Atlanta Beltline: Growing in Popularity

A usual Saturday morning, for me, begins with a trip to the gym followed by a leisurely stroll along the Eastside Trail of the Atlanta Beltline.  I enjoy the energy from being around so many people out for a walk, jog, run or bicycle ride.  During my often leisurely Saturday morning strolls,  I often wonder how the construction of this walking/jogging path may have changed the habits of those in the area (or even outside the area) leading people to become more conscience of their overall health as well as any fitness and nutrition goals.  On Saturday mornings, it is often very crowded along the Eastside Trail of the Atlanta Beltline.  However, one might expect that on a Tuesday afternoon in February around 2:30pm or 3pm that it would be altogether deserted.  This photo was taken about that time. According to Atlanta Beltline, Inc. ( the managing body for the Atlanta Beltline project), in the year 2015, the Eastside Trail remarkably saw over 1.3 million visitors ( beltline.org).  This can be evidenced in many ways, but one measure of success for any program is the volume of participation during unexpected times and/or seasons.  So far, the beltline meets this measure of success for me. This being such a huge draw during non-peak hours shows that the city of Atlanta is moving in the right direction in meeting the passions and purpose of its citizenship.  Atlantans are growing more passionate about purposely living and working in well designed communities.   With an operating budget of 3.1 billion, many new and exciting developments are sure to keep our city competitive amongst other world class American and International locations (beltline.org) . 

Built Environment in O4W Atlanta

Welcome to Fun and Fitness! I am in my final year of a Master's in Public Health degree program at Georgia State University.  Throughout my tenure, I have become more interested in urban health and city planning/urban planning. I am also interested in alternative medicine, fitness and nutrition leading to improved health and wellness. As such, I am excited to begin this journey of exploring how the Eastside Trail of the Atlanta Beltline encourages fitness, health and wellness for area residents. The Atlanta Beltline project has several objectives, one of which is to promote physical activity among residents in local neighborhoods around the Eastside and Westside trails.  The Eastside trail is littered with resources working towards this goal including restaurants, parks, and grocery stores all of which promote alternative transportation as a viable option for Old 4^th Ward and Inman Park residents.  My plan is to use this blog to post my observations as well as any photos, news stories related to the Beltline project, and any other ways I can to demonstrate my knowledge and understanding of how the built environment, as related to the Eastside Trail of the Atlanta Beltline, encourages healthier lifestyles of those who reside in the Inman Park and Old 4th Ward neighborhoods.

The City of Atlanta is very car dependent although there is a public transit option.  Improved city planning is a crucial element in working towards changing the car dependent culture of metro Atlanta. The Atlanta Beltline project may be the city’s first step in that direction.  The construction of this beltline feature has brought new development and revitalization to a once forgotten part of town.  Now, however, this built environment project presents a new or unseen experience which residents of the metro area are eager to see unfold in the future. City planning officials have gone through great lengths to encourage use of the Beltline by including art, fitness, restaurants and food sources, parks and green space and other aspects to promote active living along the beltline.  All of these aspects of the built environment relate the public health in that physical, mental or spiritual health pay a role in some aspect related to this project. With a mix of private and public funding supporting the project, which is set to take almost 30 years to complete, the improvements to the City of Atlanta may prove to be immeasurable.  From a public health perspective, the health and wellness outcomes will also determine the marketability of Atlanta to encourage and further stimulate economic growth and prosperity for this city.

This project is a photo journal documenting through pictures how this built environment project informs the public health aspects of health and wellness, specifically through fitness and nutrition aspects.  All the photos were taken personally, unless otherwise noted. The views presented here are a representation of my own thoughts and do not represent any official entity of the City of Atlanta or Georgia State University.  Feel free to leave comments and I will respond as soon as I am able!