City on the Verge

Atlanta and the Fight for America's Urban Future

Contributors

By Mark Pendergrast

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$19.99

Price

$25.99 CAD

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  1. ebook $19.99 $25.99 CAD
  2. Hardcover $39.00 $49.00 CAD

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.

On Sale
May 16, 2017
Page Count
352 pages
Publisher
Basic Books
ISBN-13
9780465094981

Mark Pendergrast

About the Author

Mark Pendergrast, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, grew up on West Paces Ferry Road, once known as “Coca-Cola Row.” Pendergrast is also the author of Uncommon Grounds and many other books. He lives in Vermont.

Learn more about this author