City on the Verge: Atlanta and the Fight for America's Urban Future (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780465054732)

What we can learn from Atlanta's struggle to reinvent itself in the 21st Century

Atlanta is on the verge of tremendous rebirth-or inexorable decline. A kind of Petri dish for cities struggling to reinvent themselves, Atlanta has the highest income inequality in the country, gridlocked highways, suburban sprawl, and a history of racial injustice. Yet it is also an energetic, brash young city that prides itself on pragmatic solutions.

Today, the most promising catalyst for the city's rebirth is the BeltLine, which the New York Times described as "a staggeringly ambitious engine of urban revitalization." A long-term project that is cutting through forty-five neighborhoods ranging from affluent to impoverished, the BeltLine will complete a twenty-two-mile loop encircling downtown, transforming a massive ring of mostly defunct railways into a series of stunning parks connected by trails and streetcars.

Acclaimed author Mark Pendergrast presents a deeply researched, multi-faceted, up-to-the-minute history of the biggest city in America's Southeast, using the BeltLine saga to explore issues of race, education, public health, transportation, business, philanthropy, urban planning, religion, politics, and community.

An inspiring narrative of ordinary Americans taking charge of their local communities, City of the Verge provides a model for how cities across the country can reinvent themselves.

Author: Mark Pendergrast
ISBN-10: 0465054730
ISBN-13: 9780465054732
Publisher: Basic Books
Language: English
Published: 05/16/2017
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.20w x 1.10d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 03/13/2017
Kirkus Reviews 04/01/2017
Library Journal 05/01/2017 pg. 87