Atlanta BeltLine Emerald Necklace

The Trust for Public Land; Atlanta, GA
 
The Atlanta Beltline is a project that is transforming a 23-mile loop of underutilized rail corridor around downtown Atlanta into an integrated linear open space and transit system.  Georgia Tech student Ryan Gravel originally conceived the idea for a transit loop in his master’s thesis in 1999, and in 2004, the Trust for Public Land hired AGA to produce the open space plan.  Inspired by Frederick Law Olmsted, the report, The Beltline Emerald Necklace: Atlanta’s New Public Realm, proposes a network of 2,500 acres of open space, including 1,400 acres of new green space at new parks, expanded parks, and new park-centered communities.  In 2005, the City of Atlanta approved $1.7 billion in tax-increment financing plan to fund the project, approximately one quarter of which will fund the open space plan.  When built, the Atlanta Beltline will become a public realm framework around which the city will grow for generations to come.