City on the Verge: Atlanta and the Fight for America's Urban Future

by Mark Pendergrast

What we can learn from Atlanta's struggle to reinvent itself in the 21st Century


Atlanta is on the verge of tremendous rebirth-or inexorable decline. A kind of Petri dish for cities struggling to reinvent themselves, Atlanta has the highest income inequality in the country, gridlocked highways, suburban sprawl, and a history of racial injustice. Yet it is also an energetic, brash young city that prides itself on pragmatic solutions.

Today, the most promising catalyst for the city's rebirth is the BeltLine, which the New York Times described as "a staggeringly ambitious engine of urban revitalization." A long-term project that is cutting through forty-five neighborhoods ranging from affluent to impoverished, the BeltLine will complete a twenty-two-mile loop encircling downtown, transforming a massive ring of mostly defunct railways into a series of stunning parks connected by trails and streetcars.

Acclaimed author Mark Pendergrast presents a deeply researched, multi-faceted, up-to-the-minute history of the biggest city in America's Southeast, using the BeltLine saga to explore issues of race, education, public health, transportation, business, philanthropy, urban planning, religion, politics, and community.
An inspiring narrative of ordinary Americans taking charge of their local communities, City of the Verge provides a model for how cities across the country can reinvent themselves.

Genres: Urban Planning, Nonfiction, Urbanism, History, Politics, Urban Studies, Urban

352 pages, Hardcover

Published May 16, 2017

About the author

Mark Pendergrast was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, the fourth of seven children in a family that valued civil rights, the environment, sailing, reading, and games of chase and charades. He earned a B.A. in English literature from Harvard, taught high school and elementary school, then went back to Simmons College for a masters in library science and worked as an academic librarian—all the while writing freelance articles for newspapers and magazines. In 1991, he began writing books full time, which allows him to follow his rather eclectic interests.

Pendergrast’s books have been published in 15 languages. For God, Country & Coca-Cola was named a notable book of the year by the New York Times, and Discover Magazine chose Mirror Mirror as one of the top science books of the year. Pendergrast has given speeches to professional groups, business associations, and college audiences in the United States, Canada, the U.K., and Germany. He has appeared on dozens of television shows, including the Today Show, CBS This Morning, and CNN, and has been interviewed on over 100 radio programs, including All Things Considered, Marketplace, Morning Edition, and many other public radio shows. He lives in Colchester, Vermont.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating history of both Atlanta and the Beltline. If you're interested in Atlanta, urban planning, or how investments in a walkable city impact neighborhoods, especially neighborhoods that have experienced decades of neglect, this is a great read.

Full disclosure: I know nearly all of the characters in this book and have brief appearances, so I may not be a neutral reader.

[Cara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a fan. Having lived through and been involved with much of the history Pendergrast describes, I felt he was "off-base" at times and just plain wrong at others. Disappointing. The book has a compelling title and a good marketing hook, but what it really needed was a strong editor and a reliable fact-checker. Unfortunately "City on the Verge" will be held up as a "definitive" source for Atlanta BeltLine history, doing the project and our city a grave disservice.

[Eric Wiley · Rating 4 out of 5]

City on the Verge is a wonderful book written by an Atlanta native about the Atlanta Beltline, urbanism, and reclaiming old infrastructure well. This book delves deeply into the history of Atlanta and how this history affects where the city is today (or as of 2017 when this book was published). I loved learning more about all the good and bad about the history of the city that I have lived in or around for over 10 years of my life. Mark Pendergrast makes his point well of how Atlanta is one of many cities poised to prosper into the future yet must also deal with inequities in the city. The only reason I didn’t give 5 stars was because this book is certainly geared towards people who live in Atlanta or wider Georgia. That being said, I would recommend this to any ATLien, metro Atlantan or even Georgian to learn more about our capital city!

[Paul Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a soon-to-be empty-nester wondering where we should live in the next phase of life, I was drawn to this story of today’s Atlanta, as seen through the development of the BeltLine, a planned loop of trails/transit encircling Atlanta. The author ‘walks the BeltLine’ by describing each of the neighborhoods along the proposed route. This highly readable book invokes a number of reactions: Delight that the ‘two Atlantas’ has moved from "black vs. white" to "permanent underclass vs. the rest”; middle and upper class blacks have integrated through the metro region. Hopelessness - despite tons of money from numerous well-intentioned programs, there’s no clear path forward for those ‘left behind’ in the hood. Frustration - with any major project w/government participation, there are so many mouths to feed w/very different, and often self-serving interests.

Nevertheless, the book is certainly thought provoking - it taps into the trend of millennials and empty nesters seeking live/work/play, often aspiring to move back into the city. As I read about the aspiration for safety and walkable neighborhoods, I found myself marveling at how much resource in being applied to replicate what is taken for granted in most suburban settings. The author points out this irony, even mentioning the wildly popular development of Avalon near where I live.

Net net - thought provoking read if you’re an Atlantan, and certainly an eye-opener to the complexities of urban planning.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is tremendously well researched and thorough. The author spent years on personal interviews and experiences. Still, it reminds me of reading 15 years’ worth of local sections in the newspaper all at once. It was a tough slog to stay interested in particular community council meetings or the details of bond issues. The book needs a narrative thread to keep readers interested in this boring yet important topic.

[Tori · Rating 2 out of 5]

It felt like I was reading a list of names, dates, amounts, and places. I wish the author had spent more time clarifying his opinions at the end and I would have liked to hear other opinions also. I thought that was the more interesting part of the book but it was very brief. That was originally why I wanted to read the book.

[Alison Law]

Listen to my interview with Mark Pendergrast in Episode 24 of the Literary Atlanta podcast. Our conversation was recorded live at The Wren's Nest "Beyond Books" event on January 10, 2018.

[A Ter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting and at times powerful read, but a very local story. Admittedly not without lessons or parallels to other communities, it remains uniquely specific to Atlanta. Those who do not have particular ties or interests in that community will have a harder time staying engaged.

[Jordan Bethea · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author starts by breathlessly proclaiming how important the beltline project is and how atlanta is doomed without it, and then spends an entire book musing on whether or not this is true. He spends a lot of time looking at the history of atlanta and talking to people in different neighborhoods, which is interesting in its own right - but then doesn't relate it to the beltline project in any real meaningful way. He thinks the beltline is a cure for all atlanta's ills, but can't quite figure out exactly how it would work, when you get to the details.

I'm an Atlanta resident who supports and has watched the beltline grow over time, and knows most of the neighborhoods talked about in this book (though not all that personally). If you want to learn about the city, its history, topography, then it's a fine book. As a history of the beltline project, it's pretty thorough. As an argument for the beltline, it's too biased, especially when compared to its lack of actual argument. It would be better if he toned down his rhetoric and got a more technical answer from city planners, economists, and the like.

[Dan K · Rating 3 out of 5]

City on the Verge covers Atlanta's contemporary development through the lens of the BeltLine project, the ambitious and so-far-successful addition of a walk/bike trail through parts of in-town Atlanta. On the plus side, it's very well-researched and full of details and interviews with primary sources. As a recent transplant, I found the history of the city and individual neighborhoods/counties interesting.

However, much of the book is a blow-by-blow, meeting-by-meeting account of the BeltLine's development. The level of detail could only be interesting to those intimately involved, and perhaps the author thought it necessary as a thank-you for the many interviews he conducted. The style of writing vacillates between journalistic and conversationally casual, could have used a bit of editing for consistency. Don't let the introductory chapter turn you off; it's easily the worst of the book.

Ultimately I enjoyed City on the Verge, but I can't imagine it holds wide appeal outside the Atlanta community.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5

This history of the Atlanta Beltline project - still less than half completed, so maybe a bit premature -
is probably most interesting to people who live close to it. Mark Pendergrast combines the story of how the project has progressed with a historical discussion of the issues underlying the need for the project and a "tour which circumnavigates the city on Beltline properties, discussing the specific issues and prospects for the fuutre of the project. The book is written well, and well-documented. The most interesting segments to me were the anecdotal elements,discussing the Beltline with people living in areas affected by the project. I'm not sure how much the book helps with cities facing similar transportation/inequality/ economic development issues -- the author speaks frequently to Atlanta's uniqueness -- but if you live here and you are interested in the project the book provides lots of information, detail, and context.

[Lauren Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Have you ever started a book and felt an increasingly bothersome churn in your stomach as you read each sentence? In truth, I am an Atlanta native (in my first year of grad school studying urban ecosystem conservation at an Ivy League university), and I chose to write a term paper on the Atlanta BeltLine, particularly the West-section corridor. Although this book's title seemed to host the needed "protein" for a more substantive argument, I was quite discouraged by the overarching assessment of the BeltLine and its adversely impacted communities.

I worry that this work resonates more with people who are either new to Atlanta, or on the fringes of urban communities resting safely in the "us versus them" sentiment. I appreciate the work Pendergrast put into the historical depictions; I even respect and understand his nuanced perspective, but his is not the necessary voice for a book proclaiming that a city is on the verge.

[Michael Lewyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book feels like two pretty good magazine articles stitched together, preceded by some background. The first "article" is an impressively detailed blow by blow history of the Beltline, which ably shows some of the obstacles that the Beltline faced and continues to face. The Beltline still hasn't acquired all the land it needs, and will not be able to create an effective streetcar system unless it somehow connects with the Atlanta subway- which may be difficult, since I'm not sure that any Beltline parks are likely to connect with the subway in its current form. The second "article" is a guide to some of the neighborhoods likely to be affected by the Beltline, dominated by the life stories of some of the neighborhood residents Pendergrast met. (One thing I liked: Pendergrast uses street names so we can use Google Street View to "walk" along with him).

[Dana-gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who cares deeply about Atlanta and is also not native to Atlanta, I found this book to provide historic context I was missing in understanding Atlanta's obvious challenges. I had "aha" moments when the author's research shed light on Atlanta's problems with economic divides and lack of comprehensive mass transit. Some of the history in the book created a sense of righteous anger in me. Hopefully, this book will play a role in Atlanta becoming a well connected city with homes for all people, regardless of race or economic status, as envisioned by the BeltLine.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I appreciated most about this book was that it provides a snapshot of Atlanta in the early 2010s, amidst Beltline madness and a period of rapid growth. There were a couple factual inaccuracies (FCS ministries did NOT found the Georgia avenue food cooperative) and I felt that he could have provided more insight into how depressed neighborhoods are negatively impacted by real estate speculation. (He did highlight the case of rick warren in English avenue, though.) I particularly enjoyed his epilogue.

[James Ruley · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the Verge details the history of the Atlanta belt line, while at the same time serving as an introduction to the history of Atlanta. The most interesting parts of this book to me were the parts about the history of Atlanta, the general overview of the belt line, and the introduction to different Atlanta neighborhoods. That being said, at times this book felt bogged down in names and dates that are somewhat confusing and burdensome. Overall though, a fascinating discussion of the past and an inspiring vision of Atlanta’s future potential.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!!!! Granted, I live in Atlanta, so this is extremely relatable, but I think everyone in Atlanta (ITP and OTP) should read this book. The author thoughtfully explains history, race relations, socioeconomic factors that affect the way we live, work and play in Atlanta. Also serves as a great resource for other cities to better understand what to do, what not to do. Should be required reading for every realtor, elected official and public servant.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book which covers the Atlanta Beltline, a visionary greenway that is transforming the city and connecting neighborhoods previously divided. The Beltline is a grassroots-driven effort which will not only improve mobility but also attempt to right some of the wrongs of the past, including racism, segregation, and economic inequality. The story of the Beltline is inspiring for communities and demonstrates how activism and partnership building can remake and revive neighborhoods.

[Joy Miraglia · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an Atlanta realtor, this is a must read. Even growing up here, I had big gaps in my understanding of this city and this book really helped me fill them. My takeaway is an even greater concern for affordable housing opportunities, something that many in my profession do not necessarily support. I was so engaged in every chapter. The writing is straight non-fiction but the flow keeps the reader engaged.

[Eric Gramlich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, but I suspect a reason for that is having grown up in Atlanta. I enjoyed how the book was structured exploring the city's past, its neighborhoods, and the history of the belt line. The book also makes a strong case for citizens to be engaged with their city and neighborhoods.

[Sam Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the Beltline serving as the base of the conversation for this book, Pendergrast effectively and holistically discusses Atlanta as a “city on the verge”, full of potential, hype, and hope, while diving into the important topics of racism, public health, public transit, car-centric obsessions, gentrification, and so much more. An absolutely delightful and insightful book.

[E · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is an in-depth history of the creation of the BeltLine. It will likely be of interest if you’re interested in slogging through the details of that project. But it falls way short in delivering any larger thesis on or analysis about what lessons Atlanta holds for other cities or about Atlanta’s future.

[Joyce D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book about Atlanta, not just about the belt line. Learned so much about why streets and areas of Atlanta are the way they are. Also eye opening in terms of what to possibly expect. Would be a great book for all Atlanta residents.

[moira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book to read as a new Atlanta resident! I recognized so many of the areas and names but still learned so many things I didn't know yet. Great history of the city combined with an optimistic (but realistic) idea of the future of Atlanta.

[Allegra · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. definitely hyper specific and local, but i’m a city planner who lives in atlanta so i enjoyed that. would be interested in seeing it updated - so much has changed here since 2017!

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking read.

[Kelcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atlanta is a hot mess a lot of the time, but I’m very proud to live here.

[Ramiro Santana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book get into too many rabbit holes. I feel like a documentary would have been a better medium for the content in this book. Still worth the read for anyone living in Atlanta.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read for anyone familiar and interested in Atlanta.

[Jacob Stroud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book, definitely exciting to think about all the possibility in Atlanta but also scary to think about how many times we've screwed the pooch