Local Student Adds Vital Youth Perspective to Beltline Team

The Atlanta Beltline trail enhances mobility and connects intown neighborhoods, providing alternative and sustainable transportation for residents of all ages. Like many students, Old Fourth Ward resident and Midtown High School Senior Kennedi Jordan often uses the Beltline to commute to school, meet up with friends, and walk to places nearby before and after classes.  

“It’s a safe place for kids to go, or anyone to just go in general,” she said.  

Midtown High students are among the many beneficiaries of the safety enhancements made to the intersection at 10^th Street and Monroe Drive in 2024. This final phase of Northeast Trail – Segment 1 construction provides. a more secure and convenient way to cross the busy intersection from the Beltline access point to get to Midtown High School, Piedmont Park, and the rest of Midtown. 

As construction progressed, Kennedi served as a valuable connection to the younger population of trail users in this area, working as an intern for Atlanta Beltline, Inc. (ABI). 

In her role, Kennedi supported the community engagement team by gathering input from her peers, assisting with data collection at pop-up tables on the trail, developing a presentation for youth engagement, discussing safety concerns with ABI and Atlanta Police Department staff, and attending community meetings about other upcoming projects like 356 University Avenue.  She also offered her point of view and suggested questions that her age group would want answered.  

Kennedi’s supervisor and ABI Community Engagement Manager, Rashida Williamson stressed the importance of gaining a youthful perspective when making decisions about economic development programs and other project implementation that will shape their future. 

“We felt like they needed a voice, some kind of way to be educated about this whole new development that's happening around them, that's changing their neighborhoods as they grow up,” Williamson explained. “We want them to understand that this is a project that they can be a part of, and even if they're not a part of it they can still benefit from it.”  

Including Midtown High, there are more than 20 K-12 schools located around the Beltline, and the Southside Trail expansion will soon create safer routes for students and families at Parkside Elementary and Maynard Jackson High School.  As progress continues toward completion of the loop, young residents like Kennedi are encouraged to get involved with the Atlanta Beltline Academy and give their ideas on how we can enhance the lives of this important population that will utilize the trail for many years to come.