posted August 7, 2008
All Chattanooga area residents need to see a movie entitled "The Unforeseen" - a documentary based on the growth and problems that Austin, Tex., experienced from the 60s through 2004. The movie is running on the Sun-dance network this month.
It is a Robert Redford production. The movie gives insight on both sides of the issue of environmental and development of land that was regulated and managed improperly.
We are so fortunate to have all the growth in business and industry in our area, but, if not properly managed, it could change our life in the valleys to the point that we would be just another suburb of Atlanta. We are so blessed to live and work here. I think this is the best place in the world to live and raise a family.
I am a proponent for growth, but we have to be wise for the sake of our future and not lose the things we are so proud of and so dear to our culture.
David P. Hamilton
Sale Creek Mountain
stringerbead@bledsoe.net
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Excuse me, but Chattanooga is already essentially an Atlanta suburb. Now that Florida is becoming unattractive to the elderly, Chattanooga is becoming their new retirement haven.
Georgia has an income tax that the grey pathers want to avoid, remember?
VW is moving in; so will a bunch of Yankee union auto labor. Gay men have found Chattanooga also. Just wait until more property values triple and more locals start selling out for the money.
Heck, Chattanooga is about to get an abortion clinic and at least 30% of the population doesn't care. Old Chattanooga is almost gone and it is about time.
Ike Conn
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The Census estimations that were released in April of 2007 confirm that Atlanta is, indeed, the fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States, adding 900,000 residents from 2000 to 2007, which comes to no surprise for anyone that has traveled to the city lately (http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/05/real_estate/fastest_growing_metro_areas/index.htm). Even more apparent is the growth if it is compared to the city just 15 years ago as preparations for the Olympics were underway. That said, without the addition of the high-speed Mag-Lev train, or some other rapid transit between the two cities, it is in my opinion highly unlikely that Chattanooga will become the next Marietta. The commute with the existing infrastructure, to say nothing of fuel costs, would be extremely prohibitive for most. I concede that the addition of the proposed rail line, if it is ever built, would likely prove me wrong.
However, I am primarily responding to Mr. Conn. The leadership of Chattanooga has done wonders for the direction of the city. Being 22 years old, some of my earliest recollections of the city are of a time when the revitalization efforts were well underway. Fast forward to 2008 and we have one of the most beautiful, most livable cities in the country. The effects of Volkswagen coming to Chattanooga certainly will be well noticed, likely pushing the population of Chattanooga past that of Knoxville securing a spot as the third-largest city in Tennessee, especially coupled with the influx of retirees to the metro area. Change is coming, it is imminent, and we must embrace it. Chattanooga is what we, the Chattanoogans, make it, be them life long residents, career launching 20-somethings, newcomers, or retirees coming to spend the best years of their life in one of the most aesthetically pleasing regions in the country.
Without change, without growth, the city dies. This growth will bring many changes to the city, among these changes will inevitably be hordes of family-wage job seekers. Any city growth will include people from different regions of the country, people of a different sexual preference, lifestyle, religion, age, race, and belief systems to name a few. These will include former "Big 3" autoworkers from the frosty North, as well as people coming from small towns who have never resided in a city this size. They will be Chattanoogans, one of us, and we will all continue to make this city great. Let us not fear the change, but embrace it and make it what we want. It will be more important than ever to be active in civic affairs to ensure our elected officials are the best and most qualified with the best interests of our conservative city in mind.
As an aside, it is important to note that our growth will be made up largely by high-paying manufacturing jobs like Alstom and Volkswagen, and the retired who typically are financially secure for their retirement years. Our growth will be largely middle class and up, which will serve to benefit our city even more.
Hunter Raines
Hixson
Senior, Political Science and Economics
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
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Mr. Raines, it is wonderful to see a Gen-Y student take the time to write and express an opinion in such an articulate manner. You give me confidence in the next generation of the workforce available to us in this great city.
Your letter is a wonderful balance of optimism and realism and we need more young people like you who are embracing the opportunities, both educational and cultural to continue to do so in order for Chattanooga to thrive.
Ronna-Renee Jackson
Signal Mountain
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Mr. Raines, you wrote, "Atlanta is, indeed, the fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States, adding 900,000 residents from 2000 to 2007, which comes to no surprise for anyone that has traveled to the city lately..."
Frankly, with the way Atlanta residents drive (and I use that word in the loosest sense), I am surprised their population hasn't declined.
Melody Gibson
Hixson
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