FAQ > “how do we ensure Beltline transit delivers?”
Q: Now that it looks like Beltline transit might finally happen, how do we make sure it delivers on its promise? A: (faq.) If there was no transit planned for […]
Gravel > give me some space.
(ideas.) Like a lot of people, about two and a half weeks ago my calendar was essentially cleared of meetings and travel. I’m lucky – the only impacts so far […]
Gravel > 20 years later, damn proud.
(ideas.) Twenty years ago, I never imagined we would actually build the Atlanta Beltline. I just wanted to graduate – which I did. I finished my Beltline thesis in December […]
Gravel > it was the future because we made it so.
(ideas.) I’m in Los Angeles to participate in the Ford Motor Company’s “City of Tomorrow” event. My panel is called “Take Back the Streets” and like so many other titles I encounter at symposiums like this, it begs the question, “for who?” For who should we take back the streets? […]
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 […]
CityLab > “Building Infrastructure for More Inclusive Communities.”
(press.) With the release of Where We Want To Live, CityLab’s Richard Florida and Ryan Gravel engage in conversation about “Building Infrastructure for More Inclusive Communities.” Excerpt: “I get the fear of big ideas, but I think it’s more about a distrust for our ability to implement big ideas according […]
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 […]
Sixpitch > Introducing Six Picks.
(work.) Six ideas worth reading about, every six weeks or so. Get your fix with six links to stories and ideas about the future of cities. That’s it. Sign up here. >> Ryan Gravel The first issue will be posted here after January 1, 2016.
Blast from the Past.
(videos.) A few weeks ago, as I was digging through a decade and a half of Atlanta Beltline memories, I came across a digital memory of our early movement in […]
Gravel > You Deserve Better Infrastructure.
(ideas.work.videos) The kind of infrastructure we build matters to the way we live our lives. If we build single-purpose transportation infrastructure that only works for some people some of the […]
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 […]
USA Today > “on the verge of a renaissance.”
(press.) Nice article by OZY writer Sanjena Sathian – USA Today picked up her story, “The transit makeover of Atlanta” at the close of 2014. Excerpt: “Everyone, from my mother to the mayor to environmentalists to the White House, proclaims that this unlikely city, with its long history of segregation […]
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 > “if we learn to see equity as our goal…”
(ideas.) This text first appeared in ideas+buildings. “Equity Through Sports + Art: A Design Dialogue in Atlanta.” Read the whole thing here and watch short video of excerpts from the event. Excerpt: “I think this kind of thoughtful and inclusive transition toward a better decision-making process – beyond just sports […]
We’ll Just Run it Over Here.
(research.) I’ve been to Austin a few times in the last year or so, and I love exploring the trails around Lady Bird Lake. The coolest part of the 10-mile […]
FAQ > “why is everybody going in circles?”
Q: Where is everybody going? Where’s the there there? (faq.) A: Some people seem to always be missing the point with the Atlanta Beltline. That’s fine, I guess. It […]
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 […]
AJC Atlanta Forward > “one of the boldest public health experiments.”
(press.) Nice perspective on the role of the Atlanta Beltline in rethinking the relationship between our health and the world around us. Author Michael Eriksen is the Dean of the School of Public Health at Georgia State University. He wrote this for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Atlanta Forward blog, “Project provides civic […]
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 […]
Monocle > “take a barrier and turn it into a gathering place.”
(press.) Cool coverage by Jeff Chu in international design and business journal, Monocle titled, “On the Right Path.” Excerpt: “In 1999, Ryan Gravel – then an urban planning student at Georgia […]
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 […]
EPA > “you have also changed us.”
(videos.) I went up to Washington D.C. this past week to attend a ceremony at US EPA, which awarded the Atlanta Beltline its “Overall Excellence in Smart Growth Award” for 2013. I made this short video diary (7:30) to share the experience with you. Here’s the video that EPA […]
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 […]
Bikeshare Shrinks Manhattan.
(research.) I was in New York in October 2013 and tested out CitiBike, the city’s new bikeshare system. It’s easy and convenient, but the most surprising thing was how much smaller it made the city feel. I used it to zip from my hotel to our office at Union Square, […]
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 […]
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