July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 26

CONSERVATION
The Chattahoochee River was
historically a corridor of trade between
the Cherokee and Muscogee people
that was given over to industry.
Restoring the Riverfront in Atlanta
By Andrew White, PLA
A
n unseasonably cool and drizzly day greets me when I arrive at
the Chattahoochee River on a May morning. A chorus of local
birdsong harmonizes with the ever-present hum of industry
as I greet a group of dedicated residents working to conserve
Atlanta's riverfront. Through my role as a landscape architect at Park Pride,
I've had the opportunity to get to know this community of stewards who
have built grassroots political support for conserving Atlanta's riverfront in
partnership with nonprofits and City of Atlanta. Thanks to decades of city
planning and community activism, this movement is gaining momentum
at the grassroots, municipal and regional levels.
Atlanta's relationship with the
Chattahoochee has always been
complicated. Historically a corridor
of trade between the CherThe
Chattahoochee also is a
vital natural resource, beautiful
to behold, and necessary to
support Atlanta's growing
population and native wildlife.
okee and Muscogee people, the
river was given over to industry
after European colonization for
manufacturing, power production
and disposal of waste. Some
of
these
industries,
notoriously
Chattahoochee Brick, used an
abusive system of convict leasing,
exposing unpaid laborers of color
to agonizing working conditions.
These extractive uses left scars on
the regional ecology and culture.
26 Parks & Recreation | JULY 2 0 22 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
The Chattahoochee also is a vital
natural resource, beautiful to behold,
and necessary to support Atlanta's
growing population and native wildlife.
Amid these overlapping layers of
natural, cultural and historical meaning,
a movement co-led by community
and the city is restoring the river
as an iconic and accessible public
corridor, offering places of memory,
restoration and recreation.
Keith Sharp, one of the grassroots
leaders of Atlanta's riverfront
movement, has been stewarding
a vision for a five-mile system of
trails and parks along the river
since he first learned of it in 1994.
Called Riverwalk Atlanta, the project
will reconnect Atlanta to its
waterfront by providing access to
the river's edge, while also restoring
local ecology through a steady
cadence of volunteerism and some

July 2022 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2022 - Parks & Recreation

July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Intro
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover1
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover2
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 1
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 2
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 3
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 4
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 5
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 6
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 7
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 8
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 9
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 10
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 11
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 12
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 13
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 14
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 15
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 16
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 17
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 18
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 19
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 20
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 21
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 22
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 23
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 24
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 25
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 26
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 27
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 28
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 29
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 30
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 31
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 32
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 33
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 34
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 35
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 36
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 37
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 38
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 39
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 40
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 41
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 42
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 43
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 44
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 45
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 46
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 47
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 48
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 49
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 50
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 51
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 52
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 53
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 54
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 55
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 56
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover3
July 2022 - Parks & Recreation - Cover4
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2024
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2023
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2022
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2021
https://ezine.nrpa.org/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2021
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