BY ZACH MORTICE
 
The Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail. Photo courtesy of John Becker.
For Founder Ryan Gravel, the Atlanta BeltLine Can?t Pursue Social Equity Fast Enough. When the urban planner Ryan Gravel resigned from the BeltLine board on September 26, the organization lost one of its most vocal and influential proponents, and in a way, its own creator. The BeltLine, a 22-mile network of parks and trails that weaves through 45 Atlanta neighborhoods, grew out of Gravel?s 1999 Georgia Tech master?s thesis. His consistent message regarding his departure has been that he had to distance himself from the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership (ABP) board because the organization wasn?t doing enough to provide affordable housing and maintain an atmosphere of diversity and inclusion for residents living near the trail. Gravel?s calls to action are a broad redirection away from property acquisition and development that guided the trail?s early days. He now wants to ensure that the existing trail meets the socioeconomic needs of the Atlantans who advocated to make it a reality. And he?s willing to sacrifice some of the first approach in favor of the latter. ?We believe that who the Atlanta BeltLine is built for is just as important as whether it is built at all,? wrote Gravel in his resignation letter.
Atlanta BeltLine Partnership Executive Director Rob Brawner says progress is dependent on pursuing both development and social equity. ?I think it?s unfortunate that Ryan has framed t...