(press.)  Nice perspective on the role of the Atlanta Beltline in rethinking the relationship between our health and the world around us. Author Michael Eriksen is the Dean of the School of Public Health at Georgia State University. He wrote this for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Atlanta Forward blog, “Project provides civic identity, social connection.”

Excerpt: “Over the years, some symbols of progress in Atlanta — the Downtown Connector, for example — have had the unfortunate result of diminishing social capital, dividing the city geographically and socially, and cutting people off from their neighbors and services. The Beltline offers the promise of reconnecting the city and its neighborhoods, healing divisions and creating public trust.”…In the process, “we have rediscovered the link between urban planning and public health. It’s not just about providing a convenient place where people can burn some extra calories. It’s about building community. Going forward, let’s look at the Belt-line not only as one of the most innovative public transit and transportation efforts in the world, but also as one of the boldest public health experiments.”  >> More.