For reference purposes, here is a copy of one of our old newsletters, please email Mike, Yale '84 to get on our list to receive our current ones.

We continue to work with the Atlanta Business School Alliance to get as many interesting alumni here as possible. See Parktavern.com for directions, and ask for the Ivy League Happy Hour.

Ryan Gravel earned a Master of Architecture and Master of City Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1999. As his thesis project, Gravel envisioned the re-use of some underutilized freight railroads that circle Atlanta’s central city as the Belt Line, a 22-mile transit greenway that includes a wide linear park with streetcars, bicycle and pedestrian paths connecting over 40 diverse neighborhoods. It organizes adjacent abandoned industrial land for transitoriented development, expands transit service within the urban core, and connects various parts of an emerging regional trail system. The Belt Line proposal takes advantage of Atlanta’s intown population growth, creating smart new districts for over 100,000 new residents and improved quality of life for hundreds of thousands more. Beginning in the summer of 2001, Gravel’s Belt Line thesis was ushered to the forefront of transportation projects in the region by Atlanta City Council President Cathy Woolard. Working as a volunteer with Woolard, Gravel helped spread the idea, presenting to a wide array of community groups, business groups and other organizations. Early grassroots public support for the Belt Line was critical to getting the attention of elected officials and regional planners. Woolard was instrumental in including it in the MARTA Inner Core Transit Feasibility Study, and garnering $150 million in dedicated funding in the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Mobility 2030 plan.

Please join us for an engaging discussion of Atlanta’s Beltline project. There is a $40 per person charge. Please e-mail recouncil@cornell.edu or call Dorothy Vanderbilt at (607) 255-8962 for your reservation.