mayor indicted for fraud: Bill Campbell charged with corruption during his mayoral term ( Memento from July 12, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )

Web links

Commons : Atlanta  - album with pictures, videos and audio files