Johnathan R. Greenage 

   In my 4th Year Urban Design Studio I was tasked with designing some form of sustainable infrastructure for the historic, impoverished, and predominately African-American district of Atlanta known as The West End. The interest in this area stems from Atlanta's latest large scale project: "The Atlanta Beltline". If this project is successful it will generate interest and economic gain for all areas involved. In an area with demographics such as the West End, this means one thing: Gentrification. To avoid this my design had to be one that would allow the West End to grow and maintain itself with minimal outside investment. Once the government begins to invest money in an area, outsiders do as well.

   

   The design I plan to pursue involves introducing an, at first, low maintenance recycling facility with various aspects of its processing spread throughout the district. For the West End this would allow the employment of the homeless and under-educated residents of the area as certain aspects of recycling such as garbage collection, material cleaning, sorting, and storage do not require a large learning curve. Once the materials are processed by trained individuals in certain facilities they are moved to other facilities and fabricated into new materials to be used in the district to service the ever growing need for additional infrastructure or they would be shipped along the adjacent beltline to other districts of Atlanta. In this area in particular, the materials would be used to develop infrastructure in a way that would create a traversable landscape as many of the inhabitants lack vehicles and walking is their main form of transportation. This new artificial landscape would provide shelter and services below while providing public space with varying function above. As the project grows and the recycling facility expands it will increase its operations to outside of the West End district. Processing and exporting more materials will serve to sustain this area for generations while benefiting the city as a whole by cleaning it up.

 

  In the past Atlanta has had an increasing issue with gentrification of areas heavily inhabited by not just African- Americans but by any minority group. I believe this project would contribute to this issue by showing how a neighborhood or district that invests in itself can grow to support itself. It will also show that when a large project comes to an area that it is not necessarily an opportunity for outside interest but a new opportunity for those in need to do a service to themselves and others. The profession of architecture is often misunderstood and I hope this project provides some insight to serve individuals all around the world. Architecture isn't about the newest form or technology but representing and supporting the growth of humanity and our ever-changing ideals. This project serves to support my African-American heritage by protecting these people and their neighborhoods, preserving their culture and heritage before it can be bought by the upper-class and demolished in pursuit selfish gain.