Open Space and Greenways

Current Conditions

The Atlanta parks system consists of approximately 3,200 acres, or approximately 3.75% of the City’s land area.  City parks vary in size from nature preserves to regional parks and from small recreation centers to large cultural complexes, such as the Atlanta Civic Center and the Chastain Park Amphitheater.  Atlanta is also home to two National Park Service properties: the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in downtown Atlanta, and the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area in North Atlanta and Cobb County.  Centennial Olympic Park, located in downtown Atlanta, is operated by the State of Georgia.

The City's parks inventory includes eight regional parks, 14 community parks, and 53 neighborhood parks (refer to Map 13.1 ‘Regional and Community Parks’ and Map 13.2 ‘Neighborhood Parks’).  It also includes 47 block parks.  In addition, there are six conservation parks and six other special facilities.

A report by the Trust for Public Land ranked Atlanta among cities of similar size and population density by the amount of parks and greenspace acreage available for its citizens.  (Source: Harnick, Peter.  Inside City Parks.  Washington DC:  Urban Land Institute, 2000).  With the recent availability of greenspace funding sources, as well as a growing support for parks and greenspace among the public and elected officials, the City intends to remedy this shortage in the coming years.


Map 13.1 Regional and Community Parks

Map 13.1 Regional and Community Parks (Popup full image) 


Map 13.2 Neighborhood Parks

Map 13.2 Neighborhood Parks (Popup full image) 

Anticipated Future Conditions

The City of Atlanta’s population increased by approximately 5 percent between 1990 and 2000. This will increase the City's present core parkland deficit in terms of acreage per capita unless new parkland is acquired.  Refer to Demographic Section of the CDP for further discussion of population growth.


Current Policies

  1. Meet or surpass 10 acres of parkland per 1,000 persons by the year 2005.
  2. Unify the City by linking neighborhoods through greenway development.
  3. Preserve, enhance, and expand the undeveloped flood plain along the Chattahoochee River as public open space.
  4. Provide public parks and plazas in commercial areas, to include spaces for socializing, special events, outdoor dining, sculpture, fountains, landmarks and gateways.
  5. Protect existing open space from overuse due to special events.
  6. Acquire community parks in areas that are underserved.
  7. Strengthen neighborhood unity and stability by creating neighborhood parks that increase opportunities for neighbors to interact.
  8. Protect existing open space by prohibiting any recreational or non-recreational facility.
  9. Ensure that each park's site characteristics meet the park planning guidelines outlined in the Parks, Open Space and Greenways Plan.
  10. Preserve and enhance the City's environmental resources through the implementation of the Parks, Open Space and Greenways Plan.
  11. Establish the acquisition and protection of passive open space for future generations as the first funding priority.


Current Projects

Georgia Greenspace Program

Georgia State Bill 399, passed in July 2000, establishes a framework within which developed and rapidly developing counties, and their municipalities, can preserve community greenspace.  It promotes the adoption, by such counties and cities, of policies and rules that will enable them to preserve at least 20 percent of their land areas as connected and open greenspace to be used for informal recreation and natural resource protection.  “Greenspace” means permanently protected land and water, including agriculture and forestry land, that is in its undeveloped, natural state or that has been developed only to the extent consistent with, or is restored to be consistent with, one or more of a list of goals for natural resource protection or informal recreation.

The bill creates a Georgia Greenspace Commission, which reviews and approves community greenspace programs submitted by eligible counties and municipalities.  Also, the bill creates a Georgia Greenspace Trust Fund, which includes appropriated state, federal, and donated funds.  The monies appropriated to the fund are reserved for grants to certain counties and cities to defray the costs of acquiring real property or conservation easements, which permanently protect greenspace.  The total grant amount available to the county is shared with cities proportionally to the population within each jurisdiction.

The City of Atlanta’s Community Greenspace Program was approved by the Georgia Greenspace Commission in March 2001 and again in April 2003.  The City will receive approximately $2.5 million from Fulton County and approximately $180,000 from DeKalb County in 2002.  The Georgia State Legislature cut funding for the program in 2003; however some portion of the funds may be reinstated in 2004.  The program’s goal is eventually to protect 20 percent- or 16,896 acres- of the City’s geographic area as open greenspace.  The goal is to protect permanently from development the following types of land: floodplains/wetlands, urban forests, greenways, nature preserves, existing passive parks, new parks, and vacant/undeveloped land.

In 2001 the City Council approved a 2-phase acquisition program for allocating Georgia Greenspace Program funds and Park Impact Fees to various project areas around the City.  The Department of Planning and Community Development and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs will complete much of the acquisition by June 2004.

Quality Of Life Bond Program

Public plazas and greenspace (including greenspace enhancements and livable communities improvements) is a category included in the 2000 Quality of Life Bond (approved by voters November 7, 2000).  Specific projects will provide for walkways, bike trails and park amenities to allow public access to more greenspace activity areas.  $15 million in funds may be used for land acquisition, construction, reconstruction, renovation, equipping, improvement and repair of public plazas and greenspace related public improvements.


Map 13.3 Greenway Corridor Plan

Map 13.3 Greenway Corridor Plan (Popup full image) 


Piedmont Park Master Plan

The development of a master plan for Piedmont Park represented the cooperative involvement of the Atlanta City Council; the City's Departments of Planning and Development and Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs; the Piedmont Park Conservancy; neighborhood and community interests; and other groups.  The initial planning effort began in mid-1993 and was completed with the adoption of the master plan in the latter part of 1995.  Because of the historical significance of the park along with its central role in providing both active and passive recreational services to City and Region residents, and the active partnership of the Piedmont Park Conservancy with the City in ensuring that the recommendations of the plan are carried out, serves as one of the principal marketing tools for obtaining private and public funding for improvements and as a guiding vision for the long-term preservation of the park.

Chattahoochee River Park

The Chattahoochee River Park is proposed to link the National Recreation Area at the northern City limits, and also with Sweetwater Creek State Park on Camp Creek Parkway, four miles south of the Fulton County Airport and the southern City limits.  The park is being created in conjunction with the Trust for Public Land.  The Whittier Mill Park was purchased and is being developed as part of this project.  Also as part of this project, trails have been constructed on the R.M. Clayton Water Reclamation Center property.  In addition, conservation easements allowing trail access have been acquired from several industrial landowners adjacent to the river.  Acquisition efforts for the remainder of the park are ongoing.

Grant Park Master Plan

The Grant Park Master Plan was approved by the Grant Park Neighborhood Association, NPU-W and City Council in April 1999.  Some of the recommendations of the Master Plan and infrastructure plan are being implemented through the 1994 general obligation bond funds. 

Greenway Corridors

Greenways are linear parks that serve as conservation corridors.  A system of greenways is proposed throughout the City to connect all major parks, stream corridors, and public spaces (Map 13-5).  Greenways will create a continuous chain of dedicated public open space and recreational opportunities.  Greenway Corridor projects are listed in both the Natural Resources and Transportation sections of the CDP.

Greenway Trails

Greenway trails are recreation and transportation facilities within greenways (see definition in “Greenway Corridors” above). They serve a recreation, transportation, education, environmental, and historic preservation function for a wide variety of users. Greenway trail projects are listed in the Transportation and Natural Resources sections of the CDP.

Southside Park Expansion

City softball fields and soccer fields are inadequate to meet the demands of City leagues.  In an effort to address the need for youth activities, particularly in summer months, expansion of Southside Park, the City’s only softball park, is planned as part of Year 2000 Quality of Life bond projects. 

Chastain Park Master Plan

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs is completing the updates to the 1984 master plan for Chastain Park in 2003.

Olmsted Linear Park Master Plan

Completed about 1996, the Olmsted Linear Park Master Plan is a fine example of effective public/private partnerships. The plan is being implemented in all sections of the park.  The implementation is a project of a Parks Department partner, the Olmsted Linear Park Alliance, which has raised significant funds for improving the historic park.

The Cultural Ring 

A proposed cultural ring around Downtown and Midtown will consist of a circular greenway park with a pedestrian/bicycle trail that will coincide with more than 20 cultural facilities and historic districts and sites.  Regional and national arts events will be held annually in and around the cultural ring, which will contain numerous historic sites and structures for staging art shows, craft shows, sculpture displays, theater, dance, concerts, lectures, conferences and other special events.  This greenway will generally follow the route of abandoned rail lines around Downtown and Midtown.  The northeast quadrant will be a rail/trail that will share use with the Amtrak trains, on their way to the future Downtown multi-modal facility.