As a native Atlantan I feel that, while the beltline is great (even with the issues described), the city should really focus more on improving density and decreasing sprawl. The city is just not that walkable, except in midtown and along the beltline. Meanwhile there is a very rich collection of neighborhoods, and it would be great to be able to get to them without a car. But the city is so spread out, with so much wasted space in surface parking, it can be complicated to navigate.
Agree that is an issue, but the biggest issue is going to be simply water. Atlanta doesn't have enough water for those who live nearby already. And I remember the drought of the early 2000's when Atlanta went to war with Savannah and Augusta over water rights to the Savannah River.
Right on the money @Matt Haney. The video doesn't mention and most folks don't know that the original vision of the BeltLine consisted of a circumferential light rail line to run its length, tying together all the neighborhoods it intersects as well as connecting those neighborhoods to the MARTA main heavy rail at four separate stations. In short the two visions you spoke to are not in conflict, in fact quite the opposite! If you're interested I volunteer with a group, BeltLine Rail Now, that 20 years on is trying to make that vision a reality. Give me a holler I'd love to talk more!
I drove though there on my way to disneyworld i didn't even want to get out my car i was going to go to six flags there with my son later that year but someone who lives there told me not to its has a lot of gangs that go there
I visited Atlanta last month for the first time and am European and as you say it is not walkable. Even midtown.... The main issue there is too few street side businesses. Sure you can walk that area but then there are no street side shops or cafes...
"Decrease Sprawl" & "Increase Density" are university terms that students have been brainwashed with. Atlanta is dense enough. Thanks to urban sprawl, some people can be located far away from high crime areas like this one. No one was walking there because they don't want to be a victim of a crime.
The belt roads goal is to create an environment where you can go to work, find a home, shop for groceries, access healthcare and education all without having to use a car. That’s priceless. Car culture is the reason why our municipalities can’t support our underserved communities. We spend billions on high maintenance cost of car infrastructure (parking, roads, accidents etc.) it spreads out our utilities and increases the cost of living to a point that’s unsustainable.
@@HeyMavDak No, it's inherently unsustainable. Even if you ignore that cars have always, especially now, been a massive household expense for all sorts of reasons, they also take up far more space per person. This means everything is further apart to fit parking, multi-lane roads, and so on. This means it costs more to get electricity, plumbing, and other services to those locations as cities expand. It's unsustainable, and we didn't even get to the environmental or safety problems with mass car ownership.
I posted a comment about using the train trails and put in a bus line only. But give them the right of way. Meaning gates just like trains. Which in turn makes buses now faster than cars Buses are gas now but maybe electric later. But this would have been a better use for the land imo I'm no egghead about this but land like this on the east coast is like gold. No wonder why others were drooling over its use. That state should have been aware and made a better solution for all not just certain people imo
100% if you can walk/bike-ride to everything you need you can be better off than any minimum wage increase. We do need high-density, low-cost housing that is built to last.
@@george_cantstandya it comes from the idea taking people off cars on the road and putting them in transit like buses and metros. Usually drivers in the road are single or two occupants per car, while transit takes one person away from their car which won’t contribute to traffic. In contrast with highway widening projects it doesn’t alleviate traffic for having more lanes brings in more people believing there would be space for them. I saw this in my own eyes by having my sister drive me to the airport from Temecula to San Diego Lindbergh Field to catch a flight which had a 1.5 hour drive become a 2-3 drive due to the traffic on I-15. Didn’t help that it was more than 8 lanes long and still having it expanding to two more lanes and the alternative transit route can be from 4-8 hours long depending on any time I would leave. Too many cars on the road with little to no good alternative
I visited Atlanta last week and a European and used to walkable cities. I decided to walk from my hotel in the hotel district to a place called Atlantic station which is 2.5 miles I believe (and back later on). First, except for a couple of vagrants near the hotel, I was basically the only person walking and that was sort of eerie. And secondly, there are no street side businesses: no cafes, no shops. I walked through the Georgia Tech area and some of the streets were nice but again it looks like nobody ever walks them. But the next main issue is that many of these streets just end so you detour and then half a mile later you are again on the same street that sort of ended just before. Midtown is better in terms of street layout but again there are street side businesses. I also rode Marta and it was surprisingly nice but also very few users.... And when I got off in Buckhead, well you could clearly see that is the type of area where some would consider you suspicious for walking around so I guess it may take a while to change that mentality. If you want to entice people to walk there should be shops and cafes.... you have to have mixed use zoning if you want to have people walking around because let's face it, you can probably have most people walk a half or quarter mile radius but not much more than that
Unfortunately you just went the wrong way. I have hopes for west midtown but east Atlanta belt line and west end is where it’s at. Great areas. I never go to buckhead so I can’t comment.
Sadly a lot of this comes from our major focus on still trying to please car culture here in Georgia, that and the income inequality in Atlanta is one of the highest in the US which increases the crime rate, only decreasing our public transportation adoption.
@@michaelmcchesney6904 sheeesh its unfortunate that there's a wrong way to walk, go to any city in Germany, France, Poland etc you'll find yourself walking into everything one could need no matter the direction. Sorry it will take more than a walk trail to make a city more walkable, more like a magic eraser to undo all the DOT lobbyist that shoveled having massive motorways as the solution
Man, a rail loop would be so much more effective. Just getting from Ponce to Krog St., takes forever if you're walking, and a fast, frequent train between them would make them feel so much more connected. Alas I think the problem is that people in ATL are afraid to take the train. MARTA isn't bad at all, we really just need a culture shift / PR campaign to make people more comfortable using it.
@@MrSupergingerman I heard they're updating the rail cars on Marta, which is pretty nice, I just wish they'd add more railroads in any way, especially to help with traffic coming from the outer perimeter, like Gwinnett, Cobb, Dekalb, or Fulton
@@MrSupergingerman I disagree, people can use bikes, electric bikes, electric scooters. this is more effiecient and keeps people more healhty from just walking. A rail system would take years and billions. It unites communites. the issues is the winter, it will be cold.
Another reason the Beltline is so successful even without the Light-Rail yet is because it's the first "third-place" built in this city since the original city parks. People enjoy the Beltline because unlike most parks which have just housing around them, it's a place to hangout and go somewhere without necessarily paying money. You can meet so many people and go to different neighborhoods without needing a car. That's why it's so successful
It also attracts people from other parts of the state. I'm a cyclist in Athens and we make a visit to the city any time there is a new section of the Beltline open. We spend our money at restaurants and bars and stores along the way.
I left Atlanta 2 years ago, primarily because I was spending 1.5 hours each way in commute time. I couldn't afford to live downtown and was out in the suburbs. The city really needs a viable subway and commuter rail network but they won't ever build one. It is really too late to do so and would be economically impossible. I don't consider the MARTA system to be viable because it doesn't have enough lines nor do they go far enough out. I do think the BeltLine is a positive thing but it is going to end up pushing out everyone who isn't rich.
All the “walkability” YT channels trying to mask gentrification. Guess who HAS TIME to WALK to work. The rich person that owns the business. They can arrive at whatever time they want. No poor person working 2 jobs wants to walk to both of them.
@@KRYMauL No no no. There are plenty of poor towns and cities with grocery stores. It’s when people start shoplifting or straight up committing armed robbery against the store is when they leave the area.
I lived in Atlanta without a car (Buckhead), and heed my words when I say Atlanta is not a place to live without a car. I lived by 2 Marta stations and a single bus line (the 110) and it was still a bit difficult getting around IF where you're going isn't close to Marta or the route is infrequent. The Marta rail is great!! It's really fast and if your point A and B resides on the rail, it's a great alternative to driving, PREFERRED actually!! But it just doesn't go enough places for NIMBY reasons 😌. Thank God I'm in back NYC (my home city) now.
I lived in Atlanta as well and the Marta isn’t bad at all if you live inside the perimeter. I lived in old fourth ward and would commute to work in Sandy Springs to avoid that horrible traffic on 285/400. Like yourself I’m in a city with great public transportation as well (Chicago) all the luck to you in NYC!
And this ladies and gentlemen is why NYC government officials don’t care about the cost of living. Because someone richer like this guy will just move in and take your spot. AND will be grateful to be living in NYC as compared to the previous tenants that were complaining. Gentrification train coming through 🚂 Choo Choo!!
I have lived in Atlanta since 1995. I have ridden my bike, on Rail trails and Greenways, all over the South East. So many cities have done a faster, cheaper job than Atlanta of creating a linear park system that works. I believe the Beltline was an amazing idea, but I am very convinced it has become a corrupt endeavor. It's taking an existing rail trail and it still only has small sections completed all over the city. In the meantime, it's the public investors that are making all the return on rising property values, so no one seems intent on completing it in a timely manner. Think about it. $4.8 billion to build a wide sidewalk over a 20-year timespan. If the public has invested (think private companies) more than $8 billion, around it, it is not out of some altruistic urge. For sure the government officials overseeing it are getting something personally. Not surprised that some of the original visionaries, left the organization, disappointed, and the folks with perfect hair, makeup, and outfits remain.
There are entire massive parks included with the BeltLine funding. It’s not all just a sidewalk. It’s also a bunch of land remediation from the toxic metals left by the train traffic
@@alexk6126 5billion is a lot and they can hire the workers to complete it in 5 to 10 years rather than 20 years. Its 5 billion not 1 billion or 500 million.
All American cities need to be redesigned for higher density living, walkability, better public transportation, mixed use/mixed income housing, reduce car use.
@clot shots EVERY town and city needs to prioritize people and places. We need to go back to good urbanism like how we have been doing it since the start of civilization.
Low density sprawl will cripple the city’s ability to maintain infrastructure. If the metro is going to keep growing in population, it can’t keep growing in physical size without coming to a breaking point. Eventually it all just becomes unsustainable
The thing is this the only way for it to be cheap, it'll only get extremely expensive with density it always does. The most expensive places are the most dense ones, and the ones that are becoming more dense.
@@seanthe100 Or maybe the most dense places are the ones that are the most expensive because there was already a lot of demand there to begin with so density followed to relieve that market pressure.
@@seanthe100 California is extremely low density and the state is also extremely expensive. Seattle is mostly single family zoning and housing is also super expensive. And the city itself is a behemoth. Miami is a sprawling mess and it’s also becoming super unaffordable
@@SincerelyFromStephen California sprawls, but by Urban areas Los Angeles and San Francisco are literally the most dense Urban areas in the country winch is why they are so expensive. California sprawls because of mountain ranges and valleys more than anything else. Actually the entire west coast is like this it looks like it's a significant amount of land, but when you actually look at where people are living it's really not.
@@SincerelyFromStephen Miami also became unaffordable when the city ran out of room to sprawl now the city is actually adding density at a rapid clip and is only becoming more expensive.
Atlanta's lack of mass transit has been holding it back for half a century. Unfortunately there are a lot of people who don't want mass transit for explicitly racist/segregationist reasons.
@@prettyclassyladyOG Atlanta is not majority white. Even at 40%, this is the whitest it’s been in many decades. And yes, the poster is correct, the original reason MARTA expansion was blocked to extending outside of the city limits was because white people in the suburbs did not want poor people of color from the city in their neighborhood. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Atlanta
@Tony P Oh yeah, you don't want any "crime" in the suburbs (wink wink nudge nudge). As if someone is gonna take the subway all the way out to you, walk half a mile from the station to your house, and rob you? Come on dude, we all know what you really mean.
The reason the city is in constant deficit is because it just accepted the sprawl model. Roads and infrastructure is expensive and if that infrastructure is serving 10 homes vs 100 homes, the costs are higher for tax payer or the city just makes cuts to other things because their budget is eaten up by the inefficiency infrastructure model. But hey, you get a big piece of land for the kids located next to nothing, reliant on your car and increasing gas prices.
the sprawl is outside the city limits - the city has no choice to accept or reject it. Atlanta was poorly managed and people preferred to build their own towns outside of Atlanta.
@@tigerstallion they don’t need to serve the needs of the suburban population. That’s up to the suburbs to invest in. Just build density. Also, the city of Atlanta is a sprawl within the city boundary. You cannot walk from a detached single family house to the grocery store, metro, coffee shop and stores. If you cannot do that, it’s sprawl and forces people to own a car.
i was one of the people who were originally against the belt line. i live in this area and thought there was way to0 much crime. wow was i wrong the belt line is amazing. if this is an example of gentrification i hope your city gets some soon. the cops use to tell me not to stop at red lights at night. now you can safely walk your dog. the progress is incredible.
Most people are moving much further like Cartersville, Acworth, Douglasville, Canton, Austell, Mableton, Hiram, Dallas, Powder Springs and Lithia Springs to save money on rent/mortgage and get lots of land/space but unfortunately by doing so, they MUST have a car because public commute to and from those cities is damn near impossible if they work around Atlanta. One bus twice a day connecting to downtown Atlanta is NOT ENOUGH! Other major cities like in the states of New Jersey, New York and California have more reliable rail transport and also city buses to all routes unlike here in Ga where everything starts and ends within the city limits of Atlanta.
i moved out of city of Atlanta to Mcdonough. Best decision i ever made i love in Mcdonough. i bought a brand new house 3k square ft for 220k which would have cost me 500-700k within the city,.
I live in Atlanta. The beltline proves the power of a name. It's literally just a sidewalk paved over old railroad tracks. But if you called the sidewalk, no one would go to it. Call it the beltline and everybody goes. How does it cost so much? It's concrete. And, might some light rail been good idea too? You had the railroad tracks. If you really wanted to connect to Marta, you would want commuter rail (I thought that was the idea when I first heard)
Most if the cost is purchasing real state. It’s not just concrete. It’s parks and markets and affordable housing. Those take LOTS of space, and space is way more expensive that the materials and labour for building a park. At least it’s not a water of money since it’s basically making all the real state around it worth more. So the city as a whole is making more money.
I grew up in the Oakland City and Capitol View neighborhoods in Southwest Atlanta. I’ve seen this city change so much throughout the years. In the 60s and 70s, this city was left for dead! White flight was real. I know a lot of black families took advantage of the opportunities to buy homes in the city like my grandparents. We still own a property in the Capitol View neighborhood as a family which right along the Beltline. My sister owns a home in the Venetian Hills neighborhood not that far from our old neighborhood. It’s having the foresight to see down into the future. It’s here now and a lot of Atlantans didn’t see it. But if you had bought early on you can benefit right now! Houses were going for dirt cheap in my old neighborhood! And those that are owners held on through the bad times and are going to reap the benefits. Gentrification CAN be a good thing because it improves the surrounding communities and services. But if you can’t afford to live where you stay it’s sucks
While i understand your viewpoint on gentrification, alot of families were uprooted when the city decided to develop these areas and unfortunately many lost their homes due to the city requiring them to leave so they could use their land or people lost homes because they could not afford the drastic tax increase. The majority of these individuals were people of color who had lived in their homes for decades 😞. Your family is fortunate to still have their home 🙏🏾
@@NoribyNature i understand your point. And i understand t that the reality of the situation is that people are being priced out and sold out to developers and investors. And sad to say a lot of them are black Atlantans who are born and raised. But honestly how long did people think that it was going to stay this way? Atlanta isn’t Detroit. The Fortune 500 companies eyed Atlanta for a reason. I’m not saying my family was smart in that they saw all this coming. They just was in the right place at the right time. My grandfathers parents come to Atlanta in the 50s with nothing. But understood home ownership. And let’s be real. The rates on these house are artificially inflated! If your poor you can’t afford them. It’s sad and I hate to see it. I would also encourage a native however to get a group of their family or friends they trust. Form a LLC or INC. Pull their money together. And try to buy in on that Atlanta Land Trust. That is a smart move for getting some investment in the City. I love my City and didn’t like when natives get taken advantage of or priced out because we are Atlanta.
@@gradybabygamer4421 Absolutely! Thats a great idea honestly. It seems the majority of the ones who were bought out didnt have the knowledge to understand how this works. There are also others, one of whom an organization I worked with tried to help, who was raised in the home she lived in. The city decided they needed to build a detention pond and her home was going to be destroyed in order for the city to do so. Unfortunately, they cut her a check and she had no say so in the matter. These companies prey on communities that are in need, knowing they will not have the wherewithal to dispute them. It’s a combination of lack of education and capital leaving our black communities in the dust, thereby forcing these people to the eastside or other areas where the vibration is low and rid with crime. I pray we build a generation of new leaders who will ensure our communities have the resources they need to build wealth and thriving businesses that will last for centuries and beyond.
@@gradybabygamer4421 These home prices are out of range for not only the poor but the working class, even people with degrees can't afford them. Atlanta use to be a place where a black blue collar working class family could afford to live, that's not the case anymore. You have to make 6 figures just to get by.
I've been in the Atlanta Metro for 18 years. I graduated from Georgia State University. Atlanta is such a great place. The main problem has always been traffic. Most major cities, like Chicago and New York, were built with transportation infrastructure. However, Atlanta's growth happened in the last 50 years, with Delta making Atlanta this hub. I hope for an ambitious transportation plan from Atlanta for the next 20 years.
Check out MARTA's 2040 Plan...or is it called More MARTA? The communication's a nightmare but at least its ambitious www.itsmarta.com/uploadedFiles/City%20of%20Atlanta%20More%20MARTA_Print_Update_v7.pdf
@@KumakOwO Until you find about that the African American culture in the US has normalized bad behavior and no morality towards each other which is a huge reason for the crime, neither money or building infrastructure can fix that, it's a deep cultural issue
As a Native, I can say The Beltline is as transformative as the Olympics were. I saw many of those who moved here for The Olympics get priced out by The Beltline. I walk The Beltline everyday!
I visited Atlanta first about 5 years back and then again this year. It's hard not to love this place. I'm glad to see it's getting its due. I look at other places like Detroit that are moving in the same direction and using the city almost as a blueprint. Is Atlanta perfect? No. But they're taking steps in the right direction and it's looking like mass transit would really benefit there.
I really hope S.E Michigan pursues highspeed commuter rail between all the major areas along with light local rail. It would make this place more livable instead of being so dependent on cars
Atlanta native here- everyone is talking about public transportation, the video briefly mentioned that Marta expansion keeps getting blocked but it didn’t give a reason why. It’s because the affluent suburbs don’t want the “riff raff” coming into their areas and keep voting no on it. Fear of crime is how it’s messaged, which we all know is coded racism and classism. It’s continued to block expansion and block opportunities for everyone, and it only looks like it’s getting worse. Gotta address that before any public transportation will get fixed
I don't think it has anything to do with racism, classism for sure. Rich people want to keep the "Riff Raff" out of cobb County. That's why the Braves moved. They found our that the people buying tickets for games were the folks on the Northside. The belt line is only going to raise home prices and force poor folk out. It is the Olympics all over again. I hate the idea that it's racism. People get the two confused. its rich vs poor. Riff raff comes in all colors.
Except crime is an actual problem, not a made up one. So it isn't actually racism, it's basic pattern recognition and letitimate concern. At what point do communities start addressing this head on instead of always deflecting responsibility for it?
Crime is why i left san francisco, and moved to a small city. You dont understand how it feels until you see the city you were born in ravaged by theft and drugs. As much as i hate conservative laws, i understand the importance...raycism doesnt matter to me, fairness and good results matter more. I would live in a safe neighborhood full of minorities rather than live in a crime ridden street full of wytes...but reality is not like that.
Atlanta's beltline is nice for walking BUT the city itself is becoming expensive as hxll to live in. Even degreed professionals are not getting salaries here to match the new and insane inflation prices. Yes, big name companies are here but they are not providing big salaries to match for most residents. They are only that, big names. Delta Airlines definitely does not need to be named with them paying college grads $15/hr in many cases and flight attendants $30 in a place where it is recommended that you make 110k annually to live comfortably (all of a sudden). Natives and incoming residents cannot even buy themselves homes/properties due to investors buying up the city and leaving nothing but high rent to the everyday and middle class people of the city. The city has began bullying and pushing out its Black lower AND middle class residents with expensive developments. Capitalism at its worst.
I live in Charlotte but I be in Atlanta all the time. Over the course of my life I've watched this city go from country to a mega city and in just 20 plus years. It's like every time I go down there is doubled in size. It's nothing short of Amazing.
Do you mean „I am in Atlanta…“ The „be“ in your sentence is what’s called an infinitive verb. You preceded that firm with „I“ so you have to conjugated that verb to „am“. Try English, next time.
It's honestly not that bad. Being stuck in traffic sucks no matter where you are in the world, and 75 North can be a pain, but LA and NYC are far worse! Not even a close comparison. Seeing the NYC skyline as you approach the city from Queens is unmatched, but I really like our drive through our own little skyline in the city. I'm biased, but Atlanta is a pretty town. We have some issues with crime, but it's beautiful down here. We need to keep it that way!
I’m surprised they didn’t mention it in the video but they are going to build light rail along much of the beltline, it’s just not estimated to be completed for well over a decade
I live in a small city in Ontario Canada. We had converted our old rail lines to bike paths over 30 years ago now. Being able to bike everywhere is a given here and we have snow! Our sidewalk snowplows also clear the main bike paths for us. People cross country ski on some of them as they connect our parks.
I live off the Beltine and I am more that familiar with the politics and greed surrounding it, this video has a lot of lying greedy psychopaths. The project was started over 20 yrs ago and the guy who started it quit a couple years ago because he was tired of all the corruption, he is mentioned once in this, when Nathaniel Smith mentions "Ryan", that is Ryan Gravel, who started the project with his thesis. As it is its free marketing for developers, they refuse to put up any money to help fund it but they conveniently bought up all the land around it waiting to build overpriced "luxury" apts. My neighborhood is probably millennial central, where all the new highrises are being built, and there are literally thousands of vacant apts, the prices are entirely dictated by the developers. Just to give you an idea the city is using a boatload of tax money, I have no idea how much, to welcome Microsoft to raise a historically black neighborhood and build its campus, redesigning infrastructure in the area that was completely ignored when it was a black neighborhood. What is happening with real estate at large across the US should be criminal, while Atlanta is bad there are place much worse. To live in po dunk down in Florida with no infrastructure is going to cost almost as much as it costs to live in Atlanta, its really crazy stupid how developers are destroying the US.
@P A oh Damn, this is literally the first time I’m hearing about this, reading the report looks like this happened at night, I cross the 17th Street bridge around 6am in the morning and 3pm in the afternoon on my back home, around both times there’s usually no one on the bridge except sometimes there’s a local news channel capturing the sun rise in the morning
@P A lol I’m not disagreeing with you on anything you said, same reason I feel this belt line sounds like a Utopia, if we can have shootings near Atlantic Station there’s no guarantee of public safety anywhere on the beltline north or south
I moved to Atlanta back in 2004 when I was 21, and I got offered at least 10-15 jobs in a week or two. I just finished community college and I was staying in Decatur off Wesley Chapel and Snapfinger and I never looked back. Coming from South Carolina it was a whole new world for me and I got caught up with the nightlife. My biggest mistake ever. My advice to coming to ATL is don't stay in the city unless you make over 75k a year. A two bedroom will easily cost you 2500 a month in rent. I would suggest moving to Henry or Gwinnett County. That's just my opinion 🤷. Besides it's crowded everywhere you go. I have met more people from outside of Atlanta than I have who are from Georgia. If you do decide to come, make you have a plan for yourself and your family.
I agree about the traffic part. I live in northwest cobb and commute to the opposite side of cobb 5 daya a week for work. It takes me like 45 to 55 minutes to get home even at 4 pm which is just around the start of rush hour. There is massive congestion on i75 northbound at the marietta/roswell exit around six flags white water. That whole area slows down immensely just for relatively moderate merging traffic and then some. Also the cobstruction compabies these last couple of weekends have decided to clise off 3 of the 5 lanes to do some sort of paving or cleanup on either shoulder. Like what is the point of this? Can it not wait for the nighttime? Kennesaw Mountain area is also very much in need of roundabouts on Old Hwy 41 and even in connection to Stilesboro. There are a couple of lights there that take forever in a day to give consistent traffic flow especially right in front of the visitors center located there. All it takes is for a couple of people to leave the main parking and wanting to take a left onto old hwy 41 and boom, instant traffic buildup. Roundabouts are definitely needed in suburban Atlanta in the worst ways possible. Idc if i have to detour for a whole month if it means better traffic flow in the future.
This is great! I'm interested in living in cities that are prioritizing public transit, walking paths, bike paths. It's what newer generations of workers want to see. Cities that aren't prioritizing this infrastructure are going to find themselves behind. Atlanta has its problems...all cities do. Absolutely. This is the right direction. Very commendable.
The other day, we took a 5 minute walk from our apartment to a bowling alley. It was magical. I would prefer this transportation over a car if most things were 10 minutes away or less. Unfortunately, the next closest building is a 40 minute walk 1 way.
@pa3465 Lol I take it you don't drive either because you have a higher likelihood of dying in a car accident than being mugged in the streets. Stay coddled child.
@@pickmeishaCars aren't some impenetrable shield. If you honk at the wrong person in Atlanta, you'll be shot just the same. It's more of an Atlanta demographics problem than how someone chooses to transport themselves.
Just no. 1) Marta is inefficient, underused, and underinvested. 2) rent is too high compared to local salaries. 3) the city is poorly designed, little sense of grid/urban planning, even with the beltline it is still incredibly unwalkable, with many neighborhoods missing sidewalks. 4) It's a liberal city landlocked in a republican state, not to mention the Deep South in general. 5) traffic is horrendous- it literally cannot afford to grow without major commute concerns. Atlanta is like a truck stop that just never stopped growing.
I love the idea of a walkable city and reducing reliance on cars, but to your 4th point, as much as I want to live in a walkable city, the state's overall political climate is terrifying and I would never move to Georgia because of the politics.
I used to live in the city then we relocated to College Park (10-15 mins away). I LOVE the Beltine. It’s like a little city in ATL. Definitely gentrified but a nice change since a lot of those areas were abandoned.
So what if it’s gentrified…look at the opposite effect over in Clayton county. I’ll take gentrification over generational dysfunction that seems to never end in “predominant” homogeneous areas.👌🏾
I have lived in the City for 45 years. Gentrification is inevitable as locations become more desirable. Are you going to tell another they cannot sell their land at market price? The reason (IMO) for Atlanta's lack of rapid transit is the states antipathy towards Atlanta and the Depart. of Transportation's lock on transport budgets. I suggest we issue window stickers or transponders for everyone who lives and pays property taxes within the City and collect a toll for others entering the city. Tourists passing thru can circumvent the city via I285 and others who don't want to pay the toll will take the train and bus network. Eliminate any new surface parking lots. Commercial developers tear down existing buildings and warehouse the land buying it for parking.
theres nothing wrong with people selling their land at market price. the problem is the city kicking people out of their homes because they raised their taxes based on "market price" when the homeowners have not sold at "market price". Property taxes should be set on the deed when the home is purchased based on purchase price, not some speculative "market price" city officials can change whenever they feel like it.
Love the city. Walking around midtown and downtown where I live it is amazing to see how the city has grown. But the Beltline is a mass gentrification project that has pushed out so many people.
The Beltline isn't what's causing gentrification though, it's a mix of our zoning and economic policy that's pushing people out. One being a lack of investment into low income communities where generational poverty is present, the other being selfish people who don't want to open their neighborhoods to townhomes and apartments because people who make less money than them would stay on the same street. Beltline or not, this would've occurred either way like it is in every other US city.
@@portcybertryx222 Yes, I hope city council does what's rights when it comes to rezoning. Allow property owners to build what they want on their own property. We're not talking about putting factories next to people's homes, just asking for people to open their neighborhoods to everyone for the benefit of everyone.
So wait, a jogging track is now a force of evil. A jogging track! I’m convinced some people see any form of progress or amenity as a negative. Terribly sad and unhealthy. For decades we have been moving in to Clayton and Henry and Rockdale and Douglass county by choice…some of us selling our urban homes in a rush to get out of summer hill and mechanicsville. Now that white people took an interest in it all of a sudden the story changes. 🤦🏾
I lived in Atlanta metro my whole life. The city’s crime is getting so bad. My car has broken into, been robbed with a knife, saw someone get carjacked in the ‘safe spot’ of Atlanta. If it wasn’t for Johns Creek, Duluth, and Suwannee I would have left already
Yes, I find it very convenient that they didn't mention that (and also most of the comments here are making Atlanta sound so amazing). Finally got out of there. It is a complete nightmare with the crime. I lived in a so called "nice area", and we didn't go out after dark. The constant sounds of gunfire and street racing was terrifying.
@@jaywoods378 Not everyone's built for cities. The people who are raving about Atlanta, would probably praise NYC or San Francisco just as highly. There's a mindset and energy needed to endure the annoyances and potential dangers of big city living. It is what it is. 🤷♀
Chicago and Philly are actually the two most segregated cities in the United States. Not a lot of “pookie and ray rays” walking around unless you go to a poverty-stricken neighborhood. Born and raised in Chicago and my biggest complaint is not seeing many black people. If you live in a middle-class neighborhood unfortunately you will not see a lot of blacks. Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, Bucktown, Lakeview, Old Town.. I could literally keep going and name at least 20 more popular central neighborhoods where you won’t see many black people which is a shame but they are safer so there’s that.
Everybody I know and met in the south HATES Atlanta. The traffic is the biggest reason. And when I went it was very.... ugly... run down, homelessness, bad attitudes by the locals, ugly buildings. This was several years ago. I hope it has changed. They need to focus on building a more livable city beyond cars. However saying that and doing that are very different things. I think I'm technically part of the megalopolis that includes Atlanta and cities to the north from SC to NC. Man so many people are moving here. The infrastructure is not designed for it. Deforestation everywhere. Thousands of cheap, ugly, cookie cutter wooden suburbs, townhouses, apartments being built everywhere. I suppose if we were growing we would be declining. But this growth is just so needlessly ugly and impractical.
The beltline is like a sarcastic joke when wrapped around such an otherwise sickly city. Don't get me wrong, the beltline is nice for a leisurely visit, but Atlanta is slowly killing everyone who lives (works) there. Until they figure out the 4-hour commutes, leading-class wealth inequality, and braindead public transit... the beltline's just another reminder of how far from sustainable the city actually is.
I live in Atl. Same story. Same outcome. It was sold as a rail transit loop. What we got is a 12' pavement. And increased 2-3x rent/housing cost. I'm really happy
As a person from ATL, born and raised, it's great to see the city grow as much as it has over the years... But what is disappointing is that former Atlanta mayor, Maynard Jackson worked with major organizations after the '96 Olympics to bring in jobs/opportunities for the citizens of Atlanta. However, when these companies came to Atlanta, they brought in their staff and did not hire local talent. Most people will say that the local people didn't qualify, but every job gives you on-the-job training. Whether you're a barista at Starbucks or an Engineer at Microsoft, you will be trained on how to do your job. With the number of companies coming to Atlanta, there should be no families, especially Atlanta locals, making less than $60,000 annually. I challenge the Atlanta officials to make companies hire and train a certain percentage of true Atlanta natives. This will help bridge the wealth/unemployment gap within the city.
That means they would actually have to care. They'd rather just act clueless on UA-cam videos. If we can think of solutions ofcourse they can. But theres no profit in that. Better off just blaming them, like all people of color are their own problems. When they were the ones in the city for decades making the city what it is today
That would be ridiculous to say the locals didn't qualify. Atlanta has a highly educated population with people from every corner of business. You're 100% correct.
If you gonna keep voting for the boule Blacks they are gonna sell you out every time. Andre is boule you may not even be able to shake his hand let alone get him to look out for the natives
Hiring workers from other areas means they can jack up the price of housing. Which means more tax dollars for them. And if you are to poor to leave, that means you’ll continue to pay tax for the rest of your life. So a win win for the government.
It's expensive to have extensive on-the-job training for white collar jobs because there's no such thing as loyalty anymore for both parties. So if a company trains an expensive engineer for a year and the guy leaves right after (which happens pretty frequently), then what's the point?
The thing is, in America they still want you to be car dependent so they don’t invest that much in public transportation because of lobbying. The same applies to affordable housing. Real estate developers bribe local politics from enacting affordable housing. But they will approve development for high rises
Atlanta traffic is odd, people make it personal and won't let you merge in. I like Atlanta, I hope the growth makes it demand more from developers. (They will pay for public art if you make them)
I'm from Nashville I moved because it became to expensive. They don't give a crap about anything but what the rich want. The difference between rich and poor is very clear. I'm very disappointed in the city. Even downtown isn't the same. For all the tourists we get, they can find better ways to invest into the city.
Nashville and Tennessee only want to fund corporate relocations and tourism. Nothing is being done about transportation and upgrading public infrastructure throughout the state. Why not build a city for the people first then incentivize growth.
As someone who grew up in the suburbs and has been wanting to move into the city after I graduated college, it's just way too unaffordable at the moment. The beltline has contributed a lot to this
@@griffinmaxwell789 but it is, you’re in control of your own life the only thing that will ever be in your way is you, or you can sit around and throw a pity party feeling bad for yourself all day which only yields undesirable results. You went to college, I didn’t and I still can afford to live right off of north ave and Piedmont ave in a luxury mid rise unit, why? Because I go and get what I want, you can too.
I think every city/state, should have bike & walking paths everywhere! Safer, increases health & environment because, it's better to walk & bike than drive!
bike your ass to Marta and stop complaining. I never had a problem biking or walking around Atlanta. Everyone that doesnt is just too scared, or they dont actually live in Atlanta, they live in like Duluth or another completely different political district.
@@nishiljaiswal2216 There is no difference between living on the fourth floor or the seventh floor. Both floors will probably need elevator access. And on both floors you don’t have to worry about noise on the ground as much as the first 2 floor.
It amazes me when these planners states that these large tech firms are going to bring firms that will have million dollar salaries. There may a hand full of gold making that kind of money. Good selling point. Lot of 6 figure salaries, but you can bet the house on offshore jobs will take up the bulk of the workforce. Why pay an Atlanta transplant or whatever, when they can sign contract in India, Poland, Mexico, or Greece for $20k a year. Sounds like a good ole gentrification plan. Traffic is terrible in Atlanta.
building the place for the people not for cars. this idea has been done in denmark,berlin, thenetherlands walkable cities is something the US need as a whole " whole communities " are walkable cities.. nothing new We are just catching up
The Beltline intentionally didn't include the black middle-class neighborhoods in South West Atlanta. We are black homeowners who didn’t run to the suburbs. We have doctors, lawyers, engineers, project managers, software programmers, news anchors, and Hank Aaron.
After selling a couple homes in 2020, I'm anticipating a housing crisis in order to buy inexpensively. As a backup plan, I've been thinking about purchasing stocks. What recommendations do you have for the best time to buy? On the one hand, I keep reading and seeing trader earnings of over $500k each week. On the other side, I keep hearing that the market is out of control and experiencing a dead cat bounce. Why does this happen?
The fact that the US stock market had been on its longest bull run ever makes the widespread worry and enthusiasm understandable given that we are not used to such unstable markets. As you pointed out, it wasn't tough for me to earn over $780k in the last 10 months, so there are chances if you know where to go. I hired a portfolio advisor since I was aware that I needed a solid and trusted plan to survive these trying times.
@@harod033 Ruth appears to be very knowledgeable. I discovered her online profile and read through her resume, educational background, and qualifications, which were all very impressive. She is a fiduciary, which means she will act in my best interests. So I scheduled a session with her.
That investor talk sounds so soulless. I hope people could someday invest into themselves, their families, and communities instead of investing into big corporations and single family homes.
I lived North of the city for 8 years. Moved down from the DMV area where I thought traffic was nuts. Then I hit 85/400/285 and the side streets..my goodness. Forget being near perimeter from 330 until 830..traffic like I've never seen. I miss the food, but not the traffic or the airport TSA lines..👀👀👀
It's hard to understate the weather factor. No matter the economic policies and incentives, cities like Miami and Atlanta would not be growing at anywhere near the same rate if they experienced brutal winters.
@@andrewsteavpack9079 Portland and Seattle are definitely not growing rapidly they are both losing more people than anything. The other ones on your list are though.
But Miami exchanged brutal winters for hurricane 🌀 season so it all equals out!!!! and most of Florida’s population is due to retirement Miami is gonna be Miami no matter what just like Orlando is going to be Orlando because of Disney
The Atlanta area is the world's best-kept secret for wonderful walking and biking trails; the BeltLine is just a small part of that whole picture. The Silver Comet Trail from Cobb County to the Alabama border includes wonderful views and connects diverse neighborhoods. Talk about the southeast side, the beautiful Rockdale River Trail and the trails that connect to it include Martin Luther King High School, Panola Mountain State Park, the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, and Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area as well as large majority-minority neighborhoods.
I've lived near Atlanta my whole life. I go actually in Atlanta about once a week. There's different parts of the beltline I actually like. I feel like there's only like a 5 mile section that's worth walking which i've a couple times. It's really nice, it has a lot of coffee shops one of which has the best donuts i've ever had. So I feel like certain parts of the beltline are becoming more actually cool and convenient. If you want to walk around the city areas and not the out skirts I would walk the streets around Centennial Olympic Park but that's a touristy part. Little 5 Points is also a great option.
I lived within the BELT line and moved out to Mcdonough which is about 30-40 min drive to downtown. Best decision i've ever made not only i was able to afford a brand new home my commute has also has gotten 10X better. it's funny how moving just 30 minutes from downtown can make life so much better.
@@RK7LifeLine how is Conyers? I'm considering a home there, but since I've lived in the city for over 10 years or near it, Idk how it would be with the lack of public transportation.
Im NYC. I will never want to move to Atlanta!! There are so many eyes opening choices for bizness or for life from around the tropical world where it could be 10 times better than Atlanta!
And there are so many places better to move to than overpriced NYC. An awesome place to visit, but not to live. No city is worth living in a noisy cardboard box vs living in a 3k square foot home, for the same price.
The belt line is nice! Unfortunately if you live along the belt line your rent has increased 500-1000 dollars and your apartment is outdated! We need rent security or some laws in place to help residents in these areas.
It's a bummer that those guys resigned. The solution here is not less beltline but more. This is proof that people want SAFE walk/bike space that connects them to work and life. I think they should just continue stretching out the beltline so that it's not so scarce. Scarcity and desireablity are a recipe for inflated prices. We've got proof that the beltline is desireable. Let's make it less scarce by making more of it. Driving in Atlanta is awful, and took years off my life (in stress) when I lived there. More beltline please.
For all people looking to move To Atlanta, please be aware of the following: - THE HOMELESS SITUATION IS OUT OF CONTROL!! Because of the illegal redlining, amount of realtors and real estate developers that have swarmed on low-income areas around the city, the homeless population has skyrocketed throughout the city because of new units being approved despite the income inequality in these areas, forcing people into the streets. - Rent is gonna be around $2500+ and you’ll still be next to the trap houses. - the kids out here got guns. Gun laws are real light so stay alert. The nightlife ain’t for the weak neither.
My husband and I lived in midtown (in his father's condo purchased in 1999) for about 6 months in 2016. And I remember when we were trying to find an apartment near Ponce and the beltline had just gotten built there. And the prices shocked me then. I can't imagine it now.
I have a small business right next to the beltline. It is so exciting and fun to work near the belt line. I can get to any locations such as grocery stores, ponce city market mall, piedmont park, etc just by walking. Or i can get to these places in 3-5 mins on my escooter. So many hot chicks 😁
That last part of your statement!!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪. So many beautiful ladies flock to Atlanta. I used to live in Atlanta back in 2005-2006, the airport was the place to work at, beautiful ladies from Phoenix, Arizona, Milwaukee, Detroit and other cities were coming to get a piece of the Atlanta experience, YES!!!
I was excited when the idea was going from concept to reality. Unfortunately, the vision of Ryan Gravel was to have a path that was user-friendly. That is walkers, runners, and bicycle riders. Now there are motorized vehicles on the path which was absolutely prohibited when the project came to fruition. I went to the Beltline Authority and brought this to their attention and they basically shrugged her shoulders and said, “we can’t do anything about it. We can’t enforce it” even though there were signs that prohibited motorized vehicles. So, my big question is, when are they truly going to make it user-friendly without feeling endangered by people riding scooters and other motor vehicles? And, lastly, invest in M.A.R.T.A. I use it whenever possible. It’s not maintained properly and it doesn’t branch out into enough areas. One example is that Cobb County has voted down having M.A.R.T.A. go into in their area because it will bring crime. There already is crime in their area. The city should make it mandatory and make it safe to ride. And, lastly, lastly, invest in public schools. Graffiti is destroying our city and the city is doing nothing about it. I live in the city because I live in a neighborhood that is very community-rich.
I remember MARTA coming to Buchead in 1984. It was true that crime did increase. But on the other hand it became invaluable for people working downtown. Cobb county was predominately white back then and was "rural" shall we say. I am not surprised that MARTA has not been extended to Marietta and thereabouts. Cobb county has always seemed to have opposed what Atlanta wanted. I was never a fan of Cobb county with the exception of Vinings. Glad I moved in 2002 from Peachtree Battle area to sunny and warm St. Petersburg, Fl. St Pius was a great school (besides it being Catholic) and I really loved Atlanta from 1972 till 2002. After the 1996 Olympics Buchead started to get traffic jams. I love Atlanta but am glad I got out.
I remember when Gwinnett had the option to get MARTA and they voted it down, "saying the black people will ride the train to break into their houses and ride back with their stuff". 🤣🤦🏿♀️ It was so IGNORANT. Then the banks crashed and there was a gas shortage and Gwinnett Transit bus didn't go to Atlanta. Remote work wasn't even a thing. People couldn't go into the office and had to use vacation days. 🤣 They wish they had MARTA then. It's sad that Cobb can't learn from the mistakes of other counties. Crime can happen anywhere and why would someone ride public transportation with stolen goods?! 🤔 I think they'll be easier to catch that way. 🙄
How is graffiti ruining our city??? How about we talk about how there's only 1 legal public graffiti spot in all of Georgia. Makes me think maybe not everyone wants all voices to be heard
With Microsoft. Should partner with them to develop a curriculum for Atlanta public schools that would educate children in tech related skills including coding, cyber security etc ...
Are they really coming? Tech is having huge layoffs right now. In Charlotte a company called Centene Corp had a massive campus built in North CLT and they were like a month away from ribbon cutting ceremony and then they pulled out. So many brand new apartments and townhomes sit empty now in that area. It was going to be a huge win for North CLT. I don't believe Microsoft is truly committed until the ribbon cutting ceremony.
I used to live in Atlanta and I don't really get the beltline or why property values are rising around it. It's been the magical word that realtors have thrown around for 20 years to lure people into thinking properties are worth more than they really are, mainly because the original promise was that there would be an expansion of Marta and/or light rail instead of a trail. The City of Atlanta, outside of it's close core, is not a walkable place. Pretending it's walkable is frustrating, and I think the city would have been better served expanding Marta and creating commuter rail instead of making a 15 foot wide sidewalk to nowhere 22 miles around the city.
I first visited the city of Atlanta in September of 1973. I was in the Army station at Fort Gordon, Georgia. The Westin Hotel was just being built. Maynard Jackson was about to be the first Black Mayor to be elected from a major city in the Deep South. After completing my 3 years in the Army, I moved back home to Chicago. I was able to get a job with the federal government as an Immigration officer. I returned to Atlanta for an assignment in April 1981. I just fell in love with the city. For me, it seems to be a place where if you were Black, you could make it here. There was a position available that I decided to apply for. I was able to beat out 15 people to get the job. I moved from Chicago to Atlanta in June 1982. Atlanta was a far different city than it is today. Mass transit was just about non existence. I lived in East Point, Ga. There was no bus service on the weekends. The MARTA train service consisted of the east - west line operational. The North -South line was Civic Center to the North and Garrett Street Station to the South. That was it !!! Coming from Chicago, where buses and Subway train ran 24 hours a day was a huge adjustment. Today, Atlanta metropolitan area has about 6.5 million people. It is projected that by the year 2050, we will have an additional 3 million added. Cobb and Gwinnett County must have and extend Marta with bus and subway services. Clayton County voted several years ago to get into the Marta system. It's been very good move them. Bus service is needed for all the metropolitan areas.
Rueal Georgia areas need public transportation also. So many wasted opportunities in our rural areas because there is no transportation for those with very low income.
The belt line was supposed to be a light rail project to enable persons to access jobs and services without a car. It has been turned into a rich people walking trail.
I got the hell out of there recently. The crime is completely out of control. It's always been a very dangerous city, but now it's on a completely different level, even in the so called "nice areas". I was tired of hearing gunfire and street racing.
Istanbul is a city of more than 16 million. It is on two continents. It has a multi-type mass transit system (which is faster than taking a car. Its incredibly cheap to use and CLEAN. Look it up. Why can't it be here?
@@skaterboi65 Most of the Istanbul metro, made up of subways, trams, underground fast trains, underground tunnels for cars to bypass the downtown core, gondolas, boats, fast buses on their own dedicated lanes were all built in the last 20 years. In a city that is already 1700 years old. If you have the will it will get done. You are right, they don't it.
Atlanta and Georgia is a major hub for movie production. The film industry in Georgia is the largest among all the states in USA for production of feature films by number of films produced. The rapid urban development and economic growth in Atlanta, including projects like the BeltLine, have had a significant impact on the film industry in Georgia. As the city expands and becomes more attractive, it draws in more businesses, including financial and tech firms, which in turn boosts the local economy. This creates a more vibrant and dynamic environment that is appealing for film productions. Additionally, the growth in population and infrastructure development means more resources and opportunities for filmmakers. The increased demand for quality housing and commercial spaces can also lead to the development of new studios and production facilities, further supporting the film industry. However, this growth can also lead to challenges, such as rising property values and potential displacement of long-term residents, which can affect the local community and workforce. Balancing development with affordable housing and community needs is crucial to ensure that the benefits of growth are shared equitably.
i grew up in NW ATL - Marietta and now live in the North East where the train system was established early and remains a reliable, safe, and clean mode of transit - this keeps cars off the road. I recently returned to ATL and took Marta from the airport to the Arts Center - the overall experience on the train was repulsive. The over powering odor of feces and urine combined w constantly being asked for $ made for an unpleasant commute. I may have been uninformed as a youth but I recall MARTA attempted to extend its lines to reach further outside the city limits but it was always voted down by the suburbs who were afraid of the crime during the mid / late 70's. Looking back if the MARTA lines were established early the traffic issues around ATL would be different. The growth in population and the lack of (safe / clean) mass transit demands residents to have a vehicle. Most vehicles on the road have 1 person in them. When a city has 16 wide lanes and still has a traffic issue then you have to look at the poor planning decisions the city made decades ago.
Great segment, I lived in Dallas in late 90’s and saw communication jobs come in as it became a telecom powerhouse. It’s the dichotomy of a growing city, along with displacement and gentrification.
I live in the Big D born and bred. Sadly I will be leaving in a few months because it’s getting too expensive with a lot of folks from California and the Northeast moving in. I’m moving to Iowa in a few months. Wish me luck.
Dallas and Atlanta are one in the same....big boring cities where you can find a good job and great places to launch a career. That's about all the "charm: they hold lol
@@daneflanigan he saying that train system in both cities is limited because the train goes to the developing areas and other areas and it doesn’t go through the areas South of both cities with large black populations that’s underdeveloped
Lived in Atlanta for a few years now. All this is great but the bigger problem is the absolutely ludicrous amounts of traffic on the i75 & i85 corridors. The amount of time commuters spend teetering along in traffic is utterly wasteful from an economic perspective. All the car emissions and massive parking lots only act to amplify the heat in the summers. The whole metro Atlanta area is in need of new rail lines where MARTA connects Marietta and Kennesaw via rail as well as Lawrenceville on the northeast side. Cobb and Gwinnett county transit do little to alleviate the traffic pressures in those counties as well. Yet, when a proposal comes around to expand rail into these counties, they keep voting it down. It is absolutely asinine.
So what I’m hearing from this is that Atlanta is making a place where ALOT of people want to live in cause it’s nice. As a result, people flock there and there’s more demand than there is supply which raises the prices of everything. Now it’s an issue when people can’t afford to live there. It’s the same story everywhere that people like to live. Nice place causes increase in demand. Builders like the increase cause they make more money from it. They play the game where they don’t increase it too fast cause then that demand would diminish if supply equals it. So they make sure demand put competes supply. This profitable. People complain it ain’t fair but oh well that’s the game folks. Thrive or die
No. In Europe, there are regulations in place where even in desirable cities, affordable housing has to be placed. It’s your country that’s messed up because you have real estate developers bribing your politicians from enacting affordable housing.
Home values going up 300% in SW Atlanta is not "heartbreaking" -- that means you turned a dump into somewhere people want to live. You can't create desirable real estate and then be surprised when people want to live there. Gentrification is not an evil thing in and of itself -- it's the expected result of urban development. What the city of Atlanta needs to do is ensure that sufficient quantities of dense and affordable housing is built near transit hubs. That's it. Failure to build dense housing is what causes real estate values to skyrocket more than they otherwise would. It's a simple case of supply and demand. Make a cool place to live and then don’t allow for high density housing and you better believe housing prices are going to be insane.
I legitimately can not foresee Atlanta rising up as a hub. Atlanta has a lot of businesses due to it’s laxed business laws and cheap labor. I can’t foresee tech and actual money moving to it.
I think it’s a unique project that gives everyone a connection feeling to the whole of Atlanta. Knowing that it’s there can give you a nice feeling in a community sense
Atlanta is a city for outsiders. People in charge don't appeal to the residents who live here, they appeal to people they want to move here and tourist. I've been here since 96. They build something new every week, but have yet to fix or develop public transit, sidewalks, streets, etc in low or high income areas. Typically, if they do invest in something we can use it's solely because that area is going to be attached to the Beltline.
As a native Atlantan I feel that, while the beltline is great (even with the issues described), the city should really focus more on improving density and decreasing sprawl. The city is just not that walkable, except in midtown and along the beltline. Meanwhile there is a very rich collection of neighborhoods, and it would be great to be able to get to them without a car. But the city is so spread out, with so much wasted space in surface parking, it can be complicated to navigate.
Agree that is an issue, but the biggest issue is going to be simply water. Atlanta doesn't have enough water for those who live nearby already. And I remember the drought of the early 2000's when Atlanta went to war with Savannah and Augusta over water rights to the Savannah River.
Right on the money @Matt Haney. The video doesn't mention and most folks don't know that the original vision of the BeltLine consisted of a circumferential light rail line to run its length, tying together all the neighborhoods it intersects as well as connecting those neighborhoods to the MARTA main heavy rail at four separate stations. In short the two visions you spoke to are not in conflict, in fact quite the opposite!
If you're interested I volunteer with a group, BeltLine Rail Now, that 20 years on is trying to make that vision a reality. Give me a holler I'd love to talk more!
I drove though there on my way to disneyworld i didn't even want to get out my car i was going to go to six flags there with my son later that year but someone who lives there told me not to its has a lot of gangs that go there
I visited Atlanta last month for the first time and am European and as you say it is not walkable. Even midtown.... The main issue there is too few street side businesses. Sure you can walk that area but then there are no street side shops or cafes...
"Decrease Sprawl" & "Increase Density" are university terms that students have been brainwashed with. Atlanta is dense enough. Thanks to urban sprawl, some people can be located far away from high crime areas like this one. No one was walking there because they don't want to be a victim of a crime.
The belt roads goal is to create an environment where you can go to work, find a home, shop for groceries, access healthcare and education all without having to use a car. That’s priceless.
Car culture is the reason why our municipalities can’t support our underserved communities. We spend billions on high maintenance cost of car infrastructure (parking, roads, accidents etc.) it spreads out our utilities and increases the cost of living to a point that’s unsustainable.
It's not unsustainable.
Low wages that don't support the affordability of a car are the problem.
@@HeyMavDak No, it's inherently unsustainable. Even if you ignore that cars have always, especially now, been a massive household expense for all sorts of reasons, they also take up far more space per person. This means everything is further apart to fit parking, multi-lane roads, and so on. This means it costs more to get electricity, plumbing, and other services to those locations as cities expand. It's unsustainable, and we didn't even get to the environmental or safety problems with mass car ownership.
Until you see homeless people moving into the belt line 😂😂😂
I posted a comment about using the train trails and put in a bus line only. But give them the right of way. Meaning gates just like trains. Which in turn makes buses now faster than cars
Buses are gas now but maybe electric later. But this would have been a better use for the land imo
I'm no egghead about this but land like this on the east coast is like gold. No wonder why others were drooling over its use. That state should have been aware and made a better solution for all not just certain people imo
100% if you can walk/bike-ride to everything you need you can be better off than any minimum wage increase. We do need high-density, low-cost housing that is built to last.
For a city with 6 million ppl the traffic is horrible. We need a mass transit system
Not only that, but we also have InterState highways connecting throughout the metroplex that travelers are passing by.
Exactly where's the money coming from?
@@tira2145 taxes
You have one... MARTA. It's just that NIMBYs don't want it to be comprehensive, for reasons.
@@george_cantstandya it comes from the idea taking people off cars on the road and putting them in transit like buses and metros. Usually drivers in the road are single or two occupants per car, while transit takes one person away from their car which won’t contribute to traffic. In contrast with highway widening projects it doesn’t alleviate traffic for having more lanes brings in more people believing there would be space for them.
I saw this in my own eyes by having my sister drive me to the airport from Temecula to San Diego Lindbergh Field to catch a flight which had a 1.5 hour drive become a 2-3 drive due to the traffic on I-15. Didn’t help that it was more than 8 lanes long and still having it expanding to two more lanes and the alternative transit route can be from 4-8 hours long depending on any time I would leave. Too many cars on the road with little to no good alternative
I visited Atlanta last week and a European and used to walkable cities. I decided to walk from my hotel in the hotel district to a place called Atlantic station which is 2.5 miles I believe (and back later on). First, except for a couple of vagrants near the hotel, I was basically the only person walking and that was sort of eerie. And secondly, there are no street side businesses: no cafes, no shops. I walked through the Georgia Tech area and some of the streets were nice but again it looks like nobody ever walks them. But the next main issue is that many of these streets just end so you detour and then half a mile later you are again on the same street that sort of ended just before. Midtown is better in terms of street layout but again there are street side businesses. I also rode Marta and it was surprisingly nice but also very few users.... And when I got off in Buckhead, well you could clearly see that is the type of area where some would consider you suspicious for walking around so I guess it may take a while to change that mentality. If you want to entice people to walk there should be shops and cafes.... you have to have mixed use zoning if you want to have people walking around because let's face it, you can probably have most people walk a half or quarter mile radius but not much more than that
Unfortunately you just went the wrong way. I have hopes for west midtown but east Atlanta belt line and west end is where it’s at. Great areas. I never go to buckhead so I can’t comment.
Walking through the Georgia tech area will get you killed
It's too dangerous to walk because you can't safely cross any streets in atlanta
Sadly a lot of this comes from our major focus on still trying to please car culture here in Georgia, that and the income inequality in Atlanta is one of the highest in the US which increases the crime rate, only decreasing our public transportation adoption.
@@michaelmcchesney6904 sheeesh its unfortunate that there's a wrong way to walk, go to any city in Germany, France, Poland etc you'll find yourself walking into everything one could need no matter the direction. Sorry it will take more than a walk trail to make a city more walkable, more like a magic eraser to undo all the DOT lobbyist that shoveled having massive motorways as the solution
The Beltline was supposed to be a rail loop that was to help ease traffic in Atlanta. If you've ever been to Atlanta - THE TRAFFIC IS INSANE!!!
Man, a rail loop would be so much more effective. Just getting from Ponce to Krog St., takes forever if you're walking, and a fast, frequent train between them would make them feel so much more connected.
Alas I think the problem is that people in ATL are afraid to take the train. MARTA isn't bad at all, we really just need a culture shift / PR campaign to make people more comfortable using it.
Yup wheen 225 gets backed up 75 n 85 becomes grid lock
@@MrSupergingerman I heard they're updating the rail cars on Marta, which is pretty nice, I just wish they'd add more railroads in any way, especially to help with traffic coming from the outer perimeter, like Gwinnett, Cobb, Dekalb, or Fulton
Is it? I'm in it every day. It's not so bad. Then again I was raised in NYC.
@@MrSupergingerman I disagree, people can use bikes, electric bikes, electric scooters. this is more effiecient and keeps people more healhty from just walking. A rail system would take years and billions. It unites communites. the issues is the winter, it will be cold.
Another reason the Beltline is so successful even without the Light-Rail yet is because it's the first "third-place" built in this city since the original city parks. People enjoy the Beltline because unlike most parks which have just housing around them, it's a place to hangout and go somewhere without necessarily paying money. You can meet so many people and go to different neighborhoods without needing a car. That's why it's so successful
someone watches The City Beautiful lol
It also attracts people from other parts of the state. I'm a cyclist in Athens and we make a visit to the city any time there is a new section of the Beltline open. We spend our money at restaurants and bars and stores along the way.
Lies again? Acura Mecca Facial Botox
I left Atlanta 2 years ago, primarily because I was spending 1.5 hours each way in commute time. I couldn't afford to live downtown and was out in the suburbs. The city really needs a viable subway and commuter rail network but they won't ever build one. It is really too late to do so and would be economically impossible. I don't consider the MARTA system to be viable because it doesn't have enough lines nor do they go far enough out. I do think the BeltLine is a positive thing but it is going to end up pushing out everyone who isn't rich.
All the “walkability” YT channels trying to mask gentrification.
Guess who HAS TIME to WALK to work. The rich person that owns the business. They can arrive at whatever time they want.
No poor person working 2 jobs wants to walk to both of them.
This is effectively what will happen because rich people can afford to live in a place that has a grocery store.
@@KRYMauL No no no. There are plenty of poor towns and cities with grocery stores. It’s when people start shoplifting or straight up committing armed robbery against the store is when they leave the area.
@@KRYMauL this is the dumbest take I’ve ever heard
Traffic is awful but if they can create an environment where we don’t need a car at all is a very good idea. Ride my bike everyday.
I lived in Atlanta without a car (Buckhead), and heed my words when I say Atlanta is not a place to live without a car. I lived by 2 Marta stations and a single bus line (the 110) and it was still a bit difficult getting around IF where you're going isn't close to Marta or the route is infrequent. The Marta rail is great!! It's really fast and if your point A and B resides on the rail, it's a great alternative to driving, PREFERRED actually!! But it just doesn't go enough places for NIMBY reasons 😌. Thank God I'm in back NYC (my home city) now.
I lived in Atlanta as well and the Marta isn’t bad at all if you live inside the perimeter. I lived in old fourth ward and would commute to work in Sandy Springs to avoid that horrible traffic on 285/400. Like yourself I’m in a city with great public transportation as well (Chicago) all the luck to you in NYC!
And this ladies and gentlemen is why NYC government officials don’t care about the cost of living. Because someone richer like this guy will just move in and take your spot. AND will be grateful to be living in NYC as compared to the previous tenants that were complaining.
Gentrification train coming through 🚂 Choo Choo!!
@@LeeeroyJenkins I love gentrification, makes the area so much safer
[Placeholder]
@@LeeeroyJenkins 😁😁😁 well what’s funny is I moved back to NYC as well but I wish Atlantiens the best 😄😄😄
I have lived in Atlanta since 1995. I have ridden my bike, on Rail trails and Greenways, all over the South East. So many cities have done a faster, cheaper job than Atlanta of creating a linear park system that works. I believe the Beltline was an amazing idea, but I am very convinced it has become a corrupt endeavor. It's taking an existing rail trail and it still only has small sections completed all over the city. In the meantime, it's the public investors that are making all the return on rising property values, so no one seems intent on completing it in a timely manner. Think about it. $4.8 billion to build a wide sidewalk over a 20-year timespan. If the public has invested (think private companies) more than $8 billion, around it, it is not out of some altruistic urge. For sure the government officials overseeing it are getting something personally. Not surprised that some of the original visionaries, left the organization, disappointed, and the folks with perfect hair, makeup, and outfits remain.
It is defintely scrunitzed and overpriced. Is there an audit to this project?
There are entire massive parks included with the BeltLine funding. It’s not all just a sidewalk. It’s also a bunch of land remediation from the toxic metals left by the train traffic
50 years of systemic democrats. Vote red for once morons.
@@alexk6126 5billion is a lot and they can hire the workers to complete it in 5 to 10 years rather than 20 years. Its 5 billion not 1 billion or 500 million.
Try San Antonio, worst walking experience EVER
All American cities need to be redesigned for higher density living, walkability, better public transportation, mixed use/mixed income housing, reduce car use.
@@robierahg17 Then cities aren't for you, live on a farm.
You are absolutely correct
@clot shots EVERY town and city needs to prioritize people and places. We need to go back to good urbanism like how we have been doing it since the start of civilization.
@clot shots Stupid statement, Cities are better with less cars, cope and seethe you living soiface
@@nishiljaiswal2216 Agreed, atleast you aren't brain dead like clot shots here
Low density sprawl will cripple the city’s ability to maintain infrastructure. If the metro is going to keep growing in population, it can’t keep growing in physical size without coming to a breaking point. Eventually it all just becomes unsustainable
The thing is this the only way for it to be cheap, it'll only get extremely expensive with density it always does. The most expensive places are the most dense ones, and the ones that are becoming more dense.
@@seanthe100 Or maybe the most dense places are the ones that are the most expensive because there was already a lot of demand there to begin with so density followed to relieve that market pressure.
@@seanthe100 California is extremely low density and the state is also extremely expensive. Seattle is mostly single family zoning and housing is also super expensive. And the city itself is a behemoth. Miami is a sprawling mess and it’s also becoming super unaffordable
@@SincerelyFromStephen California sprawls, but by Urban areas Los Angeles and San Francisco are literally the most dense Urban areas in the country winch is why they are so expensive. California sprawls because of mountain ranges and valleys more than anything else. Actually the entire west coast is like this it looks like it's a significant amount of land, but when you actually look at where people are living it's really not.
@@SincerelyFromStephen Miami also became unaffordable when the city ran out of room to sprawl now the city is actually adding density at a rapid clip and is only becoming more expensive.
Atlanta's lack of mass transit has been holding it back for half a century. Unfortunately there are a lot of people who don't want mass transit for explicitly racist/segregationist reasons.
That’s the elephant in the room that many won’t discuss.
Atlanta is majority white so what are you talking about? Who is trying to keep white people from using public transportation?
@@prettyclassyladyOG Atlanta is not majority white. Even at 40%, this is the whitest it’s been in many decades. And yes, the poster is correct, the original reason MARTA expansion was blocked to extending outside of the city limits was because white people in the suburbs did not want poor people of color from the city in their neighborhood.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Atlanta
@Tony P Oh yeah, you don't want any "crime" in the suburbs (wink wink nudge nudge). As if someone is gonna take the subway all the way out to you, walk half a mile from the station to your house, and rob you? Come on dude, we all know what you really mean.
@@tonyp314 This is you bro: ua-cam.com/video/nkC3Nc3LqFI/v-deo.html
The reason the city is in constant deficit is because it just accepted the sprawl model. Roads and infrastructure is expensive and if that infrastructure is serving 10 homes vs 100 homes, the costs are higher for tax payer or the city just makes cuts to other things because their budget is eaten up by the inefficiency infrastructure model. But hey, you get a big piece of land for the kids located next to nothing, reliant on your car and increasing gas prices.
Bingo
the sprawl is outside the city limits - the city has no choice to accept or reject it. Atlanta was poorly managed and people preferred to build their own towns outside of Atlanta.
@@tigerstallion they don’t need to serve the needs of the suburban population. That’s up to the suburbs to invest in. Just build density. Also, the city of Atlanta is a sprawl within the city boundary. You cannot walk from a detached single family house to the grocery store, metro, coffee shop and stores. If you cannot do that, it’s sprawl and forces people to own a car.
@@Fellowtellurian the whole city of Atlanta is
It’s weird to me that when someone adds something of value, they don’t think that the value of the area will go up and change a lot.
I’ll pass on walking in atlanta I don’t want to die also how does a walking path cost billions of dollars
How come Black people making things of value equates to white people getting rid of the Black people in the area to enjoy those spoils?
@@fishngiggles5272 The Beltline isn’t just a walking path, the it includes new parks and light rail
It’s weird to me how something of value can’t just be enjoyed without pushing aside the people it was meant to serve.
@@smrk2452 I bet you believe in a true utopia. Go move to Russia
i was one of the people who were originally against the belt line. i live in this area and thought there was way to0 much crime. wow was i wrong the belt line is amazing. if this is an example of gentrification i hope your city gets some soon. the cops use to tell me not to stop at red lights at night. now you can safely walk your dog. the progress is incredible.
Most people are moving much further like Cartersville, Acworth, Douglasville, Canton, Austell, Mableton, Hiram, Dallas, Powder Springs and Lithia Springs to save money on rent/mortgage and get lots of land/space but unfortunately by doing so, they MUST have a car because public commute to and from those cities is damn near impossible if they work around Atlanta.
One bus twice a day connecting to downtown Atlanta is NOT ENOUGH! Other major cities like in the states of New Jersey, New York and California have more reliable rail transport and also city buses to all routes unlike here in Ga where everything starts and ends within the city limits of Atlanta.
i moved out of city of Atlanta to Mcdonough. Best decision i ever made i love in Mcdonough. i bought a brand new house 3k square ft for 220k which would have cost me 500-700k within the city,.
live where you work or dont complain about the commute.
I live in Atlanta. The beltline proves the power of a name. It's literally just a sidewalk paved over old railroad tracks. But if you called the sidewalk, no one would go to it. Call it the beltline and everybody goes.
How does it cost so much? It's concrete.
And, might some light rail been good idea too? You had the railroad tracks. If you really wanted to connect to Marta, you would want commuter rail (I thought that was the idea when I first heard)
4.8 bilion .... for something that probably costs 1.8 billion.
I couldn’t agree more.
they are building a light rail that's supposed to run parallel to the beltline
They’re doing the same in Detroit-removed the railroad tracks & poured concrete in it’s place.
Most if the cost is purchasing real state. It’s not just concrete. It’s parks and markets and affordable housing. Those take LOTS of space, and space is way more expensive that the materials and labour for building a park. At least it’s not a water of money since it’s basically making all the real state around it worth more. So the city as a whole is making more money.
I grew up in the Oakland City and Capitol View neighborhoods in Southwest Atlanta. I’ve seen this city change so much throughout the years. In the 60s and 70s, this city was left for dead! White flight was real. I know a lot of black families took advantage of the opportunities to buy homes in the city like my grandparents. We still own a property in the Capitol View neighborhood as a family which right along the Beltline. My sister owns a home in the Venetian Hills neighborhood not that far from our old neighborhood. It’s having the foresight to see down into the future. It’s here now and a lot of Atlantans didn’t see it. But if you had bought early on you can benefit right now! Houses were going for dirt cheap in my old neighborhood! And those that are owners held on through the bad times and are going to reap the benefits. Gentrification CAN be a good thing because it improves the surrounding communities and services. But if you can’t afford to live where you stay it’s sucks
While i understand your viewpoint on gentrification, alot of families were uprooted when the city decided to develop these areas and unfortunately many lost their homes due to the city requiring them to leave so they could use their land or people lost homes because they could not afford the drastic tax increase. The majority of these individuals were people of color who had lived in their homes for decades 😞.
Your family is fortunate to still have their home 🙏🏾
@@NoribyNature i understand your point. And i understand t that the reality of the situation is that people are being priced out and sold out to developers and investors. And sad to say a lot of them are black Atlantans who are born and raised. But honestly how long did people think that it was going to stay this way? Atlanta isn’t Detroit. The Fortune 500 companies eyed Atlanta for a reason. I’m not saying my family was smart in that they saw all this coming. They just was in the right place at the right time. My grandfathers parents come to Atlanta in the 50s with nothing. But understood home ownership. And let’s be real. The rates on these house are artificially inflated! If your poor you can’t afford them. It’s sad and I hate to see it. I would also encourage a native however to get a group of their family or friends they trust. Form a LLC or INC. Pull their money together. And try to buy in on that Atlanta Land Trust. That is a smart move for getting some investment in the City. I love my City and didn’t like when natives get taken advantage of or priced out because we are Atlanta.
@@gradybabygamer4421 Absolutely! Thats a great idea honestly. It seems the majority of the ones who were bought out didnt have the knowledge to understand how this works. There are also others, one of whom an organization I worked with tried to help, who was raised in the home she lived in. The city decided they needed to build a detention pond and her home was going to be destroyed in order for the city to do so. Unfortunately, they cut her a check and she had no say so in the matter. These companies prey on communities that are in need, knowing they will not have the wherewithal to dispute them. It’s a combination of lack of education and capital leaving our black communities in the dust, thereby forcing these people to the eastside or other areas where the vibration is low and rid with crime. I pray we build a generation of new leaders who will ensure our communities have the resources they need to build wealth and thriving businesses that will last for centuries and beyond.
How do they benefit? By selling their homes to non blacks contributing to displacement of black families?
@@gradybabygamer4421 These home prices are out of range for not only the poor but the working class, even people with degrees can't afford them. Atlanta use to be a place where a black blue collar working class family could afford to live, that's not the case anymore. You have to make 6 figures just to get by.
I've been in the Atlanta Metro for 18 years. I graduated from Georgia State University. Atlanta is such a great place. The main problem has always been traffic. Most major cities, like Chicago and New York, were built with transportation infrastructure.
However, Atlanta's growth happened in the last 50 years, with Delta making Atlanta this hub.
I hope for an ambitious transportation plan from Atlanta for the next 20 years.
Check out MARTA's 2040 Plan...or is it called More MARTA? The communication's a nightmare but at least its ambitious
www.itsmarta.com/uploadedFiles/City%20of%20Atlanta%20More%20MARTA_Print_Update_v7.pdf
The main problem I have here is the crime. I would rather the traffic get worse and the crime go downwards..
@@blast4me754 Crime will decrease if the ppl in power were giving harsh sentences, but they're not
@@Racko. crime decreases when poverty decreases. Solve that first, build infrastructure and fund the schools in the most impoverished areas
@@KumakOwO Until you find about that the African American culture in the US has normalized bad behavior and no morality towards each other which is a huge reason for the crime, neither money or building infrastructure can fix that, it's a deep cultural issue
As a Native, I can say The Beltline is as transformative as the Olympics were. I saw many of those who moved here for The Olympics get priced out by The Beltline. I walk The Beltline everyday!
I visited Atlanta first about 5 years back and then again this year. It's hard not to love this place. I'm glad to see it's getting its due. I look at other places like Detroit that are moving in the same direction and using the city almost as a blueprint. Is Atlanta perfect? No. But they're taking steps in the right direction and it's looking like mass transit would really benefit there.
I really hope S.E Michigan pursues highspeed commuter rail between all the major areas along with light local rail. It would make this place more livable instead of being so dependent on cars
Places like Detroit and Philadelphia helped build the country originally. Let's not forget that.
@@yvonneplant9434 false
@@yvonneplant9434 New York. Chicago. probably had a bigger impact.
@@yvonneplant9434 Georgia/Atlanta is amongst the original 14 colonies not Michigan
Atlanta native here- everyone is talking about public transportation, the video briefly mentioned that Marta expansion keeps getting blocked but it didn’t give a reason why. It’s because the affluent suburbs don’t want the “riff raff” coming into their areas and keep voting no on it. Fear of crime is how it’s messaged, which we all know is coded racism and classism. It’s continued to block expansion and block opportunities for everyone, and it only looks like it’s getting worse. Gotta address that before any public transportation will get fixed
I don't think it has anything to do with racism, classism for sure. Rich people want to keep the "Riff Raff" out of cobb County. That's why the Braves moved. They found our that the people buying tickets for games were the folks on the Northside. The belt line is only going to raise home prices and force poor folk out. It is the Olympics all over again. I hate the idea that it's racism. People get the two confused. its rich vs poor. Riff raff comes in all colors.
exactly!!!
I'm sincerely not trying to be naive, but how is fear of crime coded racism?
Except crime is an actual problem, not a made up one. So it isn't actually racism, it's basic pattern recognition and letitimate concern. At what point do communities start addressing this head on instead of always deflecting responsibility for it?
Crime is why i left san francisco, and moved to a small city. You dont understand how it feels until you see the city you were born in ravaged by theft and drugs. As much as i hate conservative laws, i understand the importance...raycism doesnt matter to me, fairness and good results matter more. I would live in a safe neighborhood full of minorities rather than live in a crime ridden street full of wytes...but reality is not like that.
Atlanta’s traffic is Hell on earth.
Atlanta's beltline is nice for walking BUT the city itself is becoming expensive as hxll to live in. Even degreed professionals are not getting salaries here to match the new and insane inflation prices. Yes, big name companies are here but they are not providing big salaries to match for most residents. They are only that, big names. Delta Airlines definitely does not need to be named with them paying college grads $15/hr in many cases and flight attendants $30 in a place where it is recommended that you make 110k annually to live comfortably (all of a sudden). Natives and incoming residents cannot even buy themselves homes/properties due to investors buying up the city and leaving nothing but high rent to the everyday and middle class people of the city. The city has began bullying and pushing out its Black lower AND middle class residents with expensive developments. Capitalism at its worst.
I live in Charlotte but I be in Atlanta all the time. Over the course of my life I've watched this city go from country to a mega city and in just 20 plus years. It's like every time I go down there is doubled in size. It's nothing short of Amazing.
Do you mean „I am in Atlanta…“ The „be“ in your sentence is what’s called an infinitive verb. You preceded that firm with „I“ so you have to conjugated that verb to „am“. Try English, next time.
Don’t even want to drive through Atlanta, let alone live there. The traffic and highways are terrifying.
Only between 7:00 A.M. and 7:00 P.M. after that it's like you're in a small country town.
It's honestly not that bad. Being stuck in traffic sucks no matter where you are in the world, and 75 North can be a pain, but LA and NYC are far worse! Not even a close comparison. Seeing the NYC skyline as you approach the city from Queens is unmatched, but I really like our drive through our own little skyline in the city. I'm biased, but Atlanta is a pretty town. We have some issues with crime, but it's beautiful down here. We need to keep it that way!
if you live in the city you won't have to drive that much
that's kind of the whole point
They should build an elevated rail right next to the Belt Line. The city already owns the land so that should significantly reduce the cost.
I’m surprised they didn’t mention it in the video but they are going to build light rail along much of the beltline, it’s just not estimated to be completed for well over a decade
It could also function as a rain canopy over the path. New build elevated rail is much quieter than it used to be
@@calebkopitsky7611that seems like a timeline they should really be accelerating.
If it cost them 5 billion to build a walking path, how many trillions would they take to build proper rail?
@@calebkopitsky7611 theyve been saying it since 2003 and now theyre starting the narrative that no one will use it
I live in a small city in Ontario Canada. We had converted our old rail lines to bike paths over 30 years ago now. Being able to bike everywhere is a given here and we have snow! Our sidewalk snowplows also clear the main bike paths for us. People cross country ski on some of them as they connect our parks.
Love Canada 🍁
I live off the Beltine and I am more that familiar with the politics and greed surrounding it, this video has a lot of lying greedy psychopaths. The project was started over 20 yrs ago and the guy who started it quit a couple years ago because he was tired of all the corruption, he is mentioned once in this, when Nathaniel Smith mentions "Ryan", that is Ryan Gravel, who started the project with his thesis. As it is its free marketing for developers, they refuse to put up any money to help fund it but they conveniently bought up all the land around it waiting to build overpriced "luxury" apts. My neighborhood is probably millennial central, where all the new highrises are being built, and there are literally thousands of vacant apts, the prices are entirely dictated by the developers.
Just to give you an idea the city is using a boatload of tax money, I have no idea how much, to welcome Microsoft to raise a historically black neighborhood and build its campus, redesigning infrastructure in the area that was completely ignored when it was a black neighborhood.
What is happening with real estate at large across the US should be criminal, while Atlanta is bad there are place much worse. To live in po dunk down in Florida with no infrastructure is going to cost almost as much as it costs to live in Atlanta, its really crazy stupid how developers are destroying the US.
@P A i walk to Microsoft from the arts Center Marta everyday, where exactly are the shootings?
@P A oh Damn, this is literally the first time I’m hearing about this, reading the report looks like this happened at night, I cross the 17th Street bridge around 6am in the morning and 3pm in the afternoon on my back home, around both times there’s usually no one on the bridge except sometimes there’s a local news channel capturing the sun rise in the morning
@P A lol I’m not disagreeing with you on anything you said, same reason I feel this belt line sounds like a Utopia, if we can have shootings near Atlantic Station there’s no guarantee of public safety anywhere on the beltline north or south
I live in Atlanta and the Beltline is pretty amazing . You can literally get to any part of the city from it.
I moved to Atlanta back in 2004 when I was 21, and I got offered at least 10-15 jobs in a week or two. I just finished community college and I was staying in Decatur off Wesley Chapel and Snapfinger and I never looked back. Coming from South Carolina it was a whole new world for me and I got caught up with the nightlife. My biggest mistake ever. My advice to coming to ATL is don't stay in the city unless you make over 75k a year. A two bedroom will easily cost you 2500 a month in rent. I would suggest moving to Henry or Gwinnett County. That's just my opinion 🤷. Besides it's crowded everywhere you go. I have met more people from outside of Atlanta than I have who are from Georgia. If you do decide to come, make you have a plan for yourself and your family.
I agree about the traffic part. I live in northwest cobb and commute to the opposite side of cobb 5 daya a week for work. It takes me like 45 to 55 minutes to get home even at 4 pm which is just around the start of rush hour. There is massive congestion on i75 northbound at the marietta/roswell exit around six flags white water. That whole area slows down immensely just for relatively moderate merging traffic and then some.
Also the cobstruction compabies these last couple of weekends have decided to clise off 3 of the 5 lanes to do some sort of paving or cleanup on either shoulder. Like what is the point of this? Can it not wait for the nighttime?
Kennesaw Mountain area is also very much in need of roundabouts on Old Hwy 41 and even in connection to Stilesboro. There are a couple of lights there that take forever in a day to give consistent traffic flow especially right in front of the visitors center located there. All it takes is for a couple of people to leave the main parking and wanting to take a left onto old hwy 41 and boom, instant traffic buildup. Roundabouts are definitely needed in suburban Atlanta in the worst ways possible. Idc if i have to detour for a whole month if it means better traffic flow in the future.
@@z0tw exactly.
This is great! I'm interested in living in cities that are prioritizing public transit, walking paths, bike paths. It's what newer generations of workers want to see. Cities that aren't prioritizing this infrastructure are going to find themselves behind. Atlanta has its problems...all cities do. Absolutely. This is the right direction. Very commendable.
The other day, we took a 5 minute walk from our apartment to a bowling alley. It was magical. I would prefer this transportation over a car if most things were 10 minutes away or less. Unfortunately, the next closest building is a 40 minute walk 1 way.
Lol once you factor in how many times you can get shot/robed/ran over in 10 minutes in ATL, that walk suddenly sounds less beautiful.
@pa3465 Why are you all such massive scaredy cats?
@pa3465 Lol I take it you don't drive either because you have a higher likelihood of dying in a car accident than being mugged in the streets. Stay coddled child.
@@pickmeishaCars aren't some impenetrable shield. If you honk at the wrong person in Atlanta, you'll be shot just the same. It's more of an Atlanta demographics problem than how someone chooses to transport themselves.
You're both idiots
Just no.
1) Marta is inefficient, underused, and underinvested.
2) rent is too high compared to local salaries.
3) the city is poorly designed, little sense of grid/urban planning, even with the beltline it is still incredibly unwalkable, with many neighborhoods missing sidewalks.
4) It's a liberal city landlocked in a republican state, not to mention the Deep South in general.
5) traffic is horrendous- it literally cannot afford to grow without major commute concerns. Atlanta is like a truck stop that just never stopped growing.
I love the idea of a walkable city and reducing reliance on cars, but to your 4th point, as much as I want to live in a walkable city, the state's overall political climate is terrifying and I would never move to Georgia because of the politics.
@@jenniferlynnkarr Good.
@@tedstrogis4823 Agreed
@@jenniferlynnkarr I understand. The "New South" needs to earn that "New" title. It hasn't yet.
Ok good. Don't move here
I used to live in the city then we relocated to College Park (10-15 mins away). I LOVE the Beltine. It’s like a little city in ATL. Definitely gentrified but a nice change since a lot of those areas were abandoned.
Getting tired of this… you know what im talking about.
@@jamesbott3788 ???
So what if it’s gentrified…look at the opposite effect over in Clayton county. I’ll take gentrification over generational dysfunction that seems to never end in “predominant” homogeneous areas.👌🏾
4:03 I love the attempt to say a 15 minute city without using the term (which now has stigma behind it)
I have lived in the City for 45 years. Gentrification is inevitable as locations become more desirable. Are you going to tell another they cannot sell their land at market price? The reason (IMO) for Atlanta's lack of rapid transit is the states antipathy towards Atlanta and the Depart. of Transportation's lock on transport budgets. I suggest we issue window stickers or transponders for everyone who lives and pays property taxes within the City and collect a toll for others entering the city. Tourists passing thru can circumvent the city via I285 and others who don't want to pay the toll will take the train and bus network. Eliminate any new surface parking lots. Commercial developers tear down existing buildings and warehouse the land buying it for parking.
theres nothing wrong with people selling their land at market price. the problem is the city kicking people out of their homes because they raised their taxes based on "market price" when the homeowners have not sold at "market price". Property taxes should be set on the deed when the home is purchased based on purchase price, not some speculative "market price" city officials can change whenever they feel like it.
Love the city. Walking around midtown and downtown where I live it is amazing to see how the city has grown. But the Beltline is a mass gentrification project that has pushed out so many people.
The Beltline isn't what's causing gentrification though, it's a mix of our zoning and economic policy that's pushing people out. One being a lack of investment into low income communities where generational poverty is present, the other being selfish people who don't want to open their neighborhoods to townhomes and apartments because people who make less money than them would stay on the same street. Beltline or not, this would've occurred either way like it is in every other US city.
@@dbclass2969 good points. The NIMBYS are definitely a problem. I hope there is a better solution to this
@@portcybertryx222 Yes, I hope city council does what's rights when it comes to rezoning. Allow property owners to build what they want on their own property. We're not talking about putting factories next to people's homes, just asking for people to open their neighborhoods to everyone for the benefit of everyone.
So wait, a jogging track is now a force of evil.
A jogging track!
I’m convinced some people see any form of progress or amenity as a negative. Terribly sad and unhealthy.
For decades we have been moving in to Clayton and Henry and Rockdale and Douglass county by choice…some of us selling our urban homes in a rush to get out of summer hill and mechanicsville.
Now that white people took an interest in it all of a sudden the story changes. 🤦🏾
Running the interstates though the middle of the city pushed out people, they need to go underground.
An incredible city that has a very bright future!! I love Atlanta and the surrounding suburbs.
I worked on the Beltline project from 2004-2010. Glad to see it's coming along. Great project!!! Hi Amanda.
I lived in Atlanta metro my whole life. The city’s crime is getting so bad. My car has broken into, been robbed with a knife, saw someone get carjacked in the ‘safe spot’ of Atlanta. If it wasn’t for Johns Creek, Duluth, and Suwannee I would have left already
Yes, I find it very convenient that they didn't mention that (and also most of the comments here are making Atlanta sound so amazing). Finally got out of there. It is a complete nightmare with the crime. I lived in a so called "nice area", and we didn't go out after dark. The constant sounds of gunfire and street racing was terrifying.
@@jaywoods378 Not everyone's built for cities.
The people who are raving about Atlanta, would probably praise NYC or San Francisco just as highly. There's a mindset and energy needed to endure the annoyances and potential dangers of big city living. It is what it is. 🤷♀
Atlanta has too many pookie and ray-ray looking dudes walking around.
@@blast4me754so does DC, Philly, Chicago, NYC, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Miami etc….. just act like they don’t exist and avoid them 👌🏾
Chicago and Philly are actually the two most segregated cities in the United States. Not a lot of “pookie and ray rays” walking around unless you go to a poverty-stricken neighborhood. Born and raised in Chicago and my biggest complaint is not seeing many black people. If you live in a middle-class neighborhood unfortunately you will not see a lot of blacks. Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, Bucktown, Lakeview, Old Town.. I could literally keep going and name at least 20 more popular central neighborhoods where you won’t see many black people which is a shame but they are safer so there’s that.
Everybody I know and met in the south HATES Atlanta.
The traffic is the biggest reason.
And when I went it was very.... ugly... run down, homelessness, bad attitudes by the locals, ugly buildings.
This was several years ago. I hope it has changed.
They need to focus on building a more livable city beyond cars. However saying that and doing that are very different things.
I think I'm technically part of the megalopolis that includes Atlanta and cities to the north from SC to NC.
Man so many people are moving here. The infrastructure is not designed for it. Deforestation everywhere. Thousands of cheap, ugly, cookie cutter wooden suburbs, townhouses, apartments being built everywhere. I suppose if we were growing we would be declining. But this growth is just so needlessly ugly and impractical.
I hate Atlanta. The traffic is absolutely horrible. It takes forever to get anywhere.
Tell me about it. I hated living there! Just random traffic at random times!
The beltline is like a sarcastic joke when wrapped around such an otherwise sickly city.
Don't get me wrong, the beltline is nice for a leisurely visit, but Atlanta is slowly killing everyone who lives (works) there. Until they figure out the 4-hour commutes, leading-class wealth inequality, and braindead public transit... the beltline's just another reminder of how far from sustainable the city actually is.
I live in Atl. Same story. Same outcome. It was sold as a rail transit loop. What we got is a 12' pavement. And increased 2-3x rent/housing cost. I'm really happy
As a person from ATL, born and raised, it's great to see the city grow as much as it has over the years... But what is disappointing is that former Atlanta mayor, Maynard Jackson worked with major organizations after the '96 Olympics to bring in jobs/opportunities for the citizens of Atlanta. However, when these companies came to Atlanta, they brought in their staff and did not hire local talent. Most people will say that the local people didn't qualify, but every job gives you on-the-job training. Whether you're a barista at Starbucks or an Engineer at Microsoft, you will be trained on how to do your job. With the number of companies coming to Atlanta, there should be no families, especially Atlanta locals, making less than $60,000 annually. I challenge the Atlanta officials to make companies hire and train a certain percentage of true Atlanta natives. This will help bridge the wealth/unemployment gap within the city.
That means they would actually have to care. They'd rather just act clueless on UA-cam videos. If we can think of solutions ofcourse they can. But theres no profit in that. Better off just blaming them, like all people of color are their own problems. When they were the ones in the city for decades making the city what it is today
That would be ridiculous to say the locals didn't qualify. Atlanta has a highly educated population with people from every corner of business. You're 100% correct.
If you gonna keep voting for the boule Blacks they are gonna sell you out every time. Andre is boule you may not even be able to shake his hand let alone get him to look out for the natives
Hiring workers from other areas means they can jack up the price of housing. Which means more tax dollars for them. And if you are to poor to leave, that means you’ll continue to pay tax for the rest of your life. So a win win for the government.
It's expensive to have extensive on-the-job training for white collar jobs because there's no such thing as loyalty anymore for both parties. So if a company trains an expensive engineer for a year and the guy leaves right after (which happens pretty frequently), then what's the point?
My whole country is built that way. The Netherlands has walkable / bikable cities and Public Transport is high quality and affordable.
The thing is, in America they still want you to be car dependent so they don’t invest that much in public transportation because of lobbying. The same applies to affordable housing. Real estate developers bribe local politics from enacting affordable housing. But they will approve development for high rises
True
And really good pancakes.
your country is tiny, flat, and old
Atlanta traffic is odd, people make it personal and won't let you merge in.
I like Atlanta, I hope the growth makes it demand more from developers. (They will pay for public art if you make them)
What a surprice, you build a walkable alternative and sudenly the price hikes.
Nashville, TN needs a massive trolley system for the entire metropolitan area.
I'm from Nashville I moved because it became to expensive. They don't give a crap about anything but what the rich want. The difference between rich and poor is very clear. I'm very disappointed in the city. Even downtown isn't the same. For all the tourists we get, they can find better ways to invest into the city.
EVERY metro area needs a massive trolley system. I can’t wait for a future where I don’t need to own a car anymore.
Nashville and Tennessee only want to fund corporate relocations and tourism. Nothing is being done about transportation and upgrading public infrastructure throughout the state. Why not build a city for the people first then incentivize growth.
Only fairies take trollies
Or something, bc traffic is terrible there too
As someone who grew up in the suburbs and has been wanting to move into the city after I graduated college, it's just way too unaffordable at the moment. The beltline has contributed a lot to this
Make more money
@@A1fbggrxwnshxxter if only it were that simple 🤯
How selfish. So no progress because you can’t live exactly where you want to live.
Make more money or reroute your dreams.
@can72287 you're just talking out of your ass dude. Go look up the cost of 1 Br, 1 bath Apts in atlanta. You can't even find a nice 700 Sq ft apt for
@@griffinmaxwell789 but it is, you’re in control of your own life the only thing that will ever be in your way is you, or you can sit around and throw a pity party feeling bad for yourself all day which only yields undesirable results. You went to college, I didn’t and I still can afford to live right off of north ave and Piedmont ave in a luxury mid rise unit, why? Because I go and get what I want, you can too.
I think every city/state, should have bike & walking paths everywhere! Safer, increases health & environment because, it's better to walk & bike than drive!
theyre called roads. they didnt all spring up after the invention of the automobile.
only the interstate highway is (debatably) restricted to cars
Making atl walkable with a better Marta system and bike-able will improve the health of people. Humans need to move not sit all day.
bike your ass to Marta and stop complaining. I never had a problem biking or walking around Atlanta. Everyone that doesnt is just too scared, or they dont actually live in Atlanta, they live in like Duluth or another completely different political district.
I live here. This investment is great. This gentrification is awful.
More transit, better walkway, and more housing supply
and less suburban sprawl
@@nishiljaiswal2216 so… less housing supply.
People seem to HATE skyscrapers and suburban sprawl. Then complain about a lack of affordable housing.
@@LeeeroyJenkins Mix of everything dude, Americans are outrageous it's either extreme or nothing
@@LeeeroyJenkins are those the only 2 options? We need more apartments, duplexes, triplexes, multiplexes, low rise, mid rise
@@nishiljaiswal2216 There is no difference between living on the fourth floor or the seventh floor. Both floors will probably need elevator access. And on both floors you don’t have to worry about noise on the ground as much as the first 2 floor.
Negative: Rent is too high for families, potholes everywhere, bad traffic. Positive: Restaurants, beautiful women, mild winter weather
theyve got a steel plate for that pothole 💩
Great idea, any city that has a walkable or bike-able loop is a place that is highly valued. Great job Atlanta!
They’re doing such a terrible job lol. I lived there.. it’s not great.
It amazes me when these planners states that these large tech firms are going to bring firms that will have million dollar salaries. There may a hand full of gold making that kind of money. Good selling point. Lot of 6 figure salaries, but you can bet the house on offshore jobs will take up the bulk of the workforce. Why pay an Atlanta transplant or whatever, when they can sign contract in India, Poland, Mexico, or Greece for $20k a year. Sounds like a good ole gentrification plan. Traffic is terrible in Atlanta.
This is definitely NOT the city I grew up in. Doesn’t seem like the South anymore with southern culture and values because of all the transplants.
Long gone from the southern city it once was
building the place for the people not for cars.
this idea has been done in denmark,berlin, thenetherlands
walkable cities is something the US need as a whole
" whole communities " are walkable cities.. nothing new We are just catching up
The Beltline intentionally didn't include the black middle-class neighborhoods in South West Atlanta. We are black homeowners who didn’t run to the suburbs. We have doctors, lawyers, engineers, project managers, software programmers, news anchors, and Hank Aaron.
The belt line goes through the West side and north from vine city/west end
After selling a couple homes in 2020, I'm anticipating a housing crisis in order to buy inexpensively. As a backup plan, I've been thinking about purchasing stocks. What recommendations do you have for the best time to buy? On the one hand, I keep reading and seeing trader earnings of over $500k each week. On the other side, I keep hearing that the market is out of control and experiencing a dead cat bounce. Why does this happen?
The fact that the US stock market had been on its longest bull run ever makes the widespread worry and enthusiasm understandable given that we are not used to such unstable markets. As you pointed out, it wasn't tough for me to earn over $780k in the last 10 months, so there are chances if you know where to go. I hired a portfolio advisor since I was aware that I needed a solid and trusted plan to survive these trying times.
@@harod033 Do you think you could suggest this coach to me? I've been researching advisors and I truly need advice to move forward.
@@harod033 Ruth appears to be very knowledgeable. I discovered her online profile and read through her resume, educational background, and qualifications, which were all very impressive. She is a fiduciary, which means she will act in my best interests. So I scheduled a session with her.
Options trading is where the money is at.
That investor talk sounds so soulless. I hope people could someday invest into themselves, their families, and communities instead of investing into big corporations and single family homes.
I visited Atlanta a few years ago and I wasn't impressed. Extremely overrated and underwhelming
You have to go to the right areas.
Good. Stay away.
I lived North of the city for 8 years. Moved down from the DMV area where I thought traffic was nuts. Then I hit 85/400/285 and the side streets..my goodness. Forget being near perimeter from 330 until 830..traffic like I've never seen. I miss the food, but not the traffic or the airport TSA lines..👀👀👀
DC has way worse traffic than ATL.
It's hard to understate the weather factor.
No matter the economic policies and incentives, cities like Miami and Atlanta would not be growing at anywhere near the same rate if they experienced brutal winters.
Denver, Salt Lake City, Bozeman, Seattle Portland all have winter weather and are also growing rapidly
@@andrewsteavpack9079 Portland and Seattle are definitely not growing rapidly they are both losing more people than anything. The other ones on your list are though.
Ya minneapolis would like to have a word...
Miami and Atlanta have nothing in common weather wise except maybe the month of August.
But Miami exchanged brutal winters for hurricane 🌀 season so it all equals out!!!! and most of Florida’s population is due to retirement Miami is gonna be Miami no matter what just like Orlando is going to be Orlando because of Disney
The Atlanta area is the world's best-kept secret for wonderful walking and biking trails; the BeltLine is just a small part of that whole picture. The Silver Comet Trail from Cobb County to the Alabama border includes wonderful views and connects diverse neighborhoods. Talk about the southeast side, the beautiful Rockdale River Trail and the trails that connect to it include Martin Luther King High School, Panola Mountain State Park, the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, and Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area as well as large majority-minority neighborhoods.
Yeah and getting robbed or kiIIed by bIack gang members
safety?
😯🤫🤫hush! 🤐
@@tglaspie7037 hahaaaa i gotta explore it being an outdoor person myself... but i'll keep it hush
I've lived near Atlanta my whole life. I go actually in Atlanta about once a week. There's different parts of the beltline I actually like. I feel like there's only like a 5 mile section that's worth walking which i've a couple times. It's really nice, it has a lot of coffee shops one of which has the best donuts i've ever had. So I feel like certain parts of the beltline are becoming more actually cool and convenient. If you want to walk around the city areas and not the out skirts I would walk the streets around Centennial Olympic Park but that's a touristy part. Little 5 Points is also a great option.
I need the name of that shop, for donut research proposes lol.
I lived within the BELT line and moved out to Mcdonough which is about 30-40 min drive to downtown. Best decision i've ever made not only i was able to afford a brand new home my commute has also has gotten 10X better. it's funny how moving just 30 minutes from downtown can make life so much better.
you better erase the name of your town before they come running over there jacking up your cost of living. Keep it on the low long as ya can. lol
Congratulations on your new home
You just lame, there’s no way you’re telling me living in McDonough is better than downtown 😭 there’s nothing in McDonough just a bunch of police.
Same, moved to Conyers in Rockdale county and boy oh boy... That was the best decision ever...I don't mind driving 40 min to downtown.
@@RK7LifeLine how is Conyers? I'm considering a home there, but since I've lived in the city for over 10 years or near it, Idk how it would be with the lack of public transportation.
Im NYC. I will never want to move to Atlanta!! There are so many eyes opening choices for bizness or for life from around the tropical world where it could be 10 times better than Atlanta!
Way To many Hispanics & Asians in NYC for my liking.
@@campertaeva you racist
@@campertaeva Wow, tell us how you really feel! How does Atlanta stack up in that regards?
And there are so many places better to move to than overpriced NYC. An awesome place to visit, but not to live. No city is worth living in a noisy cardboard box vs living in a 3k square foot home, for the same price.
❤️ NYC
The belt line is nice! Unfortunately if you live along the belt line your rent has increased 500-1000 dollars and your apartment is outdated! We need rent security or some laws in place to help residents in these areas.
Rents are going up all over the country.
Atlanta is truly going through a massive transformation. Fortune 500 companies, Art, culture, sports and great weather. Amazing time to be a resident!
nothing good comes from the Fortune 500. the city had more art and culture 50 years ago
How efficient is the transit system, though?
It's a bummer that those guys resigned. The solution here is not less beltline but more. This is proof that people want SAFE walk/bike space that connects them to work and life. I think they should just continue stretching out the beltline so that it's not so scarce. Scarcity and desireablity are a recipe for inflated prices. We've got proof that the beltline is desireable. Let's make it less scarce by making more of it. Driving in Atlanta is awful, and took years off my life (in stress) when I lived there. More beltline please.
They have 8 billion dollars for a walking path. And there's still no homeless shelters or mental hospitals
the homeless and mentally ill hang out on the beltline 🙃
Random thoughts from Australia. Forget a transit system, they should have trails for horse and buggy. Thanks I am here all week!!!
For all people looking to move
To Atlanta, please be aware of the following:
- THE HOMELESS SITUATION IS OUT OF CONTROL!! Because of the illegal redlining, amount of realtors and real estate developers that have swarmed on low-income areas around the city, the homeless population has skyrocketed throughout the city because of new units being approved despite the income inequality in these areas, forcing people into the streets.
- Rent is gonna be around $2500+ and you’ll still be next to the trap houses.
- the kids out here got guns. Gun laws are real light so stay alert. The nightlife ain’t for the weak neither.
My husband and I lived in midtown (in his father's condo purchased in 1999) for about 6 months in 2016. And I remember when we were trying to find an apartment near Ponce and the beltline had just gotten built there. And the prices shocked me then. I can't imagine it now.
Prices are in the millions now, its ridiculous.
Love walkable cities 🌆 So much value in this mode of transportation. Simple, smart, and great in many ways!
I have a small business right next to the beltline. It is so exciting and fun to work near the belt line. I can get to any locations such as grocery stores, ponce city market mall, piedmont park, etc just by walking. Or i can get to these places in 3-5 mins on my escooter. So many hot chicks 😁
That last part of your statement!!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪. So many beautiful ladies flock to Atlanta. I used to live in Atlanta back in 2005-2006, the airport was the place to work at, beautiful ladies from Phoenix, Arizona, Milwaukee, Detroit and other cities were coming to get a piece of the Atlanta experience, YES!!!
I was excited when the idea was going from concept to reality. Unfortunately, the vision of Ryan Gravel was to have a path that was user-friendly. That is walkers, runners, and bicycle riders. Now there are motorized vehicles on the path which was absolutely prohibited when the project came to fruition. I went to the Beltline Authority and brought this to their attention and they basically shrugged her shoulders and said, “we can’t do anything about it. We can’t enforce it” even though there were signs that prohibited motorized vehicles. So, my big question is, when are they truly going to make it user-friendly without feeling endangered by people riding scooters and other motor vehicles? And, lastly, invest in M.A.R.T.A. I use it whenever possible. It’s not maintained properly and it doesn’t branch out into enough areas. One example is that Cobb County has voted down having M.A.R.T.A. go into in their area because it will bring crime. There already is crime in their area. The city should make it mandatory and make it safe to ride. And, lastly, lastly, invest in public schools. Graffiti is destroying our city and the city is doing nothing about it. I live in the city because I live in a neighborhood that is very community-rich.
I remember MARTA coming to Buchead in 1984. It was true that crime did increase. But on the other hand it became invaluable for people working downtown. Cobb county was predominately white back then and was "rural" shall we say. I am not surprised that MARTA has not been extended to Marietta and thereabouts. Cobb county has always seemed to have opposed what Atlanta wanted. I was never a fan of Cobb county with the exception of Vinings. Glad I moved in 2002 from Peachtree Battle area to sunny and warm St. Petersburg, Fl. St Pius was a great school (besides it being Catholic) and I really loved Atlanta from 1972 till 2002. After the 1996 Olympics Buchead started to get traffic jams. I love Atlanta but am glad I got out.
I remember when Gwinnett had the option to get MARTA and they voted it down, "saying the black people will ride the train to break into their houses and ride back with their stuff". 🤣🤦🏿♀️ It was so IGNORANT. Then the banks crashed and there was a gas shortage and Gwinnett Transit bus didn't go to Atlanta. Remote work wasn't even a thing. People couldn't go into the office and had to use vacation days. 🤣 They wish they had MARTA then. It's sad that Cobb can't learn from the mistakes of other counties. Crime can happen anywhere and why would someone ride public transportation with stolen goods?! 🤔 I think they'll be easier to catch that way. 🙄
It isn't unsafe... Just stay as far to the right unless passing someone. It's rlly that simple
How is graffiti ruining our city??? How about we talk about how there's only 1 legal public graffiti spot in all of Georgia. Makes me think maybe not everyone wants all voices to be heard
''Motorized vehicles?'' Like E-bikes and E-scooters? Give me a break, watch where you're going and you'll be fine
With Microsoft. Should partner with them to develop a curriculum for Atlanta public schools that would educate children in tech related skills including coding, cyber security etc ...
Too many low IQ hoods that can't even do simple addition
Are they really coming? Tech is having huge layoffs right now. In Charlotte a company called Centene Corp had a massive campus built in North CLT and they were like a month away from ribbon cutting ceremony and then they pulled out. So many brand new apartments and townhomes sit empty now in that area. It was going to be a huge win for North CLT. I don't believe Microsoft is truly committed until the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Atlanta needs more brilliant minds that can solve these problems like urban planners and architects
In Atlanta?, the first skill in public schools there is being WOKE and trained as new criminals....car jacking, robbery, drug dealing.
@@lazynow1 math bee rayshist an sheeit.
I used to live in Atlanta and I don't really get the beltline or why property values are rising around it. It's been the magical word that realtors have thrown around for 20 years to lure people into thinking properties are worth more than they really are, mainly because the original promise was that there would be an expansion of Marta and/or light rail instead of a trail.
The City of Atlanta, outside of it's close core, is not a walkable place. Pretending it's walkable is frustrating, and I think the city would have been better served expanding Marta and creating commuter rail instead of making a 15 foot wide sidewalk to nowhere 22 miles around the city.
Cary, NC and the surrounding towns invested in a similar Greenway years ago. It is excellent
I first visited the city of Atlanta in September of 1973. I was in the Army station at Fort Gordon, Georgia. The Westin Hotel was just being built. Maynard Jackson was about to be the first Black Mayor to be elected from a major city in the Deep South. After completing my 3 years in the Army, I moved back home to Chicago. I was able to get a job with the federal government as an Immigration officer. I returned to Atlanta for an assignment in April 1981. I just fell in love with the city. For me, it seems to be a place where if you were Black, you could make it here. There was a position available that I decided to apply for. I was able to beat out 15 people to get the job. I moved from Chicago to Atlanta in June 1982. Atlanta was a far different city than it is today. Mass transit was just about non existence. I lived in East Point, Ga. There was no bus service on the weekends. The MARTA train service consisted of the east - west line operational. The North -South line was Civic Center to the North and Garrett Street Station to the South. That was it !!! Coming from Chicago, where buses and Subway train ran 24 hours a day was a huge adjustment. Today, Atlanta metropolitan area has about 6.5 million people. It is projected that by the year 2050, we will have an additional 3 million added. Cobb and Gwinnett County must have and extend Marta with bus and subway services. Clayton County voted several years ago to get into the Marta system. It's been very good move them. Bus service is needed for all the metropolitan areas.
It’s different now. Out of towers and illegal immigrants have flooded the city
Atlanta is a major suburb.
Rueal Georgia areas need public transportation also. So many wasted opportunities in our rural areas because there is no transportation for those with very low income.
I love Atlanta, I moved here in 1984 and I still like it a lot. 🙏❤️
I grew up in Atlanta back in the 70s. and 80,s. Back then....it was a great place to live...
Who knew that people would pay a premium to live next to pedestrian priority infrastructure! *(Sarcasm)*
That path is made of Gold.
The belt line was supposed to be a light rail project to enable persons to access jobs and services without a car. It has been turned into a rich people walking trail.
Rich people we don’t build enough of walkable medium density
I grew up in Georgia. Just about everyone I know has been robbed in Atlanta and that's dozens of people. You couldn't pay me to live there.
I got the hell out of there recently. The crime is completely out of control. It's always been a very dangerous city, but now it's on a completely different level, even in the so called "nice areas". I was tired of hearing gunfire and street racing.
The point of the project was to build transit on the loop. Everything else was just to access it and provide support for the density it would bring.
That was an idea at the start but I would not say it was the point of the project, a walking bike trail with some space for rail in the future.
Istanbul is a city of more than 16 million. It is on two continents. It has a multi-type mass transit system (which is faster than taking a car. Its incredibly cheap to use and CLEAN. Look it up. Why can't it be here?
because racism and NIMBYism
they don't want it
@@skaterboi65 Most of the Istanbul metro, made up of subways, trams, underground fast trains, underground tunnels for cars to bypass the downtown core, gondolas, boats, fast buses on their own dedicated lanes were all built in the last 20 years. In a city that is already 1700 years old. If you have the will it will get done. You are right, they don't it.
Atlanta and Georgia is a major hub for movie production. The film industry in Georgia is the largest among all the states in USA for production of feature films by number of films produced. The rapid urban development and economic growth in Atlanta, including projects like the BeltLine, have had a significant impact on the film industry in Georgia. As the city expands and becomes more attractive, it draws in more businesses, including financial and tech firms, which in turn boosts the local economy. This creates a more vibrant and dynamic environment that is appealing for film productions.
Additionally, the growth in population and infrastructure development means more resources and opportunities for filmmakers. The increased demand for quality housing and commercial spaces can also lead to the development of new studios and production facilities, further supporting the film industry.
However, this growth can also lead to challenges, such as rising property values and potential displacement of long-term residents, which can affect the local community and workforce. Balancing development with affordable housing and community needs is crucial to ensure that the benefits of growth are shared equitably.
i grew up in NW ATL - Marietta and now live in the North East where the train system was established early and remains a reliable, safe, and clean mode of transit - this keeps cars off the road. I recently returned to ATL and took Marta from the airport to the Arts Center - the overall experience on the train was repulsive. The over powering odor of feces and urine combined w constantly being asked for $ made for an unpleasant commute. I may have been uninformed as a youth but I recall MARTA attempted to extend its lines to reach further outside the city limits but it was always voted down by the suburbs who were afraid of the crime during the mid / late 70's. Looking back if the MARTA lines were established early the traffic issues around ATL would be different. The growth in population and the lack of (safe / clean) mass transit demands residents to have a vehicle. Most vehicles on the road have 1 person in them. When a city has 16 wide lanes and still has a traffic issue then you have to look at the poor planning decisions the city made decades ago.
The Rise of Charlotte next 💯
Great segment, I lived in Dallas in late 90’s and saw communication jobs come in as it became a telecom powerhouse. It’s the dichotomy of a growing city, along with displacement and gentrification.
I’ve lived in Dallas since I was born and it’s growing everyday especially people moving North to Plano, Frisco and Allen
I live in the Big D born and bred. Sadly I will be leaving in a few months because it’s getting too expensive with a lot of folks from California and the Northeast moving in. I’m moving to Iowa in a few months. Wish me luck.
Dallas and Atlanta are one in the same....big boring cities where you can find a good job and great places to launch a career. That's about all the "charm: they hold lol
@It'sMeNotYou solid points, what happened with the train system?
@@daneflanigan he saying that train system in both cities is limited because the train goes to the developing areas and other areas and it doesn’t go through the areas South of both cities with large black populations that’s underdeveloped
Like the Seattle’s hugely popular repurposed rail line called the Burke-Gilman that was repurposed into a bike walk trail back into early 1980s
Lived in Atlanta for a few years now. All this is great but the bigger problem is the absolutely ludicrous amounts of traffic on the i75 & i85 corridors. The amount of time commuters spend teetering along in traffic is utterly wasteful from an economic perspective.
All the car emissions and massive parking lots only act to amplify the heat in the summers. The whole metro Atlanta area is in need of new rail lines where MARTA connects Marietta and Kennesaw via rail as well as Lawrenceville on the northeast side. Cobb and Gwinnett county transit do little to alleviate the traffic pressures in those counties as well.
Yet, when a proposal comes around to expand rail into these counties, they keep voting it down. It is absolutely asinine.
Wow, property prices had crept up. Meanwhile, they skyrocketed in other areas.
So what I’m hearing from this is that Atlanta is making a place where ALOT of people want to live in cause it’s nice. As a result, people flock there and there’s more demand than there is supply which raises the prices of everything. Now it’s an issue when people can’t afford to live there. It’s the same story everywhere that people like to live. Nice place causes increase in demand. Builders like the increase cause they make more money from it. They play the game where they don’t increase it too fast cause then that demand would diminish if supply equals it. So they make sure demand put competes supply. This profitable. People complain it ain’t fair but oh well that’s the game folks. Thrive or die
high prices because of scarcity we need to stop building suburban sprawl and make more nice communities
No. In Europe, there are regulations in place where even in desirable cities, affordable housing has to be placed. It’s your country that’s messed up because you have real estate developers bribing your politicians from enacting affordable housing.
@@DiamondFlame45 Most of Europe was deigned before the automobile, unless it was flattened in WWII. Plus real estate in Europe is not cheap.
Home values going up 300% in SW Atlanta is not "heartbreaking" -- that means you turned a dump into somewhere people want to live. You can't create desirable real estate and then be surprised when people want to live there. Gentrification is not an evil thing in and of itself -- it's the expected result of urban development. What the city of Atlanta needs to do is ensure that sufficient quantities of dense and affordable housing is built near transit hubs. That's it. Failure to build dense housing is what causes real estate values to skyrocket more than they otherwise would. It's a simple case of supply and demand. Make a cool place to live and then don’t allow for high density housing and you better believe housing prices are going to be insane.
I legitimately can not foresee Atlanta rising up as a hub. Atlanta has a lot of businesses due to it’s laxed business laws and cheap labor. I can’t foresee tech and actual money moving to it.
Look at Austin and Raleigh...tech loves the South.
@@brucet2756 Austin is arguably the best city out of there the rest are fly over cities -someone who lives in sf haha
It's already a hub.
You’re late. Atlanta has the 4th most Fortune 500 companies in America. It’s already a hub
I think it’s a unique project that gives everyone a connection feeling to the whole of Atlanta. Knowing that it’s there can give you a nice feeling in a community sense
Atlanta is a city for outsiders. People in charge don't appeal to the residents who live here, they appeal to people they want to move here and tourist. I've been here since 96. They build something new every week, but have yet to fix or develop public transit, sidewalks, streets, etc in low or high income areas. Typically, if they do invest in something we can use it's solely because that area is going to be attached to the Beltline.
We need more bike paths to connect to the beltline , so everything gets fixed.