“I see things about the future city that other people don’t see, and then I try to get them to see it – to see themselves in it – in ways that compel them to take action toward a larger, shared idea about their lives and for the world.” – Ryan Gravel, 2019
Ryan Gravel is an urban designer, author, and speaker – an entrepreneur working on ideas about the future of cities. Through his consulting practice, Sixpitch, Ryan is engages the dramatic transformation coming to cities, offering a range of approaches and partnerships designed to support a more equitable, resilient, and beautiful world.
Ryan Gravel is an urban designer and author working on ideas about the future of cities. He is best known for his master’s thesis and early work that launched the Atlanta Beltline, a 22-mile transit greenway changing both the physical form of his city and the decisions people make about living there. Even in the early stages of implementation, the project’s health and economic benefits are evident through record-breaking use of its mainline trail and over $10 billion of private sector redevelopment. Ryan was also the lead author of the Atlanta City Design, which designs the city’s inevitable change so that it grows into a better version of itself. Along with other projects at Sixpitch and his book, Where We Want to Live, Ryan investigates the cultural side of infrastructure, describing how its intimate relationship with our way of life can illuminate a brighter path forward for cities.
Ryan’s story has made ink in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Monocle, The Guardian, The Globe and Mail, CityLab, CNN International, USA Today, and Esquire Magazine. Recent honors include the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Design’s Design Excellence Award in 2025, the Atlanta Design Festival’s Design is Human Award in 2023, the Southface Institute’s highest Argon Award in 2022, and Trees Atlanta’s Individual Tree Champion award in 2019. Ryan is consistently listed among Atlanta’s influential leaders in journals like Atlanta and Georgia Trend magazines. Earlier awards include “Trailblazer” in 2018 from the South Fork Conservancy, “Emerging Voices” from the AIA-Atlanta in 2011, and the Jenny D. Thurston Memorial Award from the Atlanta Urban Design Commission in 2007. Ryan was named one of “45 Atlantans We Love” by Atlanta Magazine in 2006; one of “40-under-40″ from the Atlanta Business Chronicle in 2006; and one of the nation’s “Best & Brightest” by Esquire Magazine in 2006. Other honors include a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from John Lewis in 2006, a Special Award of Recognition from AIA-Atlanta in 2005, and Golden Shoe Award for pedestrian-friendly research from PEDS in 2003.
Ryan currently serves on the board of the Partnership for Southern Equity.
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So glad to hear about your efforts on NPR (Rose Scott’s show). We moved to the Atlanta Metro area from St. Paul in 1979, and we were excited when we were able to take MARTA’s new rail service to work downtown. It seemed to hold great promise. Now, 40 years later, we live on the south side and very little has changed for us on the MARTA map. My neighbors and I would live to see rail service from Savannah, through Statesboro and Macon, with stations in McDonough and Stockbridge to midtown and downtown Atlanta. I’m with you in your quest for a livable Atlanta area.
By Lynda Kerr on November 4, 2019 at 2:24 pm
As a transplant from Minneapolis, I appreciate the undertaking of the Beltline.
Would love to see Atlanta elevate to a city that has paths for the walkers, runners usually take to the grass/dirt), cyclist, and maybe just maybe rollerbladers.
Love the Beltline, thank you!!
Best
By Kristin Martin on January 2, 2019 at 11:15 pm
Thank you! I love it too. The trail is designed to have a soft running shoulder on both sides, but alas – they not yet built in most places. Instead we have muddy tracks. Maybe one day…
By ryangravel on January 3, 2019 at 8:36 am
Just signed up to receive notifications via email. Can’t wait. Keep up the good work.
By Barnett on October 21, 2014 at 1:32 pm