Advocacy Platform
& Initiatives

Conserve Atlanta’s greenspaces, the native habitats within them, and the ecological networks they comprise.

Grow the City’s capacity to maintain its existing inventory of public parks, greenspaces and trails (including the Atlanta BeltLine).

Sustainably and equitably improve and expand Atlanta’s network of public parks, greenspaces and trails.

Park Pride is committed to ensuring that greenspace issues are prominent topics in the upcoming elections for Atlanta’s next mayor and City Council president. On July 13th, Park Pride (along with several nonprofit partners) hosted the Mayoral Forum on Greenspace. Nearly 400 greenspace enthusiasts attended to hear the candidates discuss their views on parks, trees, trails and watersheds, and what the future of Atlanta’s environment might look like under each potential administration. See the links below for full coverage of this effort:

• Video of Mayoral Forum on Greenspace
• Saporta Report: Mayoral candidates talk equity, vie for green vote, at Downtown forum 
• Mayoral written responses to greenspace policy questionnaire

Park Pride advocates for increased funding for park operations and maintenance in the City of Atlanta. Each budget cycle, we call on our most passionate park advocates to join us at City of Atlanta Council meetings to show support for an increased budget.

Park Pride supports the development of a greenspace plan for parks that prioritizes connectivity. Current planning efforts we currently engage in include the Citywide Design Project and the Westside Future Fund’s Plan Westside initiative.

What do investments in transportation have to do with parks? A lot, when you think about parks as places of intersection where our communities come together. Park Pride encouraged the people of the City of Atlanta to vote YES for the November 2016 TSPLOST / MARTA referenda. This measure passed. 

Park Pride encourages residents to become a voice for their own parks by joining or starting a Friends of the Park group. Friends groups and members are also invited to monthly Park Meetings where  community leaders and park advocates from throughout Atlanta for education, networking and strategy.

With the goal of conserving Georgia’s precious natural resources – its people, jobs, land and water – through a sustainable source of funding for land and water conservation, The Georgia Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Land, Georgia Wildlife Federation, The Conservation Fund and Park Pride joined forces in 2010 as a coalition advocating for dedicated conservation funding.

Our state currently lacks a dedicated funding mechanism for the conservation for priority lands, the stewardship of state parks and wildlife management areas, and the support of local parks and preserves – the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Act (GOSA) seeks to change that. Read more.