January 23, 2025

Students beginning the Master of Science  in Urban Design presented their redevelopment proposals for the larger Murphy Triangle area to Atlanta City Councilmen Jason Dozier recently, responding to Mayor Andre Dickens's call for new MARTA station planning just a few months before the class began.

Of the four potential new MARTA stations, the students worked on a site where Murphy Avenue crosses the BeltLine. "The students were tasked with maximizing the number of new residents who would be able to affordably live car-light, if not carfree lifestyles in such a transit-rich location — and at the same time designing graceful transitions to the four historic abutting neighborhoods, (West End, Adair Park, Oakland City, and Capitol View)," said Ellen Dunham-Jones, director of the Urban Design program.

"I want to make sure that this work isn't just for my eyes and ears, but also gets into the right hands for development along the BeltLine," Dozier said. "Knowing that this work has been done I think would be helpful in the next phase of the master plan. Having the city council as advocates, helping to facilitate connections with not just the Department of City Planning, but other groups and community members involved in BeltLine development, is where the city council's most helpful."

To understand community needs, Dunham-Jones said, students met with community leaders and stakeholders before developing designs. The designs addressed community concerns such as the lack of connection and shared spaces between the four neighborhoods, the desire to preserve historic neighborhoods during new development, and the difficulty of crossing both Lee Street and Murphy Avenue.

"The two basic questions for the studio were, 'How can the benefits of public transit and individual car-free or car-light mobility be provided to as many people as possible, while still celebrating the residents, business owners, and scale of historic neighborhoods,' and 'How can the design of public spaces and building masses create graceful transitions from high-density buildings to existing homes and mature tree canopies?'"

"The diverse proposals are intended to help the Councilmen and the local communities spark productive conversations about the area's capacity for change and diverse strategies to realize the desired impacts of a new MARTA station connected to the BeltLine."