Take it to the Embankment.
(research.) When I first heard about the Harsimus Stem Embankment in Jersey City, also known simply as “the Embankment,” it was caught in legal disputes about its ownership. I’m not […]
Author Archives
ryangravel
Ask a Crazy Question…
(research.) …get a crazy answer. Can you make some magic tubes that bring natural sunlight down into an abandoned subway terminal, sufficiently to permit photosynthesis in plants and transform the space […]
Greenway Loop in Tampa.
(research.) After welcoming the 2013 National Brownfields Conference to Atlanta and highlighting our city’s signature brownfields project, Lena Young introduced herself to me. She was excited by its similarity to an idea she has been working on in Tampa called the Green Artery, a 20-mile loop greenway that for over […]
Drone Attack!
(videos.) I was struck down by a drone while touring the Atlanta Beltline with Fitz of Photomotion (3:07). Minutes later, we met Danté from “Danté’s down the Hatch.” Amazing day. Thanks to Fitz, who got the tour through a silent auction for the Lifecycle Building Center. >> Ryan Gravel
Architect > “it’s like tactical urbanism on steroids.”
(press.) Architect Magazine wrote a story about the role of tactical urbanism in cities. Link: “Newest Urbanism.” Excerpt: “It’s like tactical urbanism on steroids,” Gravel says. “We built this amazing groundswell of support, even though, over the years, there have been challenges to the direction of the project—its vision, funding, ownership, […]
National Brownfields Conference > “welcome, y’all.”
(videos.) “As Many Gains As Losses.” My +/- 60 minute talk starts at about (17:00). It’s the welcoming plenary talk to the National Brownfields Conference on May 15th, 2013. Opening […]
GOOD > “until our politics catch up.”
(press.) From GOOD Magazine‘s “GOOD 100” in 2013. Link: “Meet Ryan Gravel, Building A Better Future.” Excerpt: “For a lot of reasons, this country is changing its cultural expectations for how we live—we’re modifying our American Dream,” Gravel says. “But until our politics catch up with the big policy changes required to […]
Bridging Public Space.
(research.) Terry Swartz, the director of the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, invited me up for a talk about the Atlanta Beltline. While I was there she showed me some amazing […]
Gravel > Ever Walked in Sprawl?
(ideas.videos.) This road is somewhere. But it could be anywhere. It is designed for cars, not for people, and it creates something opposite of “place.” Upon investigation, however, at a […]
Gravel > “a situationist playground for the modern flâneur.”
(ideas.) This text first appeared in ideas+buildings. “A Case For the Modern Flaneur: Transforming Atlanta One Wanderer at a Time.” Even before Spring fever has set in completely, the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail […]
Queen of Queens.
(research.) I had been following the QueensWay online but when I had a chance to see it in March of 2013, I was surprised by the variety of its physical […]
Born on the Bayou.
(research.) Houston was born on the bayou – a lucky confluence of water, land, and two determined brothers. The earth in Houston is very flat, making even light rains a […]
On Doers > “it’s more about the experience.”
(press.videos.) The Atlanta Beltline is more than a sound byte. This long-form (27:13) interview at On Doers with Scoutmob co-founder Michael Tavani covers the story. “Episode 002 / Ryan Gravel.”
New York Times > “business has increased tenfold.”
(press.) Project update from the New York Times. Link: “Now Atlanta Is Turning Old Tracks Green.” Excerpt: “Skip Engelbrecht owns an antique furniture store, Paris on Ponce, that backs up to the Eastside Trail. He said business has increased tenfold over the past two years as the trail opened. “It’s unreal. We used […]
Gravel > “a catalyst for changing our cultural expectations.”
(ideas.) This text first appeared in ideas+buildings. “The Atlanta Beltline: A Catalyst for Urban Sustainability.” As one of the most sustainable city infrastructure projects underway in the United States, the Atlanta […]
Reading Philadelphia.
(research.) I like to talk to people working the ground game on infrastructure projects that seem to be reconnecting communities with their city’s history and spinning off new cultural life […]
Six-Minute Ride on Detroit’s Dequindre Cut.
(research.videos.) The Dequindre Cut Greenway is made from an old railroad that is sunken below street level and runs 1.6 miles from Gratiot Avenue to the Detroit River. The trail […]
Gravel > “perhaps it should be expected here.”
(ideas.) This text first appeared at CNN Opinion. “Turning urban sprawl into sustainable cities.” Also, here’s a related story on CNN International – Link: “Abandoned Railway Turns Urban Sprawl Green.” It may seem ironic that one of the most sustainable city infrastructure projects underway in the United States is taking shape in […]
Exploring the 606.
(research.) The 3-mile 606 in Chicago was an elevated freight railroad and is now a public greenway. It’s original condition was basically a concrete box filled with earth that used steel and […]
CNN International > “green space is kind of the living room of the city.”
(press.videos.) My dog Jackson tagged along for this 2012 interview on CNN International. Link: “Abandoned railway turns urban sprawl green.” Also, here’s a related piece I wrote for CNN Opinion – Link: […]
Sidewalk Radio > “not a museum, not a theme park.”
(press.) My friend Gene Kansas invited me to his studio at Sidewalk Radio in 2012 to talk about the future of “Sweet Auburn” Avenue and the coming of Atlanta’s first modern streetcar. Link: “Episode #17: Auburn Avenue.”
Public Square Atlanta > “what’s the design strategy?”
(press.videos.) “Webinar: Atlanta Beltline Corridor Design” for Public Square Atlanta, a community resource created by WABE, Atlanta’s NPR Station. This is a detailed description of the original design concept work […]
Gravel > “automobiles were the mobile devices of yesterday.”
(ideas.) This article first appeared in Co.Design by Fast Company. “What The Atlanta BeltLine Can Teach Us About Urban Revitalization.” It’s time to move away from automobile-oriented infrastructure and invest in public […]
Gravel > This Walk Was Epic.
(ideas.videos.) On Saturday, February 11, 2011, over 450 people showed up to see the southern end of the old Southern Railway for the very last time in its raw state. The idea for the walk started with Angel Poventud, one of the Atlanta Beltline’s biggest fans. He organizes hikes along the […]
Gravel > “les changements d’Atlanta seront tout à fait dramatique.”
(ideas.) Translation: “Atlanta’s changes will be quite dramatic.” This text first appeared in the Saporta Report as a guest column. “Atlanta can gain inspiration from the “little belt” in Paris.” It was […]
TEDx Atlanta > “it’s already changing the way we think about the places we live.”
(videos.) My 18 minute TEDx Atlanta talk gives a solid overview of the ideas behind the Atlanta Beltline.
Model in Minneapolis.
(research.) Since the Midtown Greenway is an early conversion of a railroad corridor that has reserved space for a future transit line, we used it a lot in the early days of the Atlanta Beltline’s grassroots effort as our most relevant case study. Crossing below nearly 40 streets as it […]
Esquire > “one of the most ambitious modern ideas.”
(press.) Esquire Magazine‘s “Best & Brightest” for 2006. Link: “Ryan Gravel is Remaking Atlanta.” Excerpt: “Five years of local support and city studies have turned Gravel’s Beltline into one of the most ambitious modern ideas for the refurbishing of an American city on the verge of actually happening (though it’ll […]
New York Times > “a rare power to capture the imagination.”
(press.) Front page of the Arts section in the New York Times. Link: “The Greening of Downtown Atlanta.” Excerpt: “But it has taken on a life of its own, exhibiting a rare power to capture the imagination of diverse interest groups, from cyclists to powerful developers, and to flatten opposition. It […]
