New Subscriber Event: Atlanta in January
Spend 36 hours with your fellow New Urban Order readers and some local leaders
After visiting Detroit, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington, D.C. for subscriber events in 2024 and 2025, I’m kicking off the 2026 event series with 36 hours in Atlanta.
Atlanta is a city that is going to feel really different by 2030. Its signature Beltline introduced a walkable amenity in a car-centric city — but it’s still evolving and construction along it is still expanding. A city known for growth and affordability is starting to reach its limits, resulting in local innovations in housing. Meanwhile major urban renovation projects, such as Centennial Yards - a $5 billion investment in 50 acres near the Mercedes-Benz Stadium where eight World Cup games will take place next year - and South Downtown, a new more humanscale, walkable neighborhood with dozens of historic buildings, are creating new hubs for the city.
Maybe you’re like me and have been to Atlanta before, but you want to explore some of these more recent aspects of its transformation. If so, come join me for the next subscriber trip in January!
Day 1: Thursday January 22, 2026
SoDO
We’ll meet at coffee shop in South Downtown Atlanta just before getting a hard-hat tour of the area’s redevelopment. This neighborhood of about 16 acres and more than 50 buildings was once an important part of the city, but has languished in recent years. Now the area is being redeveloped into a walkable neighborhood of offices, apartments, restaurants, stores and more — with an eye on getting a lot of the neighborhood ready for FIFA World Cup games next year.
We’ll meet up with two staff from the development team for a two-hour exploration of the project’s adaptive reuse, placemaking, retail, and more. Here’s the SoDo website and a super short video that offers a tiny sneak peek.
Lunch
We’ll have lunch at a casual Thai restaurant nearby and get to know each other a bit more, sharing thoughts on the tour we just experienced. (As I reflected on what has worked and not on various subscriber events, I’ve realized shared meals are important!)
Public transit
We’ll give ourselves ample time to take MARTA over to the Edgewood Station.
Eric Kronberg’s neighborhood
We’ll meet up with architect and urbanism thought-leader Eric Kronberg to see two of his projects: La France Walk and Finley Street Cottages. Both projects show what Kronberg’s work is all about: how housing choice and variety, with porches, patios, and common outdoor space can encourage prosocial, economically diverse neighborhoods. Finley Street Cottages fit 16 units on two single-family lots, demonstrating how to make desirable pocket neighborhoods on standard vacant lots. La France Walk swaps garage space for built-in ADUs so owners can rent out a unit, turn a studio into workspace, or provide a place for family members.
We’ll then share some Ubers over to Cabbagetown and tour through that neighborhood with Eric as our guide.
A first walk on the Beltline
From the Krog Street Tunnel entrance, we’ll take a first short walk along the Beltline, reflecting on the first day’s activities. Without a tour guide, this first foray will be an opportunity to get some first impressions and think up questions for our guides the next day.
Optional drink / dinner
For those who still have the energy and interest, we’ll stop at one of the restaurants along the Beltline for a drink and dinner.
Day Two - Friday January 23, 2026
Optional coffee
For those who want to meet early, we’ll get coffee and have more time to discuss Atlanta.
Beltline tour
Though it’s a three-hour tour, we’ll only be walking about a mile total around and on the Beltline. We’ll walk through Fourth Ward Park toward Ponce City Market where we’ll meet with Atlanta Beltline Inc.’s staff to hear more about the project’s development, specifically its housing and economic development strategies.
12pm
That’s a wrap!
Details:
The cost for the January 22-23 tour is $125 and does not include food, drink, transportation, hotel or anything other than the tour. Space is limited to 10 people.
Attendees will need to wear comfortable shoes and be in physical condition to spend the bulk of January 22nd standing and walking. The SoDo portion will be an active construction site.
Registration:
If you’re interested in joining, please RSVP by filling out this form here.
I will respond by sending you an invoice from Stripe. Your space is only reserved once you have paid the invoice. If you RSVP and do not pay the invoice, I assume you are “still thinking about it” but will not hold your place.
Confirmed participants will get contact information for fellow participants and an itinerary with more precise timing and locations approximately 2 weeks before the tour.
Tickets are non-refundable.
The event itself will include meals and transportation. These costs are not included in the ticket price.
Each person must be a paying subscriber to attend — your subscription does not include friends, significant others, coworkers, etc.
Final caveat: given that many things are beyond my control and that I am running these tours as a passion project, please only attend if you are ok with an event that is informal, subject to change, and may not be able to accommodate special requests/needs.
I am happy to respond to any and all questions at dianalindheller@gmail.com — thanks!