Buford Highway
Encyclopedia
Buford Highway is an international community along and on either side of a stretch of Georgia State Route 13
in DeKalb County, Georgia
. It begins just north of Midtown Atlanta
, continues northeast through the towns of Brookhaven
, Chamblee
, and Doraville
, and ends 1.3 miles (2.1 km) northeast of the Perimeter (I-285) at the DeKalb/Gwinnett
border.
Creative Loafing
's Atlanta edition named Buford Highway Atlanta's "best neighborhood for diversity" in their April 2011 "Ultimate Neighborhood Guide" . The population exceeds 50,000.
cities, immigrants who relocated to Atlanta in the 20th and 21st centuries took a path that went straight to the suburbs, where residential and commercial real estate was affordable and where many second-generation immigrant communities were already established. Thus, in Buford Highway, there are few wholly distinct ethnic areas. The more than 1,000 immigrant-owned businesses are owned by and patronized by a wide variety of ethnic groups, notably Korean, Mexican, Chinese and Vietnamese, but also Indian/South Asian, Central American, and Ethiopian. The DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce calls the area the "International Corridor."
The Buford Highway community is home to one of the highest concentration of foreign-born residents in the country, notably Mexican, Central American, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. The area attracted many Latino
workers during the construction boom that preceded the 1996 Olympic Games. Asian business owners were attracted to the stretch of highway by cheap leases and reliable traffic flow.
and Doraville
, as well as points further. The towns of Doraville, Chamblee, and Norcross
had long been home to a blue collar, largely white, lower middle-class population. The highway was characterized by strip mall development, and apartment complexes sprouted up in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1976 the first ethnic restaurant opened, the Havana Sandwich Shop. In the 1980s, immigrants settled in the area due to affordable housing, available public transportation, and proximity to construction jobs in growing Gwinnett County. The area attracted many Latino
workers during the construction boom that preceded the 1996 Olympic Games. Asian business owners were attracted to the stretch of highway by cheap leases and reliable traffic flow.
During the 1996 Olympics, Chamblee embraced the growing international character of Buford Highway, while more conservative Doraville resisted it. As the Southern Food Alliance reported:
Most properties along the corridor are in the form of strip malls, retail businesses surrounded by large parking lots, and large apartment complexes. The largest strip malls are Northeast Plaza, Plaza Fiesta, and the Buford Highway Farmers Market complex.
's Need to Know
program portrayed the corridor as an example of a high-pedestrian
area in suburban America that fails to meet increased demand for walkability
due to changing demographics. The program noted that in the previous ten years, 30 people had died and an additional 250 were injured while trying to cross Buford Highway, a rate three times higher than any other road in Georgia. Despite this, there are no concrete plans to improve pedestrian safety in the unincorporated area of the corridor.
bus route 39 (Lindbergh Center to Doraville) as well as privately-run "jitneys", or minibuses.
in Chamblee. A chapter of Tom Wolfe
's novel A Man in Full
is titled "Chambodia".
Georgia State Route 13
State Route 13 , known as Buford Highway, Falcon Parkway, and Atlanta Highway, is a state highway in Georgia. It begins at West Peachtree Street and Spring Street just to the north of 17th Street in north Midtown Atlanta. The section near downtown Atlanta is a full freeway, from its south end to...
in DeKalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population of the county was 691,893 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is the city of Decatur. It is bordered to the west by Fulton County and contains roughly 10% of the city of Atlanta...
. It begins just north of Midtown Atlanta
Midtown Atlanta
Midtown is the second largest financial district in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, situated between the commercial and financial districts of Downtown and SoNo to the south and the affluent residential and commercial district of Buckhead to the north...
, continues northeast through the towns of Brookhaven
Brookhaven, Georgia
Brookhaven is an unincorporated community located on the western edge of DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, directly northeast of Atlanta. Most of the area was formerly incorporated as the city of North Atlanta, which disincorporated during the 1960s...
, Chamblee
Chamblee, Georgia
As of the 2010 Census Chamblee had a population of 9,892. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 45.0% white , 7.0% black or African American , 2.1% Native American , 1.8% Vietnamese, 1.6% Asian Indian, 4.6% other Asian, 33.5% from some other race and...
, and Doraville
Doraville, Georgia
Doraville is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 8,330.-History:Doraville was incorporated by an act of the Georgia General Assembly, approved December 15, 1871...
, and ends 1.3 miles (2.1 km) northeast of the Perimeter (I-285) at the DeKalb/Gwinnett
Gwinnett County, Georgia
, Gwinnett County had a population of 805,321. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 53.3% white , 23.6% black , 2.7% Korean, 2.6% Asian Indian, 2.0% Vietnamese, 3.3% other Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 8.8% some other race and 3.1% from two or more races...
border.
Creative Loafing
Creative Loafing
CL Inc. is the Tampa, Florida-based publisher of three city newsweeklies and their associated websites. Each of the papers focuses on local news, politics, arts and entertainment, and restaurants...
's Atlanta edition named Buford Highway Atlanta's "best neighborhood for diversity" in their April 2011 "Ultimate Neighborhood Guide" . The population exceeds 50,000.
Community
Buford Highway is a linear community made up of multi-ethnic suburban neighborhoods and shopping centers. Similar to other sun beltSun Belt
The Sun Belt or Spanish Belt is a region of the United States generally considered to stretch across the South and Southwest . Another rough boundary of the region is the area south of the 36th parallel, north latitude. It is the largest region which the U.S government does not recognize officially...
cities, immigrants who relocated to Atlanta in the 20th and 21st centuries took a path that went straight to the suburbs, where residential and commercial real estate was affordable and where many second-generation immigrant communities were already established. Thus, in Buford Highway, there are few wholly distinct ethnic areas. The more than 1,000 immigrant-owned businesses are owned by and patronized by a wide variety of ethnic groups, notably Korean, Mexican, Chinese and Vietnamese, but also Indian/South Asian, Central American, and Ethiopian. The DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce calls the area the "International Corridor."
The Buford Highway community is home to one of the highest concentration of foreign-born residents in the country, notably Mexican, Central American, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. The area attracted many Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
workers during the construction boom that preceded the 1996 Olympic Games. Asian business owners were attracted to the stretch of highway by cheap leases and reliable traffic flow.
History
Buford Highway originated as a non-descript state roadway connecting Atlanta and points northeast, including the then-railroad towns of ChambleeChamblee, Georgia
As of the 2010 Census Chamblee had a population of 9,892. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 45.0% white , 7.0% black or African American , 2.1% Native American , 1.8% Vietnamese, 1.6% Asian Indian, 4.6% other Asian, 33.5% from some other race and...
and Doraville
Doraville, Georgia
Doraville is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 8,330.-History:Doraville was incorporated by an act of the Georgia General Assembly, approved December 15, 1871...
, as well as points further. The towns of Doraville, Chamblee, and Norcross
Norcross, Georgia
As of 2010 Norcross had a population of 9,116. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 40.8% white , 19.8% black or African American , 0.7% Native American, 2.1% Asian Indian, 10.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 21.5% from some other race and 4.3% reporting two or more races...
had long been home to a blue collar, largely white, lower middle-class population. The highway was characterized by strip mall development, and apartment complexes sprouted up in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1976 the first ethnic restaurant opened, the Havana Sandwich Shop. In the 1980s, immigrants settled in the area due to affordable housing, available public transportation, and proximity to construction jobs in growing Gwinnett County. The area attracted many Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
workers during the construction boom that preceded the 1996 Olympic Games. Asian business owners were attracted to the stretch of highway by cheap leases and reliable traffic flow.
During the 1996 Olympics, Chamblee embraced the growing international character of Buford Highway, while more conservative Doraville resisted it. As the Southern Food Alliance reported:
"'Why would we want to attract more immigrants when we got all we want?' asked Doraville mayor Lamar Lang to the press. 'That’s just not our way of life here,' agreed the city council. 'We’re basically Baptists and Methodists and Presbyterians.'"
Streetscape
Buford Highway is, in most places in the corridor, a seven-lane highway with no median and few sidewalks, a situation which is grossly mismatched with the heavy pedestrian traffic along and across the highway.Most properties along the corridor are in the form of strip malls, retail businesses surrounded by large parking lots, and large apartment complexes. The largest strip malls are Northeast Plaza, Plaza Fiesta, and the Buford Highway Farmers Market complex.
Pedestrian deaths
On July 22, 2010 PBSPublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
's Need to Know
Need to Know (PBS)
Need to Know is an American public television news program produced by WNET, New York City and broadcast weekly on all Public Broadcasting Service stations in the United States....
program portrayed the corridor as an example of a high-pedestrian
Pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using roller skates or skateboards are also considered to be pedestrians. In modern times, the term mostly refers to someone walking on a road or footpath, but this was not the case...
area in suburban America that fails to meet increased demand for walkability
Walkability
Walkability is a measure of how friendly an area is to walking. Walkability has many health, environmental, and economic benefits. Factors influencing walkability include the presence or absence and quality of footpaths, sidewalks or other pedestrian right-of-ways, traffic and road conditions,...
due to changing demographics. The program noted that in the previous ten years, 30 people had died and an additional 250 were injured while trying to cross Buford Highway, a rate three times higher than any other road in Georgia. Despite this, there are no concrete plans to improve pedestrian safety in the unincorporated area of the corridor.
Public transportation
Buford Highway is served by MARTAMarta
Marta may refer to:* Marta or Marta Vieira da Silva , a Brazilian women's football forward* Marta Estrella, a recurring fictional character from Arrested Development...
bus route 39 (Lindbergh Center to Doraville) as well as privately-run "jitneys", or minibuses.
Buford Highway in popular culture
The city of Chamblee, in which part of the Buford Highway community is located, is sometimes referred to as "Chambodia" due to its high Asian population and the concentration of Asian retaurants along Buford HighwayBuford Highway
Buford Highway is an international community along and on either side of a stretch of Georgia State Route 13 in DeKalb County, Georgia. It begins just north of Midtown Atlanta, continues northeast through the towns of Brookhaven, Chamblee, and Doraville, and ends northeast of the Perimeter at the...
in Chamblee. A chapter of Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...
's novel A Man in Full
A Man in Full
A Man in Full is a novel by Tom Wolfe, published in 1998 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. It is set primarily in Atlanta.-Summary:As with Wolfe's other novels, A Man In Full features a number of point-of-view characters...
is titled "Chambodia".