FROM SUBURB TO DEFENDED NEIGHBORHOOD: CHANGE IN ATLANTA'S INMAN PARK AND ANSLEY PARK 1890-1980

From Suburb to Defended Neighborhood: Change in Atlanta's Inman Park and Ansley Park, 1890-1980 describes and analyzes the planning, subsequent development, and present status of two of the city's oldest residential neighborhoods. Inman Park, located two miles east of central Atlanta, was planned by Joel Hurt, a prominent local businessman. Work began on the project in 1886 and the first lots were sold to the public three years later. During the succeeding two decades, development proceeded slowly, due in large measure to the pervasive influence of land speculation. Other neighborhoods in the city proved more attractive to homeseekers than did Hurt's suburb, which underwent a fifty year period of decline after 1920.; By the late 1960's, Inman Park appeared an area ripe for clearance and redevelopment for commercial and high density residential use. Lured by its convenient location and the hidden potential of the only surviving examples of domestic Victorian architecture in the city, a number of young professionals moved into Inman Park and launched a restoration movement that has proven to be a striking success. Within ten years, the neighborhood has been revitalized beyond all possible expectations and has become one of Atlanta's greatest residential success stories.; Ansley Park enjoyed a higher and more consistent degree of success. Situated between Peachtree Street and Piedmont Park, the suburb was begun in 1904 by real estate developer Edwin Ansley. From its very beginnings Ansley Park was more spaciously conceived than was Inman Park. More space was devoted to parks and greater attention was paid to the landscaping and platting of building lots. The results found an immediate market among many of Atlanta's most prominent citizens and by the mid-1920's the suburb was one of the city's most prestigious addresses. Aside from a brief and relatively minor period of decline during the late 1950's, Ansley Park has retained its pre-eminent position among Atlanta's residential neighborhoods.; The development of each of these planned suburbs is presented through reliance on a variety of types of data. Newspapers, plat maps, city building permits, land deeds, and photographs provided information about the pre-1930 history of each area. Census data, first compiled by tracts in Atlanta in 1940, enabled a detailed examination of the social, economic, and housing trends in Inman Park and Ansley Park during the last four decades. The recent history of each neighborhood, particularly those elements which relate to the community organizations present in both suburbs, was compiled from contemporary documents, interviews with residents, and the author's own experiences as a resident of Inman Park.; The information derived from these sources is interpreted within the broad theoretical constructs of privatism and design determinism. Privatism refers to the prevalent American attitude that property ownership confers the right to use such property as its owner sees fit, with little regard for larger societal considerations. Design determinism refers to the hypothesis that design provides the basis from which subsequent events and patterns evolve. Both Inman Park and Ansley Park are analyzed as to the extent to which these two constructs were operative in affecting their development.; The ultimate success of each suburb is judged on the basis of the degree to which each has fostered the development and maintenance of community. This goal, first set by Frederick Law Olmsted, the pre-eminent practitioner of suburban planning, has been attained to varying degrees in both Inman Park and Ansley Park. Why and how are major conclusions of From Suburb to Defended Neighborhood.