A Tale of Two Cities

MSC Visits the ATL

Last June, Movement Strategy Center (MSC) staffers visited Atlanta, Ga. Like most visitors to the city, we explored the local art scene, tried a variety of restaurants, and embarked on a walking tour. Unlike most tourists, the main purpose of our visit was to explore the public transit system within the city.

During a week of sizzling mid-90s temperatures, members of MSC’s Communications Team and Project Advisor Alejandra García Lezama set out to further our understanding of the work of TransFormation Alliance (TFA), one of our fiscally sponsored projects. We met Managing Director Amari Foster, whose relationship with TFA began with community organizing for one of the six organizations who make up their executive committee. Originally from Ohio, Foster made her way to Atlanta some 12 years ago. She worked as a program manager at TFA, eventually transitioning to her current role as managing director, which she’s held since 2023. Guided by Foster, we set out to explore the daily rhythms and challenges of navigating Atlanta. 

TFA’s origin story begins with the (still unfinished) Atlanta BeltLine, a multi-billion dollar development project meant to repurpose a 22-mile loop of freight rail tracks into a corridor for transit trains, green space, and walking and bike paths. Several organizations formed a small coalition to study the implications of the project and its location, which they correctly surmised would lead to rapid gentrification. 

Today, TFA is a coalition of diverse organizations dedicated to creating connected and thriving communities in the Atlanta metro region. Initially, TFA focused broadly on climate, housing, access to capital, transportation, community organizing, and equity. Now, their focus is largely on fostering equitable transit-oriented development (ETOD) — integrated urban spaces with pedestrian-friendly communities centered around high-quality transportation systems — for a more connected, inclusive Atlanta. 

The “Mother of All Mistakes”

In order to fully appreciate TFA’s work, it’s important to get a sense of the city’s transit dynamics and housing realities.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) provides bus and rail service to the most urbanized sections of the Atlanta metropolitan area. It’s one of only three comprehensive rapid transit systems built in the U.S. after the rise of mass car ownership — the others being Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (the Metro and BART, respectively). MARTA is the eighth largest rapid transit system in the U.S., serving almost 400,000 passengers daily. 

Created in 1965, MARTA now provides service to Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties. Voters have rejected various proposals to finance MARTA with increased property or sales taxes over the years. 

Just last November, voters rejected measures that would have introduced new tax-funded bus, shuttle, and microtransit options in Cobb and Gwinnett counties (the state’s second and third most populated). The proposed 1% sales tax increase would have generated billions over the next three decades. 

The “mother of all mistakes … in a whole cluster bomb of missteps, errors, power plays, and just plain meanness that created the region’s transportation infrastructure,” according to Atlanta Magazine, is the failure to extend MARTA into the suburbs. In addition to voter concerns over increased taxes, race has been a major contributing factor to the lack of growth.

In 1960, there were approximately 300,000 white residents in Atlanta, a number that decreased by over half by 1980. Kevin M. Kruse, author of “White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of Modern Conservatism,” is quoted in the Atlanta Magazine piece: “The more you think about it, Atlanta’s transportation infrastructure was designed as much to keep people apart as to bring people together.” Foster echoed this sentiment, noting that highways literally — and intentionally — divided communities in half.

Cut to the present day, where limited public transit options into the city, traffic jams, and lack of funding continue to impact public perception of transit in the Atlanta metro area. Criticisms of MARTA include a lack of cleanliness, infrequent schedules and limited late-night service, safety concerns, and poor infrastructure.  

“Everyone is Driving” 

MARTA’s ridership numbers dropped by 6% in 2024, a period where ridership grew by an average of 24% nationally. Instead, “everyone is driving,” Foster said. Commuters and city residents, frustrated by MARTA’s limitations and lack of efficiency, are crowding Interstates 75 and 85, two major U.S. highways running through Atlanta. 

Problems include reduced routes, a need for more service lines, and “ghost” buses that do not arrive on schedule, if at all. Picture this: You live in the metro region, but commute into the city, where most of the area’s jobs are found. Your commute via MARTA is indirect (i.e., taking a bus to a train to another bus). Long wait times require you to rely on Ubers, cabs, or walking to your destination. Unreliable schedules require you to plan for extra travel time. Commuting quickly turns into a two-hour process, Foster said. Now, factor in stressors like costs and childcare. Do you choose to devote hours each day to public transportation, or do you drive into the city? Traffic in the area is bad, Foster said, “but not ‘two hours each way’ bad.”

During our visit, we rode MARTA’s Gold Line with Foster. We started in East Point, a city near the airport. According to 2023 data, East Point’s population of 38,000 was almost 76% Non-Hispanic Black or African American, with about 23% of residents living below the poverty line (versus 13.5% statewide). Like many majority-Black, low-income neighborhoods in and around Atlanta proper, East Point is a food desert. Heading northeast into the city, the landscape slowly but surely morphed. 

We traveled through downtown Atlanta into the Buckhead district. Located about 15 miles from East Point, Buckhead is home to a premier mall housing stores like Balenciaga, Chanel, and Gucci; high-end condos, and a large service industry job market. In 2021, census data showed Buckhead’s population of roughly 108,000 was 72% white and 12% Non-Hispanic Black or African American. Compare these figures to the rest of Atlanta, which was 63% Non-Hispanic Black or African American and 28% white at that time.

Atlanta is a paradox. Theresa Wiltz, an editor at Politico, wrote of the city: “It’s dynamic, ever-growing, the hip-hop capital, a far more prosperous metropolis than the one I grew up in. But it’s also the capital of yawning racial disparities. Black entertainment moguls live in gated suburban compounds, while others in impoverished pockets of Black Atlanta struggle to get by.”

A Tale of Two Cities

Foster called Atlanta “a tale of two cities,” and notes the exodus of white residents between 1960-1980 contributed to transportation challenges that now exacerbate housing issues. The gentrification of Atlanta and increased cost of living has displaced long-time Black residents in areas like Old Fourth Ward, West End, and Edgewood. 

Atlanta is the sixth most populous metro area in the country. Almost two million new residents are projected to move to the region by 2050, with almost half expected to make their homes in the five counties surrounding Atlanta. With such increases come strains to housing, transportation, and labor markets.

This demand for housing outpaces the supply of available, affordable units needed to accommodate a growing population. In 2024, Atlanta was ranked worst city in America in terms of income inequality. A rapid housing initiative is underway, converting shipping containers into studio-style apartments. The city set a goal of delivering 500 units by May of this year.

So much more is needed: Foster spoke of houses that are bought for well below market value, then renovated and flipped for 10 times that amount. “A lot of people who stuck around are being pushed out due to costs and property taxes,” Foster said, noting Atlanta is “notorious” for its use of eminent domain. In fact, the city utilized eminent domain to acquire some of the property needed to build Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The stadium displaced two historic Black churches and required a reconfiguration of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Outside the confines of the $1.5 billion project lie English Avenue and Vine City, two historically Black neighborhoods that are among the poorest in the southeast. Flooding exacerbates existing infrastructure issues. A 2023 flood led to the evacuation of the Georgia Aquarium, the areas around Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the Atlanta University Center (AUC), a consortium of four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

Locals expected the redevelopment of Fort McPherson, a former Army base, would bring jobs, housing, business, and infrastructure opportunities to struggling communities nearby. Those hopes were dashed when Tyler Perry bought the property to develop movie studios on the grounds, without public discussion.

This “tells the story of Atlanta,” Foster said.

Touring Tucker Avenue

Our tour included a visit to Tucker Avenue, an affordable housing area located on the southwestern outskirts of the city, where residents have limited access to public transportation. Due to the investments made at Fort McPherson and the BeltLine, which we could walk to from Tucker, demand for housing in the historically Black neighborhood is growing. Atlanta Land Trust (ALT), one of TFA’s partner organizations, owns a 1.8 acre parcel of land on Tucker and is constructing townhomes on the street.

ALT was created to maintain affordability in neighborhoods that are directly impacted by the BeltLine. As a community land trust, ALT helps reduce the displacement that typically accompanies gentrification. The trust acquires land and maintains permanent ownership, while prospective homeowners enter into long-term, renewable leases on said land.

While gentrified areas flourish, access to employment, food, arts, and recreational activities remain inaccessible to others. As we explored part of the (still unfinished) BeltLine, we noticed multiple breweries, restaurants, and coffee shops. But, unless folks can afford to dine out for every meal, the loop is essentially a food desert. Foster told us one grocery store sits at the west end of the BeltLine — the community requested others during negotiations with developers, but none have been met thus far.

Partnerships

Transportation accessibility is crucial for economic mobility in Atlanta. TFA, acting as an umbrella for its coalition of like-minded organizations, aims to ensure all residents have access to economic opportunities by promoting a more inclusive city. Their common vision is that access to transit unlocks significant community benefits. 

Last year, MARTA planned to shut down Five Points Station, a major transfer hub with elevator access that disabled riders rely on. “It took us organizing and rallying and multiple meetings to get them to devise a new plan — one that would keep access points to the station — open,” Foster said. While TFA’s transit partner, Propel ATL, and others in the coalition were successful in blocking this plan, it remains that MARTA does not have to answer to constituents or the city, Foster said.

While Atlanta is not an ideal area for cycling (in 2022, it was ranked as the third-worst biking city in the country), TFA’s biggest partner is actively working to ensure Atlanta’s streets are safe and inclusive spaces for people to walk and ride. In 2024, Propel ATL launched an e-bike rebate program for folks earning 80% or less of the region’s median household income.

TFA’s involvement in the local community extends beyond housing and transit. MARTA, which owns the land by its stations, has given residents permission to utilize MARTA property to maintain community gardens and operate markets, some of which accept SNAP benefits. Park Pride helps neighborhoods care for the greenspaces that contribute to the overall health and wellbeing of Atlanta; offering grant opportunities, volunteer events, and a leadership training academy.  

Soccer in the Streets transforms unused land near MARTA stations into soccer fields and offers free programming across metro Atlanta for children and adults alike, bolstering community throughout the region. In 2023, some 2,800 players participated in the organization’s programming. VOX ATL, a teen-led journalism and content creation platform with a commitment to advancing the First Amendment rights and responsibilities among a diverse group of youths, published a range of pieces on the BeltLine, including stories on graffiti and gentrification.

Looking Ahead 

TFA is currently serving on a national table with Elevated Chicago and The Alliance for Community Transit — Los Angeles (ACTLA) to explore ETOD models, share best practices, and learn from one another. They are working to build this framework and invite other organizations and entities in cities with similar landscapes and challenges to join the conversation, Foster said. 

During our time in the city, we got to experience some of the city’s vibrant food and culture scenes. The dichotomy that is Atlanta — food deserts and a lack of affordable housing versus premier shopping and high-end condos — is a microcosm of racial and economic disparities in America. Through their collaborative efforts and dedicated advocacy, TFA is actively redefining how transportation and community development are approached in Atlanta. Their initiatives serve as a model of progress, paving the way to a more equitable and sustainable urban future where community benefits are accessible. Theirs is a collective journey towards building a city where everyone has a stake in the future.

If you are able, please consider making a gift that supports the work of TransFormation Alliance and its partner organizations. You can donate here.