Can one piece of infrastructure reconnect a city — and what happens when that idea becomes more successful than anyone expected?
Naomi sits down with Ryan Gravel, the urban designer whose graduate thesis became the Atlanta BeltLine, a 22-mile loop connecting 45 neighborhoods around Atlanta.
Ryan explains how a year in Paris inspired the idea, why he calls the BeltLine “catalyst infrastructure,” and how abandoned rail corridors became a new way for neighborhoods to connect. He also speaks candidly about what the project got wrong: missing transit, affordability challenges, and why he believes stronger commitments should have come before the trail moved ahead.
In this episode:
How Paris inspired the BeltLine
What “catalyst infrastructure” means
Whether the BeltLine caused Atlanta’s growth
Why belonging is difficult to measure
What Ryan learned from the project’s equity challenges
Why transit was always essential
What he would change today
How infrastructure can give teenagers more independence
A conversation about infrastructure, connection, and the responsibility that comes with changing a city.
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