(press.) With the tongue-in-cheek headline “A Glorified Sidewalk, and the Path to Transform Atlanta,” New York Times’ Richard Fausset digs into a cultural shift brought on by the Atlanta Beltline, contrasting its impact with past mega projects like the 1996 Olympics. This “glorified sidewalk” succeeds, he argues, because it’s a human-scale effort that “lavishes attention on the neighborhoods where… Atlanta’s soul resides.”

Watch: After this front-page article came out, I joined Fausset out on the Atlanta Beltline for this extended Facebook Live interview.

Excerpt: “Even though just a small fraction of the loop trail has been completed, Atlantans, in one of the purer expressions of America’s newly rekindled romance with city life, have already passionately embraced the project. And like any budding romance, it is full of high hopes — for an Atlanta that is more racially integrated, less congested and, in a change refreshing to many here, more focused on improving the lives of residents rather than just projecting a glittering New South image to the rest of the world.”  >> More.