Advancing Mobility

Going Up

Whether by four wheels, two wheels or no wheels, Atlantans keep things moving. As buggy-clogged city streets gave way to streetcars and automobiles, the city developed novel ways to move a growing population in the right direction.

How we navigate the city today reflects how we experience history. When Atlanta’s Interstate system arrived in the early 1950s, it promised coast-to-coast connectivity and a new era of industrialism.

However, these new highways and other road-building projects would destroy the street grid and neighborhoods in their paths changing the City’s future and creating new challenges.

Over decades, Atlanta would envision new ways to bring its growing population together. William Hartsfield and Maynard Jackson—two mayors separated by over a decade of time—shared a vision to establish and expand what is now the world’s busiest airport. Alongside Hartsfield-Jackson’s development, the city launched public transit service in the 1970s to complete the connection.

As the city continues to grow, historic preservation can highlight the transportation mileposts, milestones, and lessons learned that got us where we’re going.

How can you help keep Atlanta historic?