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Categories: Georgia (U.S. state) | Metropolitan areas | Atlanta metropolitan area

Atlanta metropolitan area

According to the 2000 census, the 28-county Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area has a population of 4,247,981 making it the eleventh largest metropolitan area in the United States. The 2004 Census estimate shows 4,708,297 people living in the 28-county area, moving it up two spots to the night largest metropolitan area in the United States.

According to the ranking of world cities undertaken by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network (GaWC) and based on the level of presence of global corporate service organisations, Atlanta is considered a gamma or minor world city.

Contents

1 Counties

2 Cities

2.1 Anchor city
2.2 Suburbs with 10,000 or more inhabitants
2.3 Suburbs with less than 10,000 inhabitants

3 Commerce

3.1 Transportation and communication
3.2 Retail centers

4 See also

Counties

Cities

Anchor city

Atlanta (Major airport: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport)

Suburbs with 10,000 or more inhabitants

Suburbs with less than 10,000 inhabitants

Commerce

Transportation and communication

Metro Atlanta is served by six major interstate highway routes to and from the city. I-75 is the busiest and carries a great deal of truck traffic, running south-southeast to Macon and onward to Florida and northwest to Chattanooga (and I-575 to Canton). I-85 runs southwest to Montgomery (and I-185 to Columbus), and northeast to Greenville/Spartanburg (and I-985 to Gainesville). I-20 runs east to Augusta and Columbia, and west to Birmingham.

I-285 runs around the city in a circle, and is called the Perimeter. I-75/85 is joined through downtown Atlanta, called the Downtown Connector. I-675 joins I-75 in the south metro to the southeastern end of I-285. Georgia 400 runs north to Alpharetta, then somewhat northeast to Dahlonega in the mountains.

MARTA operates rapid transit in Fulton and Dekalb counties, while Gwinnett, Cobb, and Clayton counties operate their own buses with no current rail transit. Plans are underway for commuter rail, though this is several years away yet.

The area has three telephone area codes. 404, which originally covered all of northern Georgia until 1992, now covers only inside the Perimeter (Interstate 285). In 1995, the suburbs were put into 770, and 678 was overlaid onto both in 1998, requiring mandatory ten-digit dialing even for local calls under FCC rules. A new area code will be added by 2004, however the 470 assigned for this may be changed as it is extremely confusing with both 404 and 770, and 478 in adjoing central Georgia. Cellphones, originally only 404, may now have any local area code regardless of where they were issued in the area.

Major fiber-optic lines and oil and natural gas pipelines cross the area, running from the Gulf coast, Texas, and Louisiana to the population centers of the northeastern U.S.

Retail centers

Atlanta is a city known in the South for its many shopping areas. The Atlanta area home to the South's largest shopping mall, the Mall of Georgia, which is located in nearby Gwinnett County.

The other larger shopping establishments in Metro Atlanta includes:

Arbor Place Mall
Cumberland Mall
Discover Mills , a large outlet shopping mall located in Gwinnett County
Greenbriar Mall
Gwinnett Place Mall
Lenox Square, a large 3-level shopping center that is home to some 250 retailers and restaurants that is located in Buckhead. The anchors of Lenox Square include Rich's-Macy's, Bloomingdales, and Neiman-Marcus. [1]
Mall at Stonecrest
Northlake Mall
North Pointe Mall
Perimeter Mall
Phipps Plaza, an upscale shopping center also located in Buckhead. This mall is considered Atlanta's most upscale shopping center with 100+ stores along with Parisian and Saks Fifth Avenue as anchors. [2]
Shannon Mall
South DeKalb Mall
Southlake Mall
Town Center at Cobb

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