The Atlanta Beltline transformed a 22-mile loop of abandoned rail corridors into a network of shared-use trails, parks and housing — reshaping how residents move, connect and experience the city. By stitching together fragmented areas into a continuous loop, the project creates safe, accessible routes for walking and cycling while laying the groundwork for integration with public transport.
Atlanta's abandoned freight rail corridors sat unused for decades, physically dividing neighborhoods and leaving residents without safe walking or biking infrastructure, affordable housing or convenient access to jobs and transit in a car-dependent, sprawling metro region. Rising property values near the corridor threatened to displace longtime, lower-income homeowners before the benefits of redevelopment could reach them.
- Established the Beltline Tax Allocation District in 2005, capturing future growth in property tax revenue from the corridor itself to fund construction
- Repurposed abandoned freight rail corridors into a continuous multi-use trail and future transit loop
- Added and/or improved 470+ acres of green spaces
- Passed inclusionary zoning in 2018, requiring multifamily developments of 10 or more units along the corridor to set aside affordable units
- Built the trail's stormwater and landscape design to exceed city code and planted native species throughout, helping mitigate flood risk and urban heat for adjacent neighborhoods
- Created the Legacy Resident Retention Program to cover property tax increases for long-tenured homeowners, protecting fixed-income legacy residents from being priced out by the very investment the Beltline generated
- Engaged community members over the course of 10+ years through neighborhood masterplans, quarterly briefings and regular community meetings
- Built a small business and workforce development program to ensure often underinvested communities could directly build wealth from the corridor's growth
- Integrated public art, cultural programming and community events along the corridor, transforming former rail lines into vibrant public spaces that reflect Atlanta's neighborhoods and identity
- Catalyzed more than $9 billion in private investment
- Grew the corridor's tax digest from $542.9 million in 2005 to over $4.2 billion in 2024
- Draws over 2 million annual visitors
- Connected 45 neighborhoods through loop and spur trails across Atlanta
- Supports 160,000 residents, 6,000 businesses and nearly 29,000 jobs
- Produced over 6,200 housing units along the Beltline, with 1,119 directly attributable to inclusionary zoning
- Protected 250+ legacy homeowners from tax-driven displacement through the Legacy Resident Retention Program, directly countering the gentrification risk the project's own success created
- Reduced at-grade crossings to fewer than 23 around the full 22-mile loop, giving residents, including students commuting to school, a safer, lower-cost alternative to driving
- Hosted site visits and technical exchanges with cities and agencies from Hartford to Nairobi, positioning the Beltline as a widely-cited model for how legacy industrial infrastructure can be converted into equitable, self-financing urban redevelopment
