Ecology in Art: A Photographic Analysis of the North, West, and Lower Eastside Atlanta Beltline Trails and Other Related Projects
Disciplines
Environmental Studies | Nature and Society Relations | Other Arts and Humanities | Physical and Environmental Geography | Urban Studies and Planning
Abstract (300 words maximum)
The Atlanta Beltline is a 22-mile-long system of trails and green space that stretches across Atlanta, Georgia, and provides a slice of the outdoors in an actively urbanizing city. This project compared a portion of the Atlanta Beltline to various other case studies both nationally and internationally, these being HafenCity in Hamberg, Germany, the Bayou Greenways in Houston, Texas, and the Railway in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Similarities were found in relation to the effects on gentrification, mental and physical well-being, implementation of greenspace, and the environment despite being different projects in terms of size, developmental progress, and location. What makes the Atlanta Beltline distinctive, however, is the artwork across the trails. In this research project, I analyzed the artwork according to a variety of different categories and subcategories and studied what this information could suggest. My focus was on the North, lower Eastside, West, and Westside Connector trails. In terms of data, my primary interest was artwork that possessed organic elements. I hypothesized that, since the Atlanta Beltline was a project designed to incorporate nature in a big city, the artwork would reflect this idea, and close to half of the artwork would include natural elements. I walked along my chosen segments of the Beltline clockwise and collected and analyzed data using Microsoft Excel. In terms of the North, Northwest, and Northeast Beltline trails, 60% of the collected data possessed organic traits, defined as natural and/or living elements. 59% of artwork in the West and West Connector trails were organic. However, in my assigned sector of the lower Eastside trail, approximately 13% of the artwork was organic. This suggested that the environmental focus of artwork varied by location. It is also worth noting that the data sample from the North Beltline was significantly smaller than the data sample from the lower Eastside, Westside, and West Connector trails, which could explain the difference in data. For more cohesive and accurate results, I calculated the percentage of organic depictions in artwork across all my studied segments, which was 26%. This research project breaks down the artwork beyond just organic versus inorganic, as well, and dives deeply into the subtle details of each piece. Analyzing the artwork along the Beltline can tell us a lot about the primary focus and interests of the residents of Atlanta, and about the community surrounding the Beltline trails.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - Geography & Anthropology
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Dr. Ranbir Kang
Ecology in Art: A Photographic Analysis of the North, West, and Lower Eastside Atlanta Beltline Trails and Other Related Projects
The Atlanta Beltline is a 22-mile-long system of trails and green space that stretches across Atlanta, Georgia, and provides a slice of the outdoors in an actively urbanizing city. This project compared a portion of the Atlanta Beltline to various other case studies both nationally and internationally, these being HafenCity in Hamberg, Germany, the Bayou Greenways in Houston, Texas, and the Railway in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Similarities were found in relation to the effects on gentrification, mental and physical well-being, implementation of greenspace, and the environment despite being different projects in terms of size, developmental progress, and location. What makes the Atlanta Beltline distinctive, however, is the artwork across the trails. In this research project, I analyzed the artwork according to a variety of different categories and subcategories and studied what this information could suggest. My focus was on the North, lower Eastside, West, and Westside Connector trails. In terms of data, my primary interest was artwork that possessed organic elements. I hypothesized that, since the Atlanta Beltline was a project designed to incorporate nature in a big city, the artwork would reflect this idea, and close to half of the artwork would include natural elements. I walked along my chosen segments of the Beltline clockwise and collected and analyzed data using Microsoft Excel. In terms of the North, Northwest, and Northeast Beltline trails, 60% of the collected data possessed organic traits, defined as natural and/or living elements. 59% of artwork in the West and West Connector trails were organic. However, in my assigned sector of the lower Eastside trail, approximately 13% of the artwork was organic. This suggested that the environmental focus of artwork varied by location. It is also worth noting that the data sample from the North Beltline was significantly smaller than the data sample from the lower Eastside, Westside, and West Connector trails, which could explain the difference in data. For more cohesive and accurate results, I calculated the percentage of organic depictions in artwork across all my studied segments, which was 26%. This research project breaks down the artwork beyond just organic versus inorganic, as well, and dives deeply into the subtle details of each piece. Analyzing the artwork along the Beltline can tell us a lot about the primary focus and interests of the residents of Atlanta, and about the community surrounding the Beltline trails.