The BeltLine’s Dirty Secret: Why Your Rent Just Doubled

They call the Atlanta BeltLine a "miracle" of urban renewal. But for the Black families who built this city, it looks a lot more like a crime scene.

In this episode, we trace the "Red Lines to Green Trails"—exposing how the very same neighborhoods that were redlined in the 1930s and bulldozed for interstates in the 1950s are now being targeted for a new kind of displacement.

We dig into the numbers that don't lie: How did homes in Old Fourth Ward jump from $300k to $660k in just five years? How did the "Black Mecca" go from 70% Black to under 50%? We uncover the blueprint that denied Black wealth for decades, only to come back for the land once it became valuable again.


👇 IN THIS VIDEO: 0:00 - Intro: The Myth of the New Atlanta 0:40 - Green Trails, Red History: The Price of Progress 1:11 - The 1930s Blueprint: Redlining as a Weapon 2:26 - The 1950s: Bulldozers, Interstates, and "Urban Renewal" 3:05 - The Grand Canyon: Explaining the Racial Wealth Gap 3:25 - The New Displacement: Why Gentrification Isn't an Accident 3:59 - The Decline of the Black Mecca (1990 vs 2019) 4:19 - The $660k Question: Economic Violence in the 4th Ward 4:59 - The Fight to Stay: Land Trusts & Resistance 5:31 - Conclusion: Who Is This City For?

📢 JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Is the BeltLine for us, or is it happening to us? Share your story of how your neighborhood is changing below.

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#Gentrification #AtlantaBeltline #Redlining #ReflectiveMVS #HousingCrisis #UrbanPlanning #BlackHistory #OldFourthWard