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Old Fourth Ward

Old Fourth Ward in Atlanta is a historic neighborhood rich in history and culture, known for being the birthplace of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a key location in the Civil Rights Movement. The area is now highly gentrified. During its early 20th century heyday, it was home to a thriving middle-class African American community along Auburn Avenue, known as “Sweet Auburn.” The area declined after mid-century highway construction and suburban flight, with many historic buildings falling into disrepair. Recent revitalization has centered around the Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail, transforming abandoned industrial spaces into parks and mixed-use developments. Today, the neighborhood carefully preserves its civil rights landmarks while embracing new growth, including the 2011 opening of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights at Pemberton Place.
Featured Project | Digital Projects | Articles | Further Reading
“Old Fourth Ward” lettering on Iron Rail Fence in #Atlanta” by Robert Neff, used under CC BY 2.0.

Featured Project

The Old Fourth Ward: Then & Now

This case study focuses on historical, communal, and conflict dynamics in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward.

Visit the Site for more information

Featured Digital Projects

Street Art and Mural Map of Old 4th Ward

Art Rudick

“Atlanta has a wealth of street art, murals and graffiti.  The trick is finding it; and THAT is the purpose of this website.  Think of the Atlanta Street Art Map as your on-line tour guide to Atlanta’s amazing public art.  This is not a “coffee table book”.  This is a field guide. The Atlanta Street Art Map will take you out into the neighborhoods to experience the murals in person.”

The Old Fourth Ward: Then & Now

Dominique Vitti.
This case study focuses on historical, communal, and conflict dynamics in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward.

Grad Students Reenvision Neighborhood's Future Using 3D GIS

ArcNews, Esri

The main idea for this academic project was to learn about the design principles that were key to the City of Savannah, Georgia’s effective redevelopment of its historic district—something Atlanta was unsuccessful with decades ago when it built its civic center (now itself a subject of demolition) in the Old Fourth Ward, displacing more than 1,000 largely African-American households, wiping out existing street grids, and disrupting not only the physical structure of the land but also the social fabric of the community

Featured Articles

The history that shaped the Atlanta neighborhood where MLK was raised

Evey Wilson

Gentrification and the Subsidizing City

Dan Immergluck,
Atlanta Studies

A City Divided

LeeAnn Lands,
Southern Spaces

Further Reading

  • Esri. “Grad Students Reenvision Neighborhood’s Future Using 3D GIS.” ArcNews, Esri, https://www.esri.com/about/newsroom/arcnews/grad-students-reenvision-neighborhoods-future-using-3d-gis.
    The main idea for this academic project was to learn about the design principles that were key to the City of Savannah, Georgia’s effective redevelopment of its historic district—something Atlanta was unsuccessful with decades ago when it built its civic center (now itself a subject of demolition) in the Old Fourth Ward, displacing more than 1,000 largely African-American households, wiping out existing street grids, and disrupting not only the physical structure of the land but also the social fabric of the community.
  • Rudick, Art. “Street Art and Mural Map of Old 4th Ward.” n.d. Atlanta Street Art Map. https://streetartmap.org/atlanta-street-art-maps/old-4th-ward-street-art-mural-map/. “Atlanta has a wealth of street art, murals and graffiti.  The trick is finding it; and THAT is the purpose of this website.  Think of the Atlanta Street Art Map as your on-line tour guide to Atlanta’s amazing public art.  This is not a “coffee table book”.  This is a field guide. The Atlanta Street Art Map will take you out into the neighborhoods to experience the murals in person.”
  • Vitti, Dominique. “The Old Fourth Ward: Then & Now.” ArcGIS StoryMaps. November 30, 2022. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4d251cae190e4758b0b20293d8a01cd5. “This case study focuses on historical, communal, and conflict dynamics in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward.”