Matt Garbett

When the most detailed expenditure of proposed TAD funding is $155M to The Stitch, another giant sparkling project that doesn't really qualify as necessary infrastructure (we could use a lot more 5th Street bridges)... well, doesn't really make one lean towards the TADs as responsible does it?

Really need a matrix of ownership vs rental & length of residency and age of the person and education and earnings and compare between locations that have varying rates of residents vs owners. Places where renting is ubiquitous are probably very different.

Hard to get hard numbers but it looks like length of residency is a larger determiner than renting vs ownership. Homeowners that have moved in within a year also vote at pretty low rates and renters that have lived somewhere over five years vote at higher rates.

Just a regular reminder that renters are almost always considered 2nd class citizens.

a bunch of file cabinets at The Goat Farm

some How I'd Fix Atlanta zines and also a bunch of other zines. there are gonna be even more of them tomorrow if you can believe it.

book! zine! fair!

dropped off some stickers and a pile of How I'd Fix Atlanta Season Two for @burnaway.org's first annual BOOK/ZINE fair.

it's gonna be so awesome.

if you're in ATL tomorrow, make sure to head over to The Goat Farm and check it out:

burnaway.org/programs/boo...

Related to this post (which you should read & the link to the full document): 1) Does anyone know the assessed value of the Krog Street Market properties that just sold for $220M? and 2) Does anyone have an explanation why the city, APS, and county aren't up in arms about the commercial assessments?

I'm not asking so I can be critical. Just curious. What does it mean to be an "International City"? I'm pretty sure there's not a correct or single definition. What do you think an International City means and what do you think Atlanta's power structure means by it?

@danimmergluck.bsky.social @julianbene.bsky.social how do you stay sane with everything you know about this stuff? I've looked at TADs before but I'm doing a shallow dive into the TADs in D12 and I just want to bang my head against the wall.

Honestly, Dan and Julian are probably the smartest people in the room to talk about this and Sean the ablest journalist to cover it. Worth a read of the whole thread and exchanges.

I love how the TADs are being treated as if they are free money, money that will vanish if the TADs dissolve.

That's not how it works.

Ok, a little help needed. @atlantabeltline.org keeps saying that the $1B they've spent on the trail has generated $9B in economic development. But I can't find where that number comes from and what means were used to generate it. Anyone see it anywhere?

Between you and me... I'm not a PTA fan. Not trying to be cool. I just don't enjoy his movies. I feel he has a good concept and eye but doesn't know how to end a movie.

The studies on the different modes of transit for the Beltline.

drive.google.com/file/d/1AZYR..., drive.google.com/file/d/1KWl9..., drive.google.com/file/d/1qcRQ...

I'm not entering into the drawing since I have a copy (would love to have it signed) but this is an amazing book about homelessness. I just wish he had some copies to give Atlanta elected officials who really, really, really need to read it.

Really, those should be questions we ask every time we hear, "in time for the World Cup." Is this project needed? And if so, why have you waited until the World Cup to address it? And if not... is there something better you could spend our resources on? /end

These projects are not undertaken for the benefit of residents. And if they are, what a tragedy that the long-standing issues that need to be addressed are only a priority now to present an image to the world, and not b/c they needed to be done. /2

I cannot count how many times at meetings, events, forums, from the mouths of city business groups and their CIDs/BIDs, and employees and elected officials the words, "We hope to have this project completed by the World Cup."

This, to me, is a fundamental aspect of the "Atlanta Way." /1

The Battle for Attention How do we hold on to what matters in a distracted age?

and hear. Then we'll talk about what we saw, heard, and felt and then briefly discuss the material and historical object and then continue the discussion if anyone likes at a local watering hole.

Inspired by The Order of the Third Bird:

Come join us! /end

Want to join me for an interesting excursion this Saturday, noon-1PM? Meet at The Last Meter Statue in Piedmont Park (near the 14th St entrance) and we'll walk to a site that most of us probably barely register.

For 5 minutes we'll extend our attention in silence, just focusing on what we see /1

Addressing homelessness in Atlanta: The fight for Housing First In the wake of Cornelius Taylor’s death, Atlanta navigates the homelessness crisis with a new plan. But do its goals serve residents?

Must read from the @atlpresscollective.com

atlpresscollective.com/2025/09/05/a...

I think that urbanists who may feel like they are an expert in planning, especially, need to read this book. As do our candidates and our media. /end

But that's high praise for essentially an academic work.

Having been there, I'll give it a 4.9 for accuracy. There's a few minor things I'd quibble with but overall damn accurate.

Just a really good read that helps peel back the complexity of affordable housing in ATL. And takes no prisoners. /3

for anyone in Atlanta for sure. And same for people living elsewhere to learn from our "mistakes". I put that in quotes since it's not a mistake if it's done intentionally.

I learned a lot. And it was excellent for some self-reflection about my involvement

I'll give it a 4 stars for readability /2

Finished Red Hot City by @danimmergluck.bsky.social. Little odd for me since I was present for a good portion of the book (how we didn't cross paths during the Beltline opening, Ft. Mac, and Turner Field is beyond me).

I'm gonna put this up there as a 5 star regarding really essential reading /1

I would've taken very different positions.

Read. Listen. These are not passive activities. These are active. /end

a good urbanist, advocate for your neighborhood, etc. if you don't read, listen to legacy residents, you're not going to do it right.

I'm dreading getting to the main argument about the Beltline though. B/c I was personally involved in that and wish this book came out when I was n'hood president /7

Weaves a fuller tapestry. Maybe that'll be the next book club series.

Also, even if you don't live in Atlanta and you care about your city, you can learn from our mistakes. Which is better than how Atlanta often refuses to learn from other cities' mistakes.

I always tell people, you cannot be /6

and saying, let's look at 12 different perspectives of the Reagan era moving from contemporaneous through time of publication.

It's not like looking at paintings of the same person by different people and how they choose to hide or display the freckle or balding.

It's not boring. It just /5

(and I don't) I'd like to take all these books, put them in chronological order of publication, and binge read them all taking notes of how they present the situation from their own perspective. A history of the histories of Atlanta.

That sounds fun to me. I guess like picking any niche field /4

Their own take. Highlight certain things over others. It also helps when the writer is good and doesn't treat the first chapter like, "Shit, I have to teach a 101 course again???" But acknowledges that not everyone has read all this stuff and it's necessary to tell those people.

If I had time /3