- Displacement today
- Segregation
- 2005–present
- City of Atlanta
- General area only
The BeltLine and rising prices on the south and west sides
The BeltLine was planned to link 45 neighborhoods with a 22-mile loop of trails, parks and transit on old rail lines. A Georgia State study found that from 2011 to 2015 homes within half a mile rose 17.9 to 26.6 percent more in value than homes elsewhere, raising fears of displacement in historically Black neighborhoods such as Pittsburgh, Reynoldstown and the West End.
The record
The city adopted the BeltLine Redevelopment Plan in 2005, with affordable housing among its stated goals. Georgia State University researchers (Immergluck and Balan, Urban Geography, 2017) found that between 2011 and 2015, depending on the segment, values rose 17.9 to 26.6 percent more for homes within half a mile of the BeltLine than for homes elsewhere. Founder Ryan Gravel resigned from the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership board in 2016 over affordability and equity concerns, and CEO Paul Morris stepped down in September 2017 after an AJC and Georgia News Lab investigation found only 785 affordable units funded toward a promised 5,600 by 2030. In April 2026 Atlanta BeltLine Inc. reported 4,425 affordable units created or preserved in its tax allocation district, 79 percent of that goal. Its Legacy Resident Retention Program, started in 2020, pays property-tax increases through 2030 for eligible longtime homeowners on the Westside and Southside.
Today: The BeltLine corridor along Pittsburgh's southern edge, where Wikipedia says a transit stop is planned at University Ave and Metropolitan Pkwy.