Happy October! I hope everyone fared well and is recovering from Hurricane Hellene
The Urban Connector monthly newsletter looks back on the best of the previous month as well as ways to get involved in the coming month. Please make sure you sign up below to have these delivered straight to your inbox and follow on YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram.
September Content
Atlanta 4K Summer Drone Tour
The latest installment of my Atlanta drone tours.
Suburban Spotlight – Trilith
Tour and insights from Trilith. A new-urbanist greenfield development outside of Atlanta.
Atlanta Streets Alive – September Ride Along
Developments that Excited Me
Atlanta 2028 Super Bowl?! Reportedly the Big Game is coming back to Atlanta.
Third time is a charm for West End Mall revamp? The aging mall in one of the most transit-rich, accessible, and student rich parts of Atlanta may finally be on it’s way to redevelopment.
MASSIVE redevelopment of the Georgia Pacific Building! A partial office-to-residential conversion plus ground floor retail will revamp one of the most crucial blocks Downtown.
Centennial Yards, taking off! If you haven’t walked out of Mercedes Benz Stadium or State Farm Arena, things are changing quickly. The Mitchell recently topped out, the first hotel is going up quickly and the massive entertainment district is about to go vertical. A massive infusion of cash is on the way too.
30 stories at Undergound. In what will be the first skyline changing tower for this part of Downtown in decades, plans were unveiled for a mixed income tower at Underground Atlanta.
Teacher’s Village finally on the way? The long anticipated tower may finally break ground in 2025.
Red Hat Amphitheatre staying Downtown. After much fuss was made about the closure of a road that carries less than 5,000 vehicles per day in the middle of a full grid, the Raleigh City Council unanimously approved a plan for a revamped Red Hat Amphitheatre.
Atlanta Beltline updates. So much is happening with the Beltline right now! Getting close to having the “U”.
Beltline Transit Study Update. We’ll see, but just the thought of being able to get around the Beltline via rail is exciting. Despite some scary moments this year, it seems like (at the very least) the Streetcar East extension will still happen soon. Let’s hope so!
Get Involved, Atlanta!
| Date | Event | Notes |
| 10/7 | City Council | 1:00 PM |
| 10/7 | Deadline to register to vote | DEADLINE |
| 10/14 | Zoning Committee | 11:00 AM |
| 10/15 | Early voting begins | VOTE |
| 10/16 | Transportation Committee | 10:00 AM |
| 10/20 | Streets Alive (RDA ROUTE) | 1-5:00 PM |
| 10/21 | City Council | 1:00 PM |
| 10/25 | Critical Mass Ride | 6:30 PM – Meet at Woodruff Park |
| 10/28 | Zoning Committee | 11:00 AM |
| 10/30 | Transportation Committee | 10:00 AM |
| 11/4 | City Council | 1:00 PM |
| 11/5 | Election Day | VOTE! |
| Various Dates | Stitch Walking Tours | Various Times |
Atlanta Calendar of Events
Get Involved, Raleigh
| Date | Event | Notes |
| 10/4 | First Friday | Downtown |
| 10/8 | Planning Commission | 9:00 AM |
| 10/8 | City Council | 4:00 PM & 7:00 PM |
| 10/11 | Deadline to register to vote | Can register in-person during g early voting too |
| 10/15 | City Council | 11:30 AM & 1:00 PM |
| 10/17 | Early voting begins | VOTE |
| 10/21 | BPAC | 6:00 PM |
| 10/22 | Planning Commission | 9:00 AM |
| 10/25 | Raleigh Critical Mass Ride | 7:00 PM |
| 11/1 | First Friday | Downtown |
| 11/5 | Election Day | VOTE |
Raleigh Calendar of Events
What I’m working on this month (and probably later)
- Updates to earlier drawings to the Reconnecting Communities sketches
- The Enigma of North Hills video
- More suburban spotlights
I’m sure this newsletter will evolve as time goes on. Comments or suggestions? Let me know!
Phil Veasley is a Professional Engineer working to design safer multimodal infrastructure in cities throughout the US.
My goal is to create cities that are safe and effective for all people to move about outside of cars. To achieve that we have to focus on creating equitable, dense, and vibrant cities full of walkable neighborhoods with a various mix of housing choices, schools, restaurants, and services. We cannot have safe multimodal infrastructure without the density to support it and we cannot have equitable density without safe multimodal infrastructure. Outside of designing safe streets, my passions are sketching ideas for infill neighborhoods, floor plans, urban photography, and exploring our cities on foot or bike. Please check out the menus above for all of my ideas and also check out my YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter accounts.
Opinions and insights are my own and are not representative of any organization.
Phil Veasley 