Place-Based Impact in Practice: An Immersive Experience in Atlanta, GA

Atlanta is a city of dual narratives. It is celebrated as the cradle of the civil rights movement and as a hub of culture and commerce, yet it remains one of the most unequal metros in the country in terms of economic mobility, housing, and opportunity.

These tensions make Atlanta a powerful place to explore how history, community, and development collide, and what it takes to build a more equitable future. To meet this need, NationSwell partnered with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to design a multi-day immersive that showcased the Foundation’s and other local organizations’ commitment to place-based work in Atlanta, while bringing cross-sector leaders into direct proximity with the city’s challenges and possibilities. The experience created space for shared learning, candid dialogue, and actionable insight.

NationSwell designed the Atlanta immersive to help leaders move beyond theory and into lived experience. The program was intentionally built to ground participants in history, surface community voices, and highlight the intersections of housing, entrepreneurship, education, and cross-sector collaboration.

Atlanta was chosen because it reflects both extraordinary legacy and pressing challenges—making it a city where the lessons are nationally relevant yet locally specific. Anchored along the BeltLine corridor, the experience traced how investment can shape communities for better or worse, surfacing lessons about balancing growth, inclusion, and community voice. Stops at sites like Pittsburgh Yards and the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs showcased how local leaders are building solutions rooted in equity, opportunity, and resilience.

Each element of the design was curated with purpose. From intentional movement and reflection, to candid conversations with civic leaders, to visits at sites where community-rooted solutions are taking shape, every aspect was designed to spark new insights, leave attendees with tangible strategies, and inspire honest dialogue within their organizations and communities.

The Atlanta immersive created a space for candid reflection, shared learning, and new connections among leaders committed to equity and place-based change. Participants left with a deeper understanding of Atlanta as both a place of extraordinary progress and persistent inequity, and with clearer insights into how to avoid “collaborative theater” and instead build trust, structure, and accountability into collective action.

Memorable moments included a child greeting participants as “neighbor” at Pittsburgh Yards, entrepreneurs sharing stories of community-rooted innovation, and the candid reflections of local leaders about the city’s path forward. The experience sparked deeper connections across the NationSwell community, motivated leaders to refine their place-based strategies, generated momentum for new partnerships and collaborations, and reinforced that when NationSwell brings leaders together in place, they leave not only with perspective but also with the relationships and resolve to drive lasting change.