ABSTRACT
In Atlanta, one of the most segregated cities in the U.S. with a long history of concentrated urban poverty and a host of race and class divisions, the Beltline is transforming neighborhoods along its path. Atlanta’s race and class divides can be seen clearly by examining the history of the city’s public transit system, and the Beltline project, which includes a greenway and a proposed expansion to the rail system, is no exception. Alongside the promise of new environmental and transit amenities to long-neglected neighborhoods, it has manifested clear examples of green gentrification as property prices rise exponentially along its path, making it difficult for long-term low-income Black residents, many of them multi-generational residents, to stay in their formerly neglected neighborhoods.
Keywords
the urban development pattern of the city and neighborhood: race and class segregation; income inequality; recent fast-growing city; recreation and travel industry
the urban greening of the neighborhood/city: greenbelt; greenways; green space connectivity; climate resilience planning
the inequalities at stake: transportation equity; green gentrification; luxury developments; affordable housing crisis; high-end commercial development
