Sprawling Atlanta

I feel a change of topic may be necessary... Recently, I ventured deep into the city of Atlanta to Underground and the surrounding area. Being a young white male and visiting an area of town that is not friendly to whites, you're never short of a few cursing homeless people, or a few (dozen) beggars, or even a few salesmen trying to barter off their belongings for spare change. Quite frankly, going to this awesome part of town at night, alone, with a camera to take pictures scares the crap out of me. I, as i am sure most of you would, found myself constantly checking my pockets whenever one of downtown Atlanta's fine homeless individuals would get too close. I wish I could feel more comfortable in the city; all it has to offer in entertainment, job opportunities, sights to see, seem to go uncovered because the beaten trail to all of these amenities has become covered in dangerous, unsafe activity.
Over the last thirty years the concentration of drugs, alcohol, and abuse in general has drastically increased which I have a feeling DIRECTLY correlates to the unsafe nature of the entire are around Underground. Any shady corner or dark alley, at night at least, has drug dealers and people selling everything from sunglasses to license plates. The area of Five Points and Underground is becoming the inner city nothingness with regards to the effects of suburban sprawl and expansion. The once thriving concentration of population has become a mere attraction to the public, if that. Sure, the shopping may sustain the local economy, but the hole-in-the-wall restaurants and otherwise run-down buildings detract from the area as a whole. I feel that Five Points and Underground alike, are turning for the worse...

Jack