372411 external_news 1423042103 1475893434 <![CDATA[Professor Dunham-Jones says Lilburn's reinvention is national trend]]> The city of Lilburn ─ in Gwinnett County ─ is getting ready to build a brand new city hall. The mood it’s going for? Nostalgic. It’s one of a growing list of suburban cities that are trying to reinvent themselves as competitive, small towns. Other suburban Atlanta cities like Sandy Springs, Alpharetta,Brookhaven and Milton are also joining the bandwagon in building new city headquarters.

Professor Ellen Dunham-Jones teaches urban design at Georgia Tech. She’s also the co-author of the book "Retrofitting Suburbia." She says it’s a national trend. “You see the same strip malls with the same chain stores everywhere," Dunham-Jones says. "And the suburbs are competing by really trying to develop a much more unique identity and distinctive sense of place.”

]]> <![CDATA[]]> 2015-01-20 1224