Overview
Metropolitan regions require innovative strategies for rapidly changing populations. One example is the Atlanta BeltLine, a major urban redevelopment program. With an estimated cost of $4.8 billion and projected economic impact of $10 billion, the Atlanta BeltLine is a nearly complete 22-mile loop of multi-use trails and planned transit on a former railway corridor encircling Atlanta, Georgia, one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the United States. Not only is the BeltLine a catalyst for economic growth and redevelopment of Atlanta’s Intown neighborhoods, but it is also a driver of gentrification and displacement. Additionally, the BeltLine has had local environmental impacts while also incorporating sustainable urban design practices. There are intersections of both human and physical geography on the Atlanta BeltLine landscape, including an ever-changing collection of public art and murals that link to broader societal changes, current events, and public discourse around such topics as gentrification, neighborhood change, diversity, equity, inclusion, sustainability, water, and ecology, all with broader implications. In this case study, we highlight an example of integrating a local urban development project such as the Atlanta BeltLine into geography education, fostering active and experiential learning and promoting high-impact practices such as undergraduate research.
Session Focus
Higher Education | Active Learning |Experiential Learning | Undergraduate Research | Curriculum and Instruction
Conference Room
Colonnade
Meet the Presenter
Paul N. McDaniel is an Associate Professor of Geography in the Department of Geography and Anthropology in the Norman J. Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Kennesaw State University in metro Atlanta, Georgia. He conducts research on the geography of inclusive place-branding practices, particularly in metro areas in the southeastern United States. He regularly teaches introduction to human geography, world regional geography, health geography, population geography, urban geography, cultural geography, geography of Europe, and geography of North America, in a variety of formats, including face-to-face, online, and study abroad.