Atlanta Streets Alive!?!

I feel terrible about neglecting this blog after such great response from its inception. I just haven't been in Atlanta for a few weeks, making my seasonal pilgrimage through capitalist purgatory...in clearer terms I took a trip to upstate NY to build roofs with my brother-in-law and the work is taking a lot longer than I expected. This is very unfortunate because I'm missing some exciting public art.

What I'm most bummed about missing is the first-ever Atlanta Streets Alive Festival organized by the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition. This Sunday, May 23rd from 1-6pm, the streets of the Old Fourth Ward will close to automobiles giving safe passage to a number of public events ranging from Kung-fu demonstrations to camping lessons. This has the potential to be a very fun and uplifting cultural event, and the emphasis is on bringing the diverse cultures of Atlanta together to share the joys of mutual public space, exercise, and art. I am curious about how it will turn out.



One of my constant gripes about Atlanta has been its lack of public street-culture. The street-design and insufficiant public transportation keeps people in their cars, subsequently preventing cross-pollination among the diverse cultures that live in this city. This five-hour event might be a simulation of a Post-BeltLine-Atlanta where public space and pedestrian traffic opens up to communion among Atlantans, or it might just be another drunken and disorganized artistic clusterfuck that struts and frets its hour upon the streets and then is heard no more.

Little depends on the success or failure of this event, but the turn-out will say a lot about the Atlanta community's organization and ability to play together. I hope to have a more thorough conversation about the BeltLine Project on this blog, as the 25-year project will be the defining feature of Atlanta's future development. There are too many unknowns about how a centralized public space and transportation network will affect the cultural dynamic of Atlanta because the city has been growing so fast and for so long without anything but MARTA (and, what, Centennial Olympic Park?) so this event might (but probably won't) be a peek into Atlanta's potential future as a world-class city.

I hate that I will have to miss out on witnessing this event first-hand, but if anybody reading this attends, I would love to hear your impressions and insights in the comment section. Thanks!