Community members gathered at the Agape Youth and Family Center on Saturday morning March 7 to imagine the future of the former Chattahoochee Brick Company site in northwest Atlanta. The land on the east bank of the Chattahoochee River has sat vacant since 2011, when the last of the Chattahoochee Brick Co.’s buildings were demolished. […]
Author Archives: Oli Turner
Oli Turner (she/her) is a multimedia journalist and producer whose writing has appeared in Atlanta Magazine, The Emory Wheel, The Cricket, The Christian Science Monitor and Boston Hassle. She currently works as a freelance producer at WABE 90.1 FM in Atlanta. She received her B.A. in English & Creative Writing from Emory University, where she completed her honors thesis, a hybrid biography/memoir of the playwright Rebecca Ranson. She lives in Atlanta and Manchester, MA.
Posted inAtlanta Way 2.0
‘Citizens Revival’ screening sparks conversations about hope, democracy, civic participation
Civically-minded Atlantans gathered at the Tara Theatre March 5 for a Director’s Cut screening and discussion of “Citizens Revival.” Several Atlanta organizations tabled in the Tara lobby before and after the screening, including the Asian American Advocacy Fund, Georgia Muslim Voter Project, Better Ballot Georgia and Atlanta Way 2.0. The event was the seventh public […]
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Regenerative Youth Summit cultivates cross-disciplinary climate action
What do art and climate activism have in common? It’s probably more than you think. That’s the opinion of the organizers of the Regenerative Youth Summit: Environmental Activism as Art. The Regenerative Youth Summit is hosted by Roots Down, an urban sustainability solutions company, and its nonprofit counterpart GreenHive, which champions youth leadership in climate […]
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Westside Future Fund takes stock of affordable housing progress
This month’s Transform Westside Summit was a comprehensive look back at the past year of affordable housing development by the Westside Future Fund (WFF). WFF President and CEO John Ahmann reiterated the organization’s commitment to community retention, prioritizing those who live, work and learn on the Westside. At the summit on Feb. 20, Ahmann moderated […]
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Midtown Alliance plans 4-acre public park in heart of Atlanta
The lot on 14th Street between Peachtree and West Peachtree Streets has been vacant for nearly 40 years. Now, Midtown Alliance is developing the open space into a park shaped by the community’s wish list. At the Museum of Design Atlanta on Jan. 27, community members could provide input on the plan for the future […]
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Freshening Findley: Renovations complete on beloved Little 5 Points corner
If you live in Atlanta, you might not know Findley Plaza by name, but you’ve almost certainly walked through it. It’s the triangle of concrete between The Porter and Little 5 Pub, sometimes occupied by throngs of music lovers vying for a new release outside Criminal Records. Maybe you even pass it on your way […]
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Atlanta Regional Commission welcomes new board members, targets affordable housing in 2026
The Atlanta Regional Commission’s (ARC) January board meeting marked the beginning of an ambitious new year. The joint meeting with the Transportation and Air Quality Committee (TAQC) on Jan. 14 provided a high-level overview of the city’s efforts to improve residents’ quality of life as both organizations laid out the year to come. Before the […]
Posted inAtlanta Way 2.0
Activator Profile: Melody Harclerode envisions elevated future for design in Atlanta
Atlanta once had a beautiful train station. Not like Midtown MARTA Station with its large, colorful bird statues, nor Five Points station with its vibrant exterior mural. The now-demolished Terminal Station had a regal Beaux-Arts facade, accented by two ornate towers. Completed in 1905, the structure looked almost European, a striking contrast to the architecture […]
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Atlanta Housing breaks ground on phase one of Civic Center redevelopment: affordable senior housing
The Atlanta Civic Center has sat vacant since it shuttered its doors in 2014, no longer filled with the vibrant touring productions or community celebrations of decades past. The former theater became a stage for something new when, on Dec. 9, city leaders and community members gathered at the historic Atlanta Civic Center site to […]
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New Oakhurst women’s program to provide transitional housing, wraparound support
The gray bungalow-style house next to Oakhurst Baptist Church has undergone more than just a renovation. Inside, past a sunny kitchen and spacious living area, 11 private bedrooms line the hallways of the two-story house. By the end of the year, the bedrooms will be occupied by women who have experienced homelessness in DeKalb County. […]
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‘Invert the burden’: ARCHI advocates for systemic change at second annual State of Metro Atlanta Health
Since its creation over a decade ago, Atlanta Regional Collaborative for Health Improvement (ARCHI) has convened over 130 metro Atlanta organizations for discussion and collaboration on improving health outcomes. On Nov. 14, nearly 300 attendees packed the Decatur Conference Center for an update on the State of Metro Atlanta Health in the wake of a […]
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Partners in Change advances economic mobility through coaching, self-empowerment
When Destiny Quarterman-Johnson saw how Partners in Change (PIC) had transformed her friend’s life, she knew she wanted in on the action. A year later, at Quarterman-Johnson’s graduation from the program on Nov. 8, she spoke on a panel before an audience of her peers, coaches and other supporters. “Being in college, being in your […]
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National Center for Civil and Human Rights honors expansion with dazzling ceremony
Civil rights champions, thought leaders and supporters of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights gathered Downtown on Tuesday, Nov. 4 to mark the Center’s renovations with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. If the anticipation of the Center’s reopening wasn’t exciting enough, it was also, coincidentally, Election Day. Many attendees had passed through polling places that […]
Posted inAtlanta Way 2.0
Downtown native plants initiative sows seeds of community
The Downtown Native Plants & Wellness Initiative is working to revitalize Atlanta’s urban center—one blossom at a time. The movement is about more than plants. It aims to develop peer leadership and build community as neighbors work together to revitalize Downtown. The Downtown Native Plants & Wellness Initiative was selected to present at the first […]
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Grove Park Heroes Awards recognize community leaders working to shape the neighborhood’s future
All sectors of the Grove Park community — from corporate to government to nonprofit — gathered at the Delta Sky360 Club at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Oct. 14 to recognize the residents who had made a difference in the neighborhood. The third annual Grove Park Heroes Awards, hosted by the Grove Park Foundation, recognized community leaders […]
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What’s the deal with economic mobility? And why does Atlanta rank last?
By Oli Turner, Atlanta Way 2.0 Journalism Fellow In Atlanta, leaders and concerned citizens are uniting over a troubling statistic. Atlanta ranks 50th out of 50 U.S. metropolitan areas in upward economic mobility, according to a 2024 study by Harvard Economics professor Raj Chetty. If that strikes you as grim, it is—but Atlantans may find […]
