September 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 65

ONS

how atlanta's park system
is transforming a city
By amy kapp

I 

n the miD-2000s, the people of Atlanta-

Photos ©2011, kevin c. rose/atlantaPhotos.com

including city leaders, local citizens, and
public planners-embarked on a series
of efforts on an epic scale to redevelop the
city's and region's public green space.
At the core of the city's efforts is a $2.8 billion economic development project along a largely abandoned, 22-mile railroad corridor that will result in a
33-mile system of trails and a 40 percent increase in
green space. Also in the fold, the revitalization of several existing parks, including a 53-acre expansion
project for one of the city's iconic and most-visited
gathering places, Piedmont Park.
The vision-to create a sustainable, connected
framework of unique neighborhoods, where parks,
trails, public transportation, and housing work in harmony to accommodate and enhance economic, social, and environmental development.
To understand what led up to this vision, one must
go back in time and consider the changes that have
affected Georgia's capital, cultural hub, and most
populous city over the past two decades.
Atlanta is located at the foothills of the southern
Appalachian mountain range. While the city itself occupies 131 square miles, there are no natural boundaries to inhibit growth in the larger metropolitan
area-which encompasses more than 8,480 square
miles.
Ignited in part by the stir of development from the
1996 Centennial Olympics, the population continues
to increase-from 3.5 million people in 1996 to nearly 5.5 million in the metro area today. And according
to the Atlanta Convention and Visitor's Bureau, the
metro area has added more than 458,568 people annually over the past six years alone, with a projected

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September 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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