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 […]
Author Archives
ryangravel
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 […]
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