Overview

Atlanta is on the verge of either tremendous rebirth or inexorable decline. The perfect storm for failed American urban policies, Atlanta has the highest income inequality in the entire country; urban renewal attempts that unwittingly destroyed neighborhoods; highways arrogantly blasted through the city center; the longest commutes in the nation; suburban sprawl that impairs the environment even as it erodes the urban tax base and exacerbates a long history of racial injustice. While many cities across America suffer from some or all of these problems,, nowhere but Atlanta have they so dangerously collided. City on the Verge is a dramatic story which reveals a troubled American city daring to imagine a better future even as it struggles to define how such a future will look. The most promising symbol of Atlanta's potential for rebirth is the Beltline. A twenty-two mile ring of defunct rail lines, running through forty neighborhoods that encircle Atlanta's downtown, the Beltline is being transformed into a stunning pedestrian walkway and street-car line. The hope of its backers is that it will spur redevelopment, urban activism, community organizing, and environmental awareness. Many see it is a model for the next American city: walkable and accessible, diverse both economically and racially. If it works, I will be a remarkable turn of events: the Beltline's rail beds once served to segregate the city by race. Yet as with all projects of massive social change, the Beltline faces countless obstacles and fierce opponents, including from those who see the Beltline serving to displace the city's poorer black residents with wealthier white ones. But by daring to confront these challenges head on, and to plan so far into the future, Atlanta's Beltline exemplifies the very best American cities have to offer its citizens. City on the Verge is the remarkable story of a city using its greatest obstacles as tools to remake its entire way of life. If Atlanta can reinvent itself using the very tools that heralded its decline transforming divisive railways into new public transit, decaying housing stock into a thriving tax base, abandoned industry into new centers for innovation then the city can serve as a model for countless other cities left behind in recent years. City on the Verge offers a moving narrative of ordinary Americans taking charge of their local communities and daring to dream of a better future for all.

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Atlanta is indeed a City on the Verge, as Mark Pendergrast observes-it aspires to remake itself into a vital, sustainable, livable mecca. Pendergrast weaves together lessons in urban design, local politics, history, and human nature that pull the reader in like a mystery. His book reinforces the famous Margaret Meade quote about the ability of a small group of dedicated people to bring about change. -Dennis Creech, co-founder of Southface Energy Institute City on the Verge tells the story of the many Atlantas that are coming together through the creation of the Atlanta BeltLine. While this convergence is at times painful and uncomfortable, it is also long overdue. Thanks to Mark Pendergrast for presenting his insightful observations about our past, our present, and the opportunity before us as we approach the future. -Michael Halicki, Executive Director, Park Pride In the late 20th century, metro Atlanta became the fastest growing human settlement in world history; the poster child of sprawl. With the building of the rail-and-trail BeltLine, it will once again lead the country, but toward a walkable urban future. Every metro area in the country will consider building a BeltLine. Mark Pendergrast's book is required reading to understand the future of metropolitan America. -Christopher Leinberger, metropolitan land use strategist and author of The Option of Urbanism Atlanta is creating something unique among American cities: a green network of more than 20 new or expanded parks occupying 1,300 acres, connected by multi-use trails and new transit lines, encircling the entire city and connecting 45 neighborhoods. City on the Verge describes how this BeltLine, for which I prepared the initial master plan, overcame financing problems, litigation, power struggles, politics, property rights, and topographical reality, to become a major recreational resource that is already enhancing the daily life for tens of thousands of Atlantans. -Alexander Garvin, architect, city planner, and author of What Makes a Great City Atlanta colleagues used to joke that Atlanta was the Public Health Capital of the US because it had CDC, the Carter Center, and good hospitals. No, I would argue, There aren't enough sidewalks, scarcely anywhere to walk, and parks are too few and poorly accessible. The place seems built only for car drivers and country club members. In Mark Pendergrast's excellent book, we see how Atlanta is going from a fat city to a healthy one with the help of the BeltLine and good leadership. -Dr. Richard Jackson, former Director, CDC National Center for Environmental Health, and author of Designing Healthy Communities City on the Verge is a must read for city-builders, urbanists, and anyone who cares about our future. Sunbelt cities like Atlanta are booming, attracting people from across the country and remaking themselves from sprawling suburban areas to more dynamic urban centers. With a journalist's eye for detail and a writerly knack for great story-telling, Mark Pendergrast takes us inside the forces and actors that are transforming Atlanta and the urban world we live in. -Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class and of The New Urban Crisis

City on the Verge is a must read for city-builders, urbanists, and anyone who cares about our future. Sunbelt cities like Atlanta are booming, attracting people from across the country and remaking themselves from sprawling suburban areas to more dynamic urban centers. With a journalist's eye for detail and a writerly knack for great story-telling, Mark Pendergrast takes us inside the forces and actors that are transforming Atlanta and the urban world we live in. <p/> -Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class and of The New Urban Crisis

Atlanta is indeed a City on the Verge, as Mark Pendergrast observes-it aspires to remake itself into a vital, sustainable, livable mecca. Pendergrast weaves together lessons in urban design, local politics, history, and human nature that pull the reader in like a mystery. His book reinforces the famous Margaret Meade quote about the ability of a small group of dedicated people to bring about change. -Dennis Creech, co-founder of Southface Energy Institute

Atlanta is indeed a <i>City on the Verge, </i>as Mark Pendergrast observes-it aspires to remake itself into a vital, sustainable, livable mecca. Pendergrast weaves together lessons in urban design, local politics, history, and human nature that pull the reader in like a mystery. His book reinforces the famous Margaret Meade quote about the ability of a small group of dedicated people to bring about change. </br></br> -Dennis Creech, co-founder of Southface Energy Institute

Author Information

Mark Pendergrast was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and is the author of eleven books, including Uncommon Grounds and For God, Country and Coca-Cola. He lives in Vermont.

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