CITY FOCUS | ATLANTA

tlanta , Georgia , the capital and economic heart of its state , is a city steeped in the history of the American South . Its sprawling metropolitan area is home to almost 6mn people and its Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has been the biggest and busiest in the world since the start of the century . Every year , more than 107mn passengers arrive at or depart from its terminals .

66

Originally Creek and Cherokee Native American territory , Atlanta was first established at the end of the 1830s , as the terminus of a government-built railroad leading to the Midwest . A wooden stake marking the end of the rail was driven into the ground and , over the next decade , homes and storefronts grew around it until , by the 1850s , the town had become the primary rail hub for the entire American South .

The great seal of Atlanta depicts a phoenix rising from the ashes , tribute to the city ’ s tumultuous past . During the American Civil War , Union troops leveled Atlanta , burning thousands of buildings to the ground . The city ’ s story is one of rebirth , resurgence ( the city ’ s motto ) and modernisation . Post-Antebellum Atlanta was recreated as the gateway to the modern South . Today , Atlanta is home to some of the country ’ s most elite universities ( including Georgia Tech ) as well as more than 150,000 businesses , of which many belong to the Fortune 500 and 1,000 .

JANUARY 2020