Tag: Beltline

The Atlanta Beltline as a Built Environment

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For my exterior Built Environment study I took a trip to the Atlanta Beltline. The Atlanta Beltline trail I studied is the Eastside Trail. IT stretches from Irwin Street (a block from the Krog Street Market), and runs all the way to Piedmont Park at the intersection of 10th street and Monroe Drive. It lies in the Virginia-Highlands neighborhood of East-Atlanta and stretches from Downtown Atlanta to Midtown. The Eastside Trail was officially completed and opened on October 15th, 2012. Along the trail are many important artifacts such as sculptures, paintings, graffiti, and murals. These artifacts are scattered randomly along the Eastside trail but all within close enough distance to keep the average attention-span intrigued the whole way. The layout of the site is in a linear form as the trail does not loop around, although the city plans to connect the Eastside trail to the rest of the Beltline when it is completed when funding is complete. The Beltline is easy and open to navigate for people who get on through the Ponce City Market, Virginia- Highlands entrance or in Midtown. People who live in nearby apartments frequently complain about how bushes, landscape and gates prevent them form accessing the Beltline through the backdoors of their residencies. This makes me feel as if the brush is not kept trimmed to prevent people from lower-class neighborhoods from entering the Beltline.  This site is very appealing to many people of different ages and demographics. It can be used for multiple things such as leisure, exercise, shopping at the Ponce City Market, or even commuting to work. This sites uses are advertised through social media, signs along the Beltline and appealing attractions along the trail. When enjoying the Beltline many patrons stop to check out the local shops and eateries near on along the Beltline. The Atlanta Beltline serves as a safe environment for bikers, skateboarders, and people on foot to enjoy the city life while engaging with art and fellow Atlantans.

Atlanta Beltline: Digital Artifact 5

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IMG_0267This picture is of two graffiti Gay Pride flags in the equal sign form and under it the markings read “Trans is Beautiful”. This is an accurate representation of Atlanta because it is known as the “gay capital of the south” and also hosts the third largest gay population in the United States. This is important that it is tagged at the Atlanta Beltline because the Beltline supports expressing oneself through art.

Atlanta Beltline: Digital Artifact 4

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IMG_0307This picture of railroad tracks can be found at the Eastside Trail. It is important because the Atlanta Beltline is meant to cover the 27 miles of railroad tracks that are no longer in use. Currently only a few miles of the tracks have been covered in three different sections of the Beltline. The city of Atlanta plans on increasing the amount of trail when they secure more funding be it private, federal or local funding.

Atlanta Beltline: Digital Artifact 3

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This sound file was recorded at the Historic Fourth Ward Skate Park. It is located off of the Eastside Trail and is frequented by skaters of all ages and offers something for everyone at each skill level. The park was partially funded by professional skateboarder Tony Hawk and opened in early 2011.

Atlanta Beltline: Digital Artifact 2

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Depicted here is the Ponce City Market. Prior to being the Ponce City Market it stood as a Sears, Roebuck & Company and after that served as Atlanta’s City Hall. In 2012 it was purchased and leased out in increments to businesses and rented out to tenants. The building now hosts 20+ eateries, apartments, a parking garage, and will soon be the home to a few new offices.

Atlanta Beltline: Digital Artifact 1

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The Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail is used for many activities. This picture specifically showcases it as a haven for two friends to take a leisurely stroll and enjoy conversation and each others’ company.  Further ahead a man is walking his Chow Chow and proves the Beltline to be pet friendly as they encountered no problems on their trip.

“Mayor Reed Transfers 10 Property Deeds to APS”

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Saporta, Maria. “Atlanta Mayor Kasim Agrees to Transfer 10 Property Deeds to APS.” Saporta Report. N.p., 04 Feb. 2016. Web. 05 Feb. 2016. <http://saportareport.com/53810-2/>.

The article “Atlanta Mayor Transfers Property Deeds to APS” by Maria Saporta is important to our studies of the rhetoric of built environment for many reasons.  Saporta  aims to inform the readers of Mayor Reed’s plans to make amends with the Atlanta Public Schools over their budget cuts taken to help fund the Atlanta Beltline. Because the schools took budget cuts to support the Beltline, the schools were promised repayments which would be generated form the Beltline’s tax revenues. Because rthe city had not sent these repayments as they had promised, “the Atlanta Board of Education filed a lawsuit against the City last spring to gain control of the deeds of four former APS schools”. The Atlanta Public School system planned to use the vacant schools to sell to private firms who would revamp the school or land it was on. This is important because the turnout of the vacant schools could prove to help the area or add on to the built environment. Positively it could allow for new economic growth in the generally low-income areas, or it could lead to more gentrification and marginalized citizens having no other option but to leave their homes.

Atlanta Beltline: Bike Riders with Ponce City Market

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Gravel, Ryan. The Eastside Trail Is a Popular Segment of the Atlanta Beltline. 2014. Atlanta. Rails to Trails Conservancy. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. <http://www.railstotrails.org/trailblog/2014/march/01/georgias-atlanta-beltline/>.

This picture portrays the mixed-use of the Beltline. Atlantans use it for exercise, commuting to and from work, and leisure activities.