President Peterson's Editorial - Sheng Zhao

After reading President Peterson's editorial encouraging Georgia Tech students exploring the city around them, I noticed that I barely have any knowledge of the surroundings of Atlanta besides what's on campus. After staying in Atlanta, I feel shameful that I have not visit any of the fantastic places that President Peterson talked about. Now I am inspired to travel around Atlanta and know more about my surroundings.

When President Bud Peterson mentioned the civil rights movement, I understood that the city of Atlanta has very much of historical significance and that we can learn a lot more about Atlanta's history. The artistic side of Atlanta is reflected from the Woodruff Arts Center and that anyone who appreciates art should take a look at this place. The Piedmont Park apparently is a great place people in Atlanta to relax or to have a social gathering. This kind of green space is essential for the development of a neighborhood. All in all, Bud wants to show us that Atlanta is an interesting city and that some many things are waiting for us to be discovered and explored.


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This idea of exploring Atlanta is also suggested from my English 1101. Our first major project is to visit a place in Atlanta and evaluate the neighborhood in details. The purpose is similar, which is to learn about the city and to take advantage of what the city offers. Like Bud said, so many large corporations are located in Atlanta and it is a good opportunity for us college students to interview for job opportunities. This kind of opportunity can never be available for schools in the middle of corn field.

Exploring Atlanta using Zipcars - Vikrum

Most kids who grow up in suburbia are used to driving cars to get wherever they need to go. Now that we are in the city of Atlanta, a car is not as necessary because there are so many options for public transportation. However, public transportation has its shortcomings. It doesn't always go exactly where one would like nor does it go there at an exact time. Public transportation may not be the safest option at certain times of the day either. Enter Zip Cars.

Recently my friends and I rented a zip car explored parts of Atlanta. Zip cars are cars that, after registration, anyone can rent and drive around town. Most have probably seen Zipcars at tech square or elsewhere on campus. Zipcars are picked up and dropped off at designated locations so that the next person can pick up the car. The first thing we did was reserve the car. At the designated time we merely walked to the spot where the car was supposed to be and got in the car. It was as easy as that. The car opens when the Zipcard is help up to the car's windshield as shown below in the following video link (the youtube user has disabled embedding) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WdD1b2FFOc#t=1m02s

Once we finished driving around in the zipcar all we had to do was return it to a designated spot so the next person could use it as well.

It was a very easy and enjoyable experience using Zipcars. They provided a way to get around Atlanta on one's own terms without actually owning a car. Since multiple people can use zipcars it also cuts down on the number of cars in the city, reducing congestion. Zipcars are a great idea and I highly recommend them ot anyone who needs to get around town.

-Vikrum

Public Transportation: Marta vs. Metro - Sheng Zhao

After reading Vikrum's post on Public Transportation, I have some interest thoughts.

Japanese Subway "Pushers"

Public transportation is always an important issue for a metropolitan area and usually big cities like Atlanta and Washington. DC would have subways to transport people from point A to point B. However, the designs of the subways are not the same. Some are better and some are worse...

Also coming from Washington Metropolitan area, I felt a strong connection with Vikrum's comparison between Marta and Metro after reading his blog post. There is no doubt that Marta is way easier to navigate around for a person who has never ridden on subways before. The flat fare allows maximum convenience that people don't have to search around and look for the right ticket price. Also, Metro has a complicated schedule of rush hour and non-rush hour and the price of ticket also depends on whether it is rush hour. The price can go up to $4.00 during rush hours. Even though all Metro lines are color-coded, they are still very hard to remember because multiple lines may share the same lane and passengers need to make sure to get on the right train; otherwise, who knows where the train would go to? In addition, the rail is always in zigzags, so it is very uncomfortable to ride. You will be front and back, left and right like riding a mild roller-coaster.

I believe the key of public transportation is to transport large amount of people in a cheap, fast and efficient manner. After assessing these qualities, I would say Marta is better because it's cheaper and easy to ride.
However, one thing I have to bring up is that Metro seems to have more people riding than Marta does. Everyday in during the two rush-hour periods (opening to 9:30 a.m. and 3-7 p.m), people have trouble even getting onto the train. But in Atlanta, when I get on a train, there aren't as many people. Perhaps, because of the extensiveness of sprawling in Atlanta, people do not live next to the Marta line and they prefer driving. Also, due the the cross shape rail, it does not cover the ground in the corners, so it is hard for people living there to get on Marta.

~Sheng Zhao

On fall break and public transportation - Vikrum Sheorey

This fall break I took a trip back to Maryland to spend some time with my family. While this was a simple trip for most, it was a little more confusing at first for myself. This was my first time at Atlanta's airport and my first time flying on a plane by myself.



The trip to the airport was uncannily easy and throughout the whole experience I kept thinking I was missing some important information because everything seemed too simple. My journey began with a trip to the MARTA station by the AT&T building. Taking the MARTA to the airport was extremely easy. I am used to the Metro of DC, having grown up in the DC area. The metro is infinitely more complicated to navigate compared to the MARTA. In the metro the fares must be calculated based on the destination one wishes to go to. This creates longer lines at the ticket stations because people must scan a list of destinations and match them with prices. On the MARTA, there is a simple fare for one way or round trip tickets. Furthermore getting to the airport on the MARTA is as simple as boarding a train that says "Airport". This train goes directly to the airport and one does not need to change trains at junctions as is true with the metro. All in all I was very impressed with the ease and simplicity of MARTA.

Airports tend to be confusing places with so many destinations to choose from, however Atlanta International Airport followed in MARTA's footsteps in terms of ease of use. Security took fewer than 10 minutes to pass through and from there one has many options. There is a food court to eat or places to shop, much like a typical mall. To actually get to the gates, there is a very cleverly designed system of trams. The trams are quick and precise. To get to gate C (which was my gate) all one has to do is check a screen that details where the next tram will be going. The trams usually come within one minute of the last one and a ride will take about 2-5 minutes to reach the desired gate.

This trip really demonstrated the wonderful use of public transportation in Atlanta. The Olympics really helped streamline the MARTA to go to important places in Atlanta like the Airport. I did not require a car or even a bus to go to the airport at all, whereas when my parents picked me up it was about an hour drive to our house. I immensely enjoyed my fall break and the ease of use of Atlanta's public transportation certainly helped.

- Vikrum

Decatur Metro In Depth Review - Sheng Zhao

A screenshot of Decatur Metro

The overall purpose of Decatur Metro blog is to provide daily update on interesting things happening in the city of Decatur. The author explicitly states that "Discouraged by the fact that the city of Decatur, GA doesn’t have a single source for daily news about our community, I decided to do something about it." He wants to create a convenient place for people living in Decatur to easily access local news. Although he does not explicitly say what a community should be, he certainly shows that he wants Decatur to be a community that people actually care about. With constant news update, people will become more and more interested in what's going on in their surroundings, rather than thinking it's just a place to live. He tries to promote communication among the people living there and to create a friendly community. Through continuous update, he wants to bring up awareness that Decatur is a vibrant city and tons of things are happening that it never runs out of news!

The blog is composed of majority of written description with not too many fancy pictures because the idea is to talk about local news. However, it certain will be helpful to insert more eye-catching pictures. The electronic blog has both writing and visual elements. The text mainly describes what is happening and usually cites a news article. When pictures are shown in a post, the main purpose is to catch reader's attention because most of the blog is text. I would say this is already very effective because the author is imitating a news website. He dedicates himself to incorporating all kinds of news about Decatur into this blog. Perhaps, if he could link some video news report, it would definitely be more effective.

~Sheng Zhao