(press.) The AJC’s Raisa Habersham covered our latest news on West End Atlanta. “New renderings released in Mall West End redevelopment” Excerpt > “It’s hoped the new development will revive […]
(press.) I sat down with Rose Scott at 90.1 WABE, Atlanta’s NPR station, for an update on West End Atlanta. Listen to “Closer Look: Ryan Gravel Shares The Latest on the West End Mall Re-Development.” My interview comes at minute 18:30 but keep listening to learn about a new $2.8 […]
(press.) Someone told us the project was too hyped up. I replied that West End Atlanta deserves all the hype that it gets. “It’s aspirational because it needs to be,” […]
(press.) I met Oscar Perry Abello at the SOCAP Conference in San Francisco last September where there was a lot of talk about the federal government’s new and controversial “Opportunity […]
(press. video.) “Twenty years ago this month, Ryan Gravel submitted a master’s thesis that would transform Atlanta,” begins Georgia Tech’s Stacy Braukman for an article titled “The Man With A […]
(press.) A friend of mine saw my name and the byline and thought, “Oh no, he’s going to rip Ryan to shreds.” Bill Torpy is known as a tough columnist at the AJC, but even tough guys love a great story. Thanks, Bill for continuing coverage of this incredible journey […]
This December marks the 20th anniversary of my Atlanta Beltline thesis (dang!) and, as I’ve said, even with all of its challenges, I’m damn proud of the progress we’ve made. […]
Q: What the hell are you doing these days? Seems like you’re spread pretty thin. (faq.) When people ask me what I’m doing, I usually narrow my answer based on context because if I tell them everything, it sounds like too much. NO – I’m not formally involved with […]
(ideas.) Twenty years ago, I never imagined we would actually build the Atlanta Beltline. I just wanted to graduate – which I did. I finished my Beltline thesis in December […]
(work.ideas.) This column first appeared on the Kendeda Living Building Chronicle to celebrate the completion of the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design at Georgia Tech. Read more from this […]
(press.) It was transit week and WABE’s Rose Scott was out on the Atlanta Beltline for a special edition of A Closer Look called “From The Northside Trail To The […]
(work.) This post first ran in the Saporta Report’s leadership blog: “Along the South River, Large Tracts of Tree Canopy Under Siege.” I wrote about how Atlanta’s South River watershed has been a dumping ground for generations – and even today, crazy things still happen down there. All the damage […]
[press.] Charlotte’s NPR Station came searching for YIMBY advocates – Yes In My Back Yard – people fighting FOR density in their community as a critical approach to addressing the escalating costs of housing. David Boraks found some YIMBYs planning the future of Hulsey Yard on the Atlanta Beltline. “Finding […]
[press.] Rose Scott met me and my business partner, Donray Von, to discuss the future of the West End Mall. She starts out at minute 3:48 asking, “What does progress […]
(press.videos. ) I enjoyed sitting down with Gail O’Neill and Felipe Barral for their show Collective Knowledge. Our wide-ranging conversation is captured in this half-hour episode: first up is Paris […]
(ideas.) I’m in Los Angeles to participate in the Ford Motor Company’s “City of Tomorrow” event. My panel is called “Take Back the Streets” and like so many other titles I encounter at symposiums like this, it begs the question, “for who?” For who should we take back the streets? […]
(work.) A version of this post first ran in the Saporta Report’s leadership blog: “Atlanta Holds the Key to Dramatically Increase Needed Greenspace.” It describes how the City of Atlanta’s […]
[press.] Scott Trubey took the time to introduce Elevator City Partners and our plan for the West End Mall. Check out his story “Beltline visionary part of team seeking redevelopment […]
[press.] Robert Kunzig’s cover story for National Geographic’s April issue was this hot take on the future of cities: “These five cities are taking bold steps to rein in sprawl.” Ok, so nobody is surprised to hear that Atlanta is the poster child for sprawl, but it’s a big surprise […]
I think there’s a market for real estate development that does good in the world. When you look at the scale of unbridled growth that is transforming our cities, not […]
(ideas.) At the end of this post, I’m going to ask you to help Generator get off the ground with a tax-deductible donation. I believe in this concept more than […]
[press.] Jim Burress found us hanging around the future Generator and recorded this interview for WABE 90.1 – Atlanta’s NPR Station, titled “Ryan Gravel’s Next Big Idea: Eat, Drink, Save […]
(press.) It’s a time-tested strategy to make sure community engagement delivers the recommendations you want. MARTA’s project evaluation, handful of meetings, and unscientific online survey were designed to do exactly that, and it worked. Amy Wenk captured my initial reaction in this story for the Atlanta Business Chronicle: “As vote […]
Q: It looks too tight – how does transit even fit on the Atlanta Beltline? (faq.) A: Transit has always been central to this concept. In most places, transit is […]
[press.] People talk about the Atlanta Beltline like it’s a single project impacting a single community – but it’s a much larger project than that. The Atlanta Beltline’s northside stands […]
This article was first posted as an op-ed in the Atlanta Business Chronicle: Ryan Gravel Viewpoint: Speak up now if you want transit on all of the Beltline (ideas.) I travel all over the world to talk about the Atlanta Beltline. From Singapore to Sandy Springs, the broad vision that frames […]
(ideas.) With advance apologies and love for my hard-working brothers and sisters in transportation planning, the more I look at the More MARTA plan, the madder and sicker I get. […]
(ideas.) This was never the plan, but two thirds of the Beltline may forever move forward without transit. That’s because MARTA is only committed to one third of the long-promised […]
Q: How does transit on the Atlanta Beltline advance equity in Atlanta communities? (faq. ideas.) This is the question that frustrates me the most. For the physical project to be […]
(ideas.) Dear City Hall, Dear MARTA. Dear decision makers, dear agency staffers, dear community organizers, dear ordinary citizens who may not have been around when we got started in 2001. […]
Q: What do you think about the More MARTA plan? (faq.) A year and a half after the November 2016 referendum, MARTA released its draft plan for how to spend $2.5 billion of City of Atlanta taxpayer money on transit – a plan dubbed “More MARTA.” I guess since I was […]
(ideas.) This call isn’t only about transit. It’s a much wider call-to-action because without transit – soon and urgently – we won’t get the Beltline we’ve been talking about all […]
Q: Can you remind me the history of transit on the Atlanta Beltline? (faq.) Our collective memory of the Atlanta Beltline’s story is important – especially regarding its more […]
(ideas.) Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that we need to make our case for transit again, but I am. Honestly – we’ve been putting colored dots on maps, hand-writing community […]
Q: Why not just put BRT on the Atlanta Beltline? Wouldn’t that be cheaper? (faq.) Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a high-capacity mode of transit that employs many train-like features to improve service efficiency and passenger experience. These include traffic signal priority, off-board fare collection, multiple-door boarding, platform-level boarding, […]
[press.] At the Southface Energy Institute’s Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable on October 6, I joined Hannah Palmer, author of Flight Path, to discuss our books, the future of Atlanta’s southside, and […]
[press.] Inspired by the Atlanta City Design’s inspiration from the Civil Rights Movement, Diana Budds pens this thoughtful piece for Co.Design – “Atlanta Is Fighting Urban Inequality–With An Idea From […]
[press.] Following the September 2017 unveiling of the Atlanta City Design, Jared Brey covered what it means for Atlanta in this article for Next City. “New Atlanta Planning Book Takes Cue From Martin Luther King Jr.” Excerpt > Atlanta City Design, unveiled earlier this month, is meant to inform and […]
(research.) I had the good fortune to be invited to Christchurch, New Zealand to participate in a series of conversations supporting the re-imagination of the city’s residential red zone – […]
(ideas.) I think it is important we acknowledge that our current national crisis is playing out exactly as expected. Although shocking, the news from the last few days is only […]
(press.) I had another chance to talk to WABE’s Rose Scott and Jim Burress on A Closer Look about Atlanta’s population growth and its role in our affordability crisis. “BeltLine […]
(press.work.) It has been an honor to work with Commissioner Tim Keane on this remarkable aspiration for Atlanta’s future. It’s called the Atlanta City Design – Aspiring to the Beloved Community and Thomas Wheatley captured this brief synopsis for Atlanta Magazine. “Ryan Gravel and Tim Keane are sketching a smarter […]
(press.) In Atlanta, we talk a lot about the Atlanta Beltline’s role in the economic and cultural forces of gentrification, but it’s helpful to put it in context with projects in other cities across the country. New York City’s High Line emerged at the same time as ours, and in […]
(ideas.) I was talking with a friend about the political power of intolerance the other day. She was making the case that our national election exposed the prejudice of a […]
(ideas.) Here’s the TED talk I did in New York in October 2016. > “When we look today in wonder and disgust at the metropolis sprawled before us, we wonder […]
(ideas.) Nearly three weeks later and I’ve successfully spared you my take on the debilitating results of our national election. I’ve been grappling with the populist sentiment that seems to […]
UPDATE > GREAT NEWS! Both ballot referenda passed on election day. While there remains a lot of uncertainty about our national politics, at least locally we will have solid resources […]
(press.) Writing for Next City, Jen Kinney compares worldwide riverfront revitalization efforts to an emerging effort by Chattahoochee NOW. In “Atlanta’s Waterfront Access May Soon Improve,” she outlines the group’s […]
(press.) To be clear, I’m not walking away from the project itself, and I never framed progress as an “either/or.” But in “A Beltline Champion Walks Away,” writer Zach Mortice well describes for Landscape Architecture Magazine, inherent tensions between the benefits and challenges of change. Excerpt: “Most of all, Gravel […]
(work.) In early 2016, Sixpitch founder Ryan Gravel completed a collaborative effort with the staff and board at Chattahoochee NOW that culminated with “Vision53” – a document that outlines a […]
