Atlanta City Planning, 1900-1950 Finding

One important finding from my Atlanta research was the impact that the campaign "Forward Atlanta" had on city planning. This campaign was launched by City Hall and the Chamber of Commerce to attract businesses to Atlanta. They were successful in luring important businesses such as Davison-Paxon department store, Sears-Roebuck, and General Motors, which made Atlanta their regional headquarters. This tremendous growth in commerce demanded office space and buildings that Atlanta did not have, and so the city constructed office buildings to fulfill the demand. For instance, Auburn Avenue became the commercial center for African Americans and new buildings were built along this street for the increasing number of African American professionals and businesses.