Macon, Georgia Part 1/2

Описание: Macon, officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is 85 miles (137 km) southeast of Atlanta 166 Miles West Northwest of Savannah, Georgia and near the state's geographic center—hence its nickname "The Heart of Georgia".

Macon's population was 157,346 in the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Macon metropolitan statistical area, which had 234,802 people in 2020.It also is the largest city in the Macon–Warner Robins combined statistical area (CSA), which had about 420,693 residents in 2017, and adjoins the Atlanta metropolitan area to the northwest.

Voters approved the consolidation of the City of Macon and Bibb County governments in a 2012 referendum. Macon became the state's fourth-largest city (after Augusta) when the merger became official on January 1, 2014.

Macon is served by three interstate highways: I-16 (connecting to Savannah and Coastal Georgia), I-75 (connecting to Atlanta to the north and Valdosta to the south), and I-475 (a city bypass highway). The area has two small general-aviation airports, Middle Georgia Regional Airport and Herbert Smart Downtown Airport. Residents traveling to and from the area mainly use the large commercial airport in Atlanta, roughly 80 miles (130 km) to the northwest.

The city has several institutions of higher education and numerous museums and tourism sites.

Since 2020, crime has become a higher concern in the city. In 2022, Macon set a homicide record with 70. In 2023, Macon had the highest crime rate in Georgia: 52.6 crimes per 1,000 residents. Gang activity is a major reason for the crime problem in Macon. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation expanded its Gang Task Force Office to Macon in 2023. In 2024, Macon-Bibb County saw a decrease in homicides, with 39 reported compared to 40 in 2023 and 71 in 2022.

Macon has been home for numerous musicians and composers, including Emmett Miller, The Allman Brothers Band, Randy Crawford, Mark Heard, Lucille Hegamin, Ben Johnston, Otis Redding, Little Richard, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry of R.E.M., as well as more recent artists like violinist Robert McDuffie and country artist Jason Aldean. Capricorn Records, run by Macon natives Phil Walden and briefly Alan Walden, made the city a Southern rock music production center in the late 1960s and 1970s.