At the Dec. 3 Atlanta Regional Housing Forum, the city’s chief of staff, Courtney English, took the floor to talk about an ambitious plan to extend all eight of the city’s tax allocation districts, or TADs, just days after the City Council punted the proposal into next year. In October, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced […]
Author Archives: Delaney Tarr
Posted inColumns
Carapace celebrates 15 years of ‘weird, vibrant’ live stories
Seven minutes to speak. A name drawn from a hat. Absolutely no notes allowed. Bombastic performed stories — and they’re all completely true. These are the foundations of Carapace, Atlanta’s long-running “live lit” storytelling event at Manuel’s Tavern. For the past 15 years, Atlanta’s self-proclaimed literary weirdos have met in the back room to drop […]
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MARTA advisory board reveals recommendations for agency
The advisory board appointed to support interim MARTA CEO Jonathan Hunt provided its official recommendations for the transit agency at a Dec. 4 meeting, pushing for urgent improvements to operations and image. In August, MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood abruptly retired, and Chief Legal Counsel Jonathan Hunt took over as the interim General Manager and CEO. […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr, Latest News
Dickens looks to design future at Atlanta Way 2.0 event
Atlanta has a lot of monikers: The city in the forest, the Hollywood of the South, the city too busy to hate, a “Black mecca.” But it’s never been known for design. On Dec. 2, Atlanta civic leaders sat down with Mayor Andre Dickens for an Atlanta Way 2.0 “Design Roundtable” at Perkins&Will to talk […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Here’s who won Atlanta’s runoff elections
Atlanta’s election season is officially over. After voters turned out for Atlanta City Council elections and school board races across the city on Nov. 4, several races got pushed to runoff elections. Here are the results from the Dec. 2 runoff elections in Atlanta. District 7 MARTA Board of Directors member Thomas Worthy beat out […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Piedmont Park hosts first ‘Light Up the Season’ with massive holiday display
Piedmont Park has become the official home of Atlanta’s oversized holiday displays for the first time since Rich’s Department store lit up the city with a massive Christmas tree in 1948. On Nov. 23, the Piedmont Park Conservancy hosted the first-ever “Light Up the Season” celebration and ceremony to kick off the monthlong display of […]
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The Beltline is Atlanta’s Wild West. Who is going to tame it?
About a year ago, I bought an e-bike to cycle around the city, and it completely changed my relationship with the Atlanta Beltline. Like most people, I started out using the trail as a pedestrian. Atlanta isn’t known for its pedestrian infrastructure, but the so-called “Emerald Necklace” is a walking and riding paradise. If I […]
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Invest Atlanta unveils four-pillar plan to bring food access for all
At a Nov. 20 board meeting, Invest Atlanta laid out a four-part plan to bring all Atlantans within 0.5 miles of fresh and affordable food by 2030 — including a second Azalea Fresh Market location set to open that year. The city’s economic agency has worked on the food access plan since 2022. First, it […]
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ArtsBridge brings 2,000 students to theater field trip during ‘ArtsBridge Day’
On a sunny morning at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2,000 students from nearby schools poured into the theater’s sunny atrium as they geared up for a science spectacular showing of “Mr C. Live!” It’s the latest in the nonprofit ArtsBridge Foundation’s field trip programs, which subsidize tickets in under-resourced schools to bring middle […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Atlanta receives $29 million in loans to boost water infrastructure
The Georgia Environmental Finance Authority announced a hefty $29 million in infrastructure loans to the City of Atlanta’s water infrastructure as part of a $118 million statewide package aimed at improving water quality. In Georgia, three low-interest loans were granted. Each loan lasts 20 years and will cost the city about three percent interest. The […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Habitat for Humanity hands off ‘Golden Hammer’ to Atlanta ahead of Carter Work Project
At the site of Habitat for Humanity’s soon-to-be Langston Park development, the international nonprofit passed its “Golden Hammer” to the Atlanta chapter on Nov. 12 as it readies for the 40th annual Carter Work Project building blitz. From May 3-8, 2026 an estimated 2,000 volunteers will descend on Sylvan Hills to build 24 homes in […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Harvard alumni in Georgia make the case for academic freedom
Tucked in the back of Georgia Tech’s Kendeda Building on Oct. 30, a group of local Harvard alumni held a meeting to tackle one of the major issues facing their alma mater: the case for academic freedom. The Harvard Club of Georgia hosted an alumni panel to talk about the institution’s ongoing feud with the […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Marci Collier Overstreet elected Atlanta City Council President
After a heated campaign, unofficial results show longtime Atlanta City Councilmember Marci Collier Overstreet will be the next city council president. She narrowly beat out nonprofit leader Rohit Malhotra for the second-in-command seat on Nov. 4. Overstreet will take over for Doug Shipman, who was elected in 2021 but decided not to run for reelection. […]
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Andre Dickens wins second term as Atlanta mayor in landslide vote
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens slid into an easy win on Nov. 4, securing his second term in office through 2030. Major outlets called the race in his favor with over 86 percent of the vote during early Fulton County reporting. Dickens had faced off against three smaller candidates: Eddie Andrew Meredith, Kalema Jackson and Helmut […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Microsoft gifts chunk of westside land to city for affordable development
On Nov. 3, Microsoft announced plans to donate 22.5 acres of its Quarry Yards property to the City of Atlanta, paving the way to create a community hub in the Grove Park neighborhood. The tech company will donate a chunk of its 90-acre property in summer 2026 to the city through the Atlanta Urban Development […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Beltline chugs along with Northwest segment groundbreaking, opening
The Atlanta Beltline hit 13.6 miles of completed mainline trail on Oct. 30 after officials cut the ribbon on Segment 5 of the Northwest trail, and broke ground on a chunk of Segment 4. “Today is a momentous day for the Beltline as we now have nearly 14 miles of mainline trail completed,” Atlanta Beltline, […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Atlanta leaders rally for the ‘Soul of Atlanta’ against DEI crackdown
On Oct. 30, Big Bethel AME Church was as packed as ever – but this time a lineup of Atlanta’s former mayors sat at the pulpit rallying the crowd for the so-called “Soul of Atlanta” as the city faces federal pressure to gut diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Former Atlanta Mayors Ambassador Andrew Young, Bill […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
Where Atlanta City Council District 2 and 7 candidates stand on transit
Atlanta pedestrian, cyclist and transit nonprofit Propel ATL brought local candidates to a series of transportation-oriented panels last week, where Atlanta Civic Circle reporters honed in on where each hopeful lies on the city’s street landscape. Across two nights, some of the candidates from competitive Atlanta City Council races answered questions on MARTA, cyclist infrastructure […]
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Metro Atlanta Speaks survey ranks housing affordability as top problem
Atlanta Regional Commission released its annual Metro Atlanta Speaks survey at the Oct. 24 “State of the Region,” where over 4,000 people ranked issues facing the region – and affordable housing topped the list. 28 percent of the people who responded to the survey put housing affordability as the top issue facing the region, and this […]
Posted inDelaney Tarr
‘The Stitch’ reveals new park plan at Downtown day
At Atlanta’s inaugural “Downtown Day” on Oct. 22, local leaders unveiled a new, reworked plan for phase one of the highway-capping park project called “The Stitch.” Central Atlanta Progress, a nonprofit dedicated to downtown development, released renderings for the park that show a 5.7-acre greenspace with a playground, perennial garden, shade pavilion and interactive water […]
