Best of Atlanta 2009

The global financial meltdown might’ve caused us to question our faith in Wall Street, drained our 401Ks, and made us rent Mad Max for tips on surviving the Apocalypse — but it didn’t kill our love for the vibrant, eclectic, and, yes, often dysfunctional, city that is Atlanta.

Whether you’re ballin’ or broke, the city is still ours to experience. There’s the no-cost pleasure of cruising city streets en masse with fellow cyclists during Critical Mass. There’s the lush opulence and rustic charm of Sweetwater State Park. There are the politicians whose decisions impact our lives, the people who rally us to action, and the neighborhoods and nooks where we collide and collaborate. And who can forget the street characters, those familiar strangers whose antics brighten our days?

At a time when all the news seems bad, it’s nice to remember the places in Atlanta we love and the people we share them with.

— Thomas Wheatley