Beauty From Blight

Beauty from Blight
January 2010, published as part of the “Big Ideas” article in Atlanta Magazine

“The Connector” splits Atlanta like an open wound.  Imagine that sunken eyesore – from Memorial Drive to Atlantic Station – completely covered by an undulating, tree-lined promenade with outdoor cafes, bike paths, fountains, soccer fields, dog runs: four long miles of new parkland!

Expensive yes, but slim parcels at the park’s edge could be sold for low-rise development, a windfall big enough to pay for construction.  Best of all, this verdant ribbon would finally stitch together our serpentine urban core.

Cities around the globe have covered thoroughfares and rail lines to transform blight into beauty.   So can Atlanta.

(The first photo shows the current south-facing view of downtown Atlanta and the next is John Morse’s rendering of the interstate covering greenway. Images by John Morse courtesy Star Dog Studio)

 

Note: In 2016 the Central Atlanta Progress/Atlanta Downtown Improvement District released a concept study for a 3/4 mile platform to span the Connector “that ‘stitches’ downtown together.”