The end of the old Atlanta growth model

This summer, The Wall Street Journal headline sent shivers down spines in city halls, chambers of commerce and real estate firms across our metro region: “Atlanta’s Growth Streak Has Come to an End.” More domestic migrants left than came to metro Atlanta between 2023 and 2024, for the first time since such data were recorded. The AJC also took note.

We can question whether in-migration is the right metric for a city’s success, but growth has been definitional for Atlanta throughout its modern history — part of how the city measures its prosperity, openness, and stature.

The alarm bells should prompt us to reflect on how our city has grown for a half-century, and to ask whether this model can be sustained going forward. As a professor of urban planning, I see a city not fully grappling wi