Opinion: Let’s extend success of the Beltline throughout Atlanta

Twenty years ago, Trust for Public Land published “The Beltline Emerald Necklace: Atlanta’s New Public Realm,” describing how Atlanta could transform 22 miles of mostly abandoned rail corridor into a linear park system “around which 21st Century Atlanta will grow and prosper.”

The author of that report — one of the leading urban visionaries of the past century, Alexander Garvin — suggested that the rail corridor presented Atlanta with a unique opportunity few cities had: to define for itself a “new public realm.” Two decades later, it is important to take stock of what has been accomplished and examine the lessons learned.

“By tying together proposed and existing trails,” Garvin wrote, “the 22-mile-long Beltline Trail will provide every resident of the city with strolling, jogging, rollerblading, and cycling opportunities unequaled anywhere in the country.” By adding parks and plazas, this “emerald necklace” held the potential to reverse the consequences of decades of poor urban planning. He urged Atlanta to “seize this once-in-a-lifetime gift … and recreate itself in the process.”

ExploreBeltline raises nearly $2 million for new park next to Westside Trail

Ryan Gravel’s Georgia Tech master’s thesis served as the foundation of what would become the Beltline. While his proposal to put transit in the Beltline corridor had already garnered much attention, Garvin’s broader vision for the Beltline captured the imagination of political and civic leaders across the city, including then-Mayor Shirley Franklin. Franklin galvanized the public and private leadership and secured the funds needed to establish the Atlanta Beltline Partnership and then Atlanta Beltline Inc., the two entities that have led the development of the Beltline as we know it today.

“The Emerald Necklace 2005-2025,” the recently released report commissioned by TPL, celebrates the achievements of the past two decades while offering suggestions on how this experience should inform our work going forward. For example, while many of the park “jewels” envisioned in the study have been realized — including Shirley Clarke Franklin Park (until recently know as Westside Reservoir Park), Historic Fourth Ward Park and Ardmore Park — more than 300 acres of new park opportunities along the corridor remain. Also, existing city-owned properties such as the Water Works and Holtzclaw are not fully activated and accessible as park space as the report had envisioned.

We have also learned the importance of how public and private assets should be integrated to create a high-quality public realm. City policies can encourage mixed-use parks with the goal of using private development to provide amenities at park edges and share responsibility for park maintenance and security. Indeed, a world-class public realm requires a commitment to maintenance.

The Beltline has redefined the geography of Atlanta. Proximity to the corridor is now a determining factor in where many residents and businesses want to live and invest. Billions of dollars have flowed to the neighborhoods adjacent to the corridor, catalyzing revitalization, creating jobs and improving the quality of lives of thousands of residents.

ExploreBeltline hits affordable housing milestone and aims to exceed goals

Credit: George Dusenbury/contributed

Credit: George Dusenbury/contributed

Credit: Sita Kelly Photography

The success of the Beltline provides a template for how similar investments might be made throughout the city. The Beltline has taught us that building interconnected trails and parks can extend and democratize access to the city’s most valuable assets. Children can bike to school, adults can walk to work and seniors can exercise their minds and bodies by taking full advantage of the amenities the Beltline offers. Toward that end, the city and PATH Foundation just completed a plan for how a Beltline-connected trail network can connect neighborhoods across the entire city.

While we should embrace this opportunity to create whole, healthy neighborhoods where children and families can flourish, we need to vigilantly ensure that they remain accessible to people of all incomes. Neighborhood revitalization brings many benefits, but it also threatens the displacement of long-term residents and can limit access by increasing housing costs. The Beltline’s affordable housing work — part of Mayor Andre Dickens' commitment to build and preserve 20,000 affordable housing units — is an important step in that direction.

The Beltline may prove to be the most consequential investment the city has ever made. It has changed the way we live, work and play. Extending that success throughout the city — turning the Emerald Necklace into an Emerald Brocade — might finally address the sins of our past and create a single, thriving and unified Atlanta.

Twenty years in, it is time to celebrate — and recommit ourselves to the work.

David Edwards is the policy adviser for Neighborhoods in the Office of the Mayor at the city of Atlanta and the founding director of the Center for Urban Research in the School of Public Policy at Georgia Tech.

George Dusenbury is the Georgia director of TPL.

About the Author

David Edwards and George Dusenbury

This longtime metro Atlanta museum is in peril — here’s how you can help

Southeastern Railway Museum is on the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation's 2025 Places in Peril list.

2h ago

Landowners in railroad eminent domain case appeal to Georgia Supreme Court

Since the controversy began, it has pitted a politically connected railroad against longtime property owners, some whose families have ties to their land dating to slavery.