A Q&A WITH BELTLINE VISIONARY RYAN GRAVEL

and makes the larger outcome better. In the early days with the BeltLine and the movement, we would have meetings when there was nobody really in charge of the BeltLine at that time. But, we had these monthly discussions and we would just share what each of us was doing individually. It not only set the framework for an expanded vision for the project, but also the organizational relationships that would carry it out. That type of table collaboration is essential to accomplishing big things.

What does it feel like walking or riding your bike on the BeltLine? Is it becoming what you envisioned?

Yeah, it’s better than I ever imagined. I use it everyday. I ride my bike six minutes to get to work. I live on Krog Street and I work at Ponce City Market. My ulterior motive really was always to create the kind of life that I want and there are no complaints. I’m living the dream. This is what I always wanted. We do have a long way to go to finish it. I wrecked my bike a couple of weeks ago and today was the first day I could ride again. It proved a point that not everyone can ride bikes and that transit is really important if the BeltLine is going to be for everybody. So, if you’re injured, physically disabled or just too young or too old or carrying a load or it’s raining… there are lots of reasons why the trail isn’t always the answer. But, if we’re going to generate all this growth and change, then we’re really going to need the transit, otherwise we’re going to be just stuck in traffic. It’s important that we make steps in that way. It’s happening. It’s coming, for sure.

What could be another transformative project for the city? Are the streetcars transformative?

In that the same way we think of the

Among the fascinating people who live and work at Canterbury Court:

BeltLine very broadly, in all of those terms, not just as a transportation project, but also as an economic development project as a community revitalization project, as an art project or health project, that we should think of our entire infrastructure in that way. And I think that if we did, that we would do things a little bit differently. And, you can see us building big, expensive infrastructure projects all over the region and none of them really have that level of detail and they’re not inclusive of people sort of outside of cars. And, there’s really very little discussion around the impact of those projects on our lives in terms of affordability, equity, development or anything like that. I’d love to have that conversation around everything. I think it would change the kind of projects that we build. So, when you look at the streetcar network, we need to have that conversation around the development of streetcar, for MARTA expansion. We need that conversation because it’s critical, it’s essential for the success of transit. But, frankly it’s also critical to the success of roads and highways, and we should be having the same conversation around the new highway interchanges and the other projects that we’re spending billions of dollars on.

Mattie

Running 17 exercise classes each week, plus private sessions with people recovering from injury or surgery, would surely exhaust an average person. Of course, Mattie’s far from average. She’s a bundle of energy who loves to dance, works a variety of music into her classes, and joins Canterbury’s walking club whenever she can, especially when they’re training for the annual Peachtree Road 10k. She says residents and staff are so much like family that she’s always encouraging people to move here.

Mattie invites you to discover her Canterbury Court.

Mayor Kasim Reed announced that you will lead the Atlanta City Design Project. What does this appointment mean to you and what are your goals?

I’m super excited. It’s a dream job. We know that the city is going to grow significantly. The city of Atlanta is only a 10th of the regional population that is going to take on a larger percentage of the share than it has historically because the future is really wanting a more urban trans-oriented, compact, walkable lifestyle than it did before. We’re targeting a number right now; we’re working on that. We’re going to grow from half a million to probably a 1.2-1.5 million in the next 20 years. As we do, we want to make sure that Atlanta becomes more of what Atlanta is and not some other place that we don’t like or recognize. So the idea with the City Design is to ask people and ourselves: what Atlanta is; what are the physical characteristics that make it special. And, then embed those in the decisions we make about the city so that, as we grow, we become more of what we are. That’s a thing like the tree canopy, which is an invaluable resource not only from an environmental standpoint but also from an identity standpoint for the city. Often it’s in conflict with development. We know we want to grow and we need urbanization, but that tension and that balance between nature and city life is not only critical to figure out, but that’s the beauty. The beauty is in that sort of balance so that we can live lives that are both walkable and urban, but also have access to nature, fresh air and biodiversity. The idea is to strike that balance.

Ryan Gravel is the keynote speaker at the EarthShare of Georgia Earth Day Leadership Breakfast on April 14 at the Stave Room at American Spirit Works. The 21st Annual Earth Day Party on the Rooftop at Ponce City Market is April 21. To purchase tickets and for more information about the Earth Day events, visit EarthShareGA.org.