Local News
Johns Creek, Sandy Springs, other new cities have a pulse but not a heart
A construction worker stands where a future performing arts center will be built as part of the new City Center off of Roswell Road, Monday, Oct. 12, 2015, in Sandy Springs. BRANDEN CAMP / For the AJC
By Bill Torpy
Oct 21, 2015For years they’ve been known as nice, leafy suburban patchworks of neighborhoods, great places to live, but not necessarily visit. In essence, there was no there there.
But now new cities like Sandy Springs, Johns Creek, Peachtree Corners and Milton, as well as some longtime small towns like Alpharetta, are betting that government outlays for old-timey downtowns will draw people to visit and keep residents in their communities spending their hard-earned cash at home. (In sum, everybody wants to be "the next Decatur.")
How does a community create an instant image, a character transplant?
Today's Bill Torpy at Large column is all about the new downtown arms race in tthe northern suburbs.
About the Author
Bill Torpy, who writes about metro Atlanta for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, joined the newspaper in 1990.
