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Park Pride’s vision is an Atlanta where every neighborhood has access to a great park. However, through the public engagement process that informed Activate ATL, we learned that some Atlantans feel discouraged from visiting parks due to maintenance issues and past-due upgrades. To address this challenge, Park Pride is exploring opportunities to pair public and private dollars and approach park improvements comprehensively–following through on both large and small upgrades concurrently–to transform underutilized parks into welcoming and activated community greenspaces.

SOURCE: Saporta Report

As public spaces, parks are inherently political, each with its own hidden minefield of competing interests that come to light when working with communities to build consensus around a shared vision for their neighborhood park. However, this park planning process doesn’t have to be divisive, as much of politics are. On the contrary, when park planning fully engages the community (as we have experienced through Park Pride’s longstanding Park Visioning Program), it is not only democratic and fair, but it can actually strengthen communities. Read more in this month’s contribution to Saporta Report.

SOURCE: Saporta Report

The case for parks is an easy one to make — increased physical activity within the community, lower levels of stress and a healthier urban environment. But in a city with one of the starkest income disparities in the nation, city and nonprofit leaders are working to be intentional about providing quality access to the outdoors for all Atlantans. On June 16, local park leaders gathered for a roundtable discussion hosted by nonprofit Park Pride about the future of parks in Atlanta and how to make them more accessible, equitable and plentiful.

SOURCE: Saporta Report

Parks are good for people and the communities of which they’re a part. They’re foundational for the health of local wildlife and habitats, and function as critical urban infrastructure by absorbing stormwater runoff, cooling ambient temperatures, providing the open space necessary for public health, and so on. Park Pride believes that parks have the potential to make cities great—but only if they receive the investment required to activate their multitude of benefits.

SOURCE: Saporta Report