Gravel (live on the TED stage) > We Are the Lives That We’re Talking About.
(ideas.) Here’s the TED talk I did in New York in October 2016. > “When we look today in wonder and disgust at the metropolis sprawled before us, we wonder […]
Gravel > Real Life vs. Reality Life
(ideas.) Nearly three weeks later and I’ve successfully spared you my take on the debilitating results of our national election. I’ve been grappling with the populist sentiment that seems to […]
BOOK LAUNCH SAVE-THE-DATE & LINKS TO BUY MY BOOK.
(work.) We’re counting down the days. After many years, “Where We Want to Live – Reclaiming Infrastructure for a New Generation of Cities,” launches March 15! Your first chance to get a signed copy is at the launch event the very next day. On MARCH 16 at 7:00 pm, A […]
New York Times > “American infrastructure is deferred home maintenance on a massive scale.”
(press.) New York Times contributing columnist Allison Arieff, who is also the Editorial Director at SPUR in San Francisco, penned this Op-Ed in early 2015, “What Happened to the Great […]
Gravel > “I learned how to be a pedestrian.”
(ideas.) This text first appeared as a letter in the Terminus issue of Art Papers, (January/February 2016), for which I was a guest co-editor. The original, along with a letter by Art Papers Editor and Artistic Director Victoria Camblin, can be found here. Also check out the entire Terminus issue […]
City-Stitching with the ERC.
(research.) Deb Eddy came to town in the summer of 2015 just to check out the Atlanta Beltline. By her account she was inspired – and she went home to […]
Looking at Ludlam.
(research.) Some of the controversy in Miami around real estate development in the railroad that might one day carry the Ludlam Trail reminded me of an early challenge we had on the Atlanta Beltline, but I hadn’t seen it for myself. I finally made it out there on a borrowed […]
A Beerline is My Kind of Artery
(research.) I went to share our story in Milwaukee as part of Newaukee’s YP Week and while I was there, I met with some people working on a reclaimed section of the old “Milwaukee Road” railroad just north of downtown. Roughly half its 1.2-mile length has already been converted into […]
Urban Milwaukee > “messing with people’s expectations.”
(press.) Leading into Newaukee’s 2015 YP Week, Urban Milwaukee published “How the Beltline Project Is Changing Atlanta” by Andrew McCann. Excerpt: “As a public space, the Beltline is already performing a variety of functions. The first and most significant is its rapidly developing role as a connective structure between Atlanta’s […]
Coca Cola Journey > “messing with people’s expectations.”
(press.) Our story is recounted for Coca-Cola’s internal media, “Inside the Beltline: How a Grad School Thesis Became an Engine for Urban Revitalization and Economic Growth in Atlanta,” by Jay Croft. Excerpt: “Atlanta prides itself on being known as the home of Martin Luther King, Jr., the 1996 Olympic Games […]
Georgia Trend Magazine > “the small sights stick in your mind.”
(press.) In its December 2014 cover story, “Unbroken Circle” by Susan Percy, the case is made for the Atlanta Beltline as “a unifying force, built on the very railroads that […]
Gravel > “Our 22-Mile Thanksgiving Table.”
(ideas.) With the undeniable success of the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail and this November’s groundbreaking of the long-anticipated Westside Trail, we have much to be thankful for. Of course behind […]
Bridging More Than a River.
(research.) I was in Washington DC to speak at the Eco-Districts Summit and took some time to ride down to the Washington Navy Yard along the Anacostia River. I wanted […]
FAQ > “what about the westside?”
Q: What should we expect with the opening of the Westside Trail? How will its success compare to the eastside? (faq.) A: The communities on Atlanta’s eastside are benefitting directly […]
Loving Lafitte
(research.) Not only am I from Louisiana and therefore somehow obligated to check in on the Lafitte Greenway in New Orleans, but this project is getting built fast, so I […]
Indy’s Cultural Speedway
(research.) It was a big honor to be sponsored by MailChimp to go to Indianapolis and speak at the third and final We Are City Summit. Between breaks with local popsicles, gourmet fortune cookies, and craft beer, we learned about cool things going on in the world of cities and […]
Indianapolis Star > “a word that sums up the initiative nicely: Infra-Culture”
(press.) Awesome, unexpected first headline to include the working title for my book after speaking to this group in Indy. The Indianapolis Star reports, “We Are City seeks to build ‘Infra-Culture.’” […]
I Think We Should Talk > “in other words, it’s a game-changer.”
(press.) Nice long-form blog Q&A for I Think We Should Talk by Paul Sternberg: “Ryan Gravel.” Excerpt: “In other words, it’s a game-changer for a city like Atlanta. … Ryan and I talked recently about process, which goes well beyond having a radical idea. It’s about going places, seeing things, and meeting people. […]
Spacing > “what are Toronto’s most promising arteries for transformation?”
(press.) Here’s a follow-up Q&A to the first story – an interview with Claire Nelischer of the Centre for City Ecology and Anna Hill with Park People, “Infrastructure and our way of life: lessons from the Atlanta BeltLine.” Excerpt: “AH: From what you’ve seen and heard during your time in […]
Electromagnetic Fields
(research.) While visiting Toronto to speak at the 10th World Congress on Design & Health, I felt an electromagnetic pull toward a power transmission corridor outside the central city. Canadians […]
Spacing > “we should consider these projects from a city systems perspective.”
(press.) Insightful story by Claire Nelischer of the Centre for City Ecology in Spacing. Link: “The Atlanta BeltLine: Catalyst infrastructure and city systems.” Excerpt: “The positive impact of parks investments […]
Sweet Sugar House
(research.videos.) I was in Salt Lake City to speak at the Public Interest Design Institute and took a couple of hours to check out a section of the old Denver […]
Gravel > “planning a more forward southland.”
(ideas.) Gravelblog original. “Planning a More Forward Southland.” Atlanta will open its arms this Saturday for a national gathering of over 5,000 city planners, elected officials, students, consultants, and various […]
Gravel > “we need the Arts to drive the discussion.”
(ideas.) Gravelblog original. “Claiming Space for a World Class Cultural Infrastructure.” As I’m writing my book I am constantly reminded how the Atlanta Beltline came to life through a powerful […]
Go River! (the Los Angeles River is sublime).
(research.videos.) The Los Angeles River is spectacular. It’s sublime in the best sense of the word. I got to experience it first-hand for the first time back in the summer […]
Nothing Short of Stunning.
(research.) I got to know Debra Edelson after she moved to Atlanta and was working on the Atlanta Beltline for the Trust for Public Land. In a previous life she worked for CSX as a partner in the effort to build the High Line in New York. In December 2013, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 > “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 […]
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 […]
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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