Park Planning Assistance

Park Visioning

Park Pride believes that a great park begins with a strong, community-supported design.

Led by a registered landscape architect, the Park Visioning Program offers professional park design assistance to community groups free of charge.

Whether you need advice on next steps or assistance with long-term planning, we offer a range of design services that meet the needs of all Friends groups, large and small!

Applications will open in Summer 2024 for DeKalb County and Winter 2025 for the City of Atlanta.

Click the tabs below to learn about our service options.

 

Park Design Consultation

Available year-round on a rolling basis, Park Pride offers design consultations to Friends of Park groups in our service area. If you want general guidance on next steps for your park improvement ideas, need help brainstorming, or want to understand how Park Pride can help, a consultation may be right for you.

Who can request a consultation?

Design consultations are available to all registered Friends of Park groups in the City of Atlanta, unincorporated DeKalb County, and the City of Brookhaven.

What to expect

Design consultations are one-on-one meetings with our park visioning staff that happen on-site at your park. Meetings typically last one hour. Consultations may result in a written summary of the conversation and/or rough sketches or simple maps intended to help identify the next steps for a park project.

Get started

Friends of Park groups interested in receiving a design consultation can fill out the form below. Park Pride will review your application within a week of submission. Applications will open in Summer 2024 for DeKalb County and Winter 2025 for the City of Atlanta.

Park Visioning Consultation Request

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Comprehensive Vision Plan

Each year, Park Pride guides two communities through a public engagement process that converts that community’s ideas and dreams into a conceptual vision plan that can be used to guide community-based development of the park over a longer period.

The vision plan is a conceptual plan and comprehensive report for the entire park, produced to professional landscape design standards through a public engagement process spanning several months. This plan can then be used by community groups to fundraise and advocate for their desired improvements in the park.

See the examples of completed plans created through the Park Visioning Program at the bottom of this page.

Who can apply?

Park vision plans are available to registered Friends of Park groups in the City of Atlanta or unincorporated DeKalb County, and Friends groups must:

  • commit to six to eight months of public planning work,
  • support an open and inclusive visioning process that intentionally represents differing opinions and diverse viewpoints,
  • and be open to considering all ideas regardless of popularity, site control or budget.

What to expect

Our park visioning process hinges on a robust, inclusive public engagement strategy, which is tailored to each community and is most successful when participants are open to various outcomes.

While every park visioning is unique, each community undergoing park visioning can expect:

  • Monthly meetings – The scheduling of monthly meetings of a community steering committee with Park Pride’s visioning team over the 6-8 month process to inform the understanding of the community’s needs. The steering committee will help to develop and implement the public engagement strategy as well as participate in design discussions and decisions at monthly meetings. Committee members should represent a broad and diverse spectrum of community interests.
  • Public input meetings – A series of public input meetings during which people are encouraged to dream big and think outside the box for what might be possible in their neighborhood park and form consensus around the priority projects they have for the design (or re-design) of their park.
  • A final, conceptual park plan – The central deliverable of the Park Visioning Program is the creation of a conceptual park master plan that includes:
    • an investigation of the history and neighborhood context around the park,
    • a catalog of existing conditions in the park,
    • a summary of the process including public engagement strategies,
    • documentation of how decisions were made,
    • a visual representation of the conceptual park plan,
    • a prioritized project list, as well as the graphics and site plans necessary to help the community bring their dream park to reality,
    • an itemized opinion of probable costs.

Get started

Communities interested in receiving park visioning services must apply, and the application pool is highly competitive.

Click your jurisdiction below to begin the Park Visioning application process:

 

City of Atlanta

 

Unincorporated DeKalb County

 

 

Vision Plans

Adams Park (2008)






Adams Park (2008)

Brownwood Park (2005)






Brownwood Park (2005)

Cedar Park (2020)






Cedar Park (2020)

Central Park (2013)






Central Park (2013)

Chapman Farm and Redan Nature Preserve (2020)






Chapman Farm and Redan Nature Preserve (2020)

Chosewood Park (2011)






Chosewood Park (2011)

Cleopas R. Johnson (2010)






Cleopas R. Johnson (2010)

Collier Park (2006)






Collier Park (2006)

Columbia Elementary Community Schoolyard Vision Plan (2022)






Columbia Elementary Community Schoolyard Vision Plan (2022)

DeKalb Memorial Park (2018)






DeKalb Memorial Park (2018)

East Lake Park (2005)






East Lake Park (2005)

East Side Parks (2009)






East Side Parks (2009)

Egan Park (2007)






Egan Park (2007)

Emma Millican Park (2006)






Emma Millican Park (2006)

Enota Park (2006)






Enota Park (2006)

Falling Water Park






Falling Water Park

Grant Park (2018)






Grant Park (2018)

Herbert Green Nature Preserve (2009)






Herbert Green Nature Preserve (2009)

Historic Bagley Park (2007)






Historic Bagley Park (2007)

Hutchens Park (2022)






Hutchens Park (2022)

Jennie Drake Park (2013)






Jennie Drake Park (2013)

June Elois Mundy Park (2005)






June Elois Mundy Park (2005)

Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park (2016)






Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park (2016)

Knight Park (2017)






Knight Park (2017)

Lang-Carson Park (2019)






Lang-Carson Park (2019)

Lionel Hampton Nature Preserve (2006)






Lionel Hampton Nature Preserve (2006)

Little Nancy Creek Park (2015)






Little Nancy Creek Park (2015)

Lithonia Park (2017)






Lithonia Park (2017)

Loridans Park (2018)






Loridans Park (2018)

Lower Paul Park (2022)






Lower Paul Park (2022)

Lucius D. Simon, Sr. Park (2017)






Lucius D. Simon, Sr. Park (2017)

Mattie Freeland (2015)






Mattie Freeland (2015)

Memorial Drive Greenway (2016)






Memorial Drive Greenway (2016)

Mountain Way Common (2013)






Mountain Way Common (2013)

Mozley Park (2019)






Mozley Park (2019)

Needham Park (2018)






Needham Park (2018)

N. H. Scott Park (2017)






N. H. Scott Park (2017)

Outdoor Activity Center (2011)






Outdoor Activity Center (2011)

Orme Park (2007)






Orme Park (2007)

Peoplestown Parks (2006)






Peoplestown Parks (2006)

Proctor Creek North Avenue (2010)






Proctor Creek North Avenue (2010)

Rev. James Orange Park (2012)






Rev. James Orange Park (2012)

Ridgewood Rutledge Park (2012)






Ridgewood Rutledge Park (2012)

Shoal Creek Parks






Shoal Creek Parks

South Fork Peachtree Creek (2012)






South Fork Peachtree Creek (2012)

South Bend Park (2007)






South Bend Park (2007)

Spink-Collins Park (2006)






Spink-Collins Park (2006)

Springvale Park (2011)






Springvale Park (2011)

Parks of Summerhill (2015)






Parks of Summerhill (2015)

Washington Park (2007)






Washington Park (2007)

West Manor Park (2007)






West Manor Park (2007)