About traffic in Atlanta. . . don't expect to get anywhere in a hurry between the hours of 8:45am-10:00am and 5:00pm-6:30pm/7-ish. On Fridays, afternoon rush hour starts around 3:00pm and still lasts until 7pm. It's even worse if it rains - Atlantans can't drive if there is less than prime weather, they're too busy blabbering on their cellphones, yelling at the rowdy children in the car with them, and swerving in their lanes stuffing McDonald's into their faces while doing the speed limit in the fast lane. Oh yeah, no one drives the speed limit (55mph) here, except for a few patient souls and out-of-towners, most people are going around 70mph.

Atlanta has in recent years undergone a transition from a city of regional commerce to a city of international influence. Between 2000 and 2006, the Atlanta metropolitan area grew 20.5%, making it the fastest growing metropolitan area in the nation. Atlanta is often considered a poster child for cities worldwide experiencing rapid growth and urban sprawl.

In 1990, Atlanta was selected as the site for the Centennial Olympic Games 1996 Summer Olympics. Following the announcement, Atlanta undertook several major construction projects to improve the city's parks, sports facilities, and transportation.

The city's highrises are clustered in three districts in the city—Downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead. (there are two more major suburban clusters, Perimeter Center to the north and Cumberland/Vinings to the northwest). The central business district, clustered around the Hyatt Regency Atlanta hotel – the tallest building in Atlanta at the time of its completion in 1967 – also includes the newer 191 Peachtree Tower, Westin Peachtree Plaza, SunTrust Plaza, Georgia-Pacific Tower, and the buildings of Peachtree Center. Midtown Atlanta, farther north, developed rapidly after the completion of One Atlantic Center in 1987.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Atlanta".