Inspiring Spaces is helping develop a system of great parks in Atlanta and spurring greater public-private investment in the city’s environmental well-being.

Our long-term goals:

• More parks acreage
• Greater public awareness of and support for parks
• Improved parks governance

IF... the Foundation can help create this system of parks, THEN we can contribute to a higher quality of life for Atlantans, particularly in urban neighborhoods. Great parks can improve residents’ health through increased physical activity, provide places where children and families can safely play and connect with one another, and reduce social isolation.

In particular, our investments have helped:

• Support the Atlanta BeltLine , a proposed corridor of transit, parks and trails that would connect 46 diverse neighborhoods and increase Atlanta’s greenspace acreage by roughly 50 percent. The BeltLine concept, conceived by Georgia Tech graduate student Ryan Gravel in 1999, would redefine Atlanta's landscape by turning more than 20 miles of old, mostly unused railroad tracks and other land into a linear recreation and transit loop connecting neighborhoods as well as city schools, historic and cultural sites, shopping districts and public parks. The BeltLine has emerged as the primary vehicle for accomplishing our Inspiring Spaces goals.
• Pursue research that led to the development of the BeltLine concept. Using funds from the Blank Family Foundation and others, the Trust for Public Land commissioned Yale University Professor Alexander Garvin and his team to explore open space opportunities along the BeltLine. The resulting plan, The BeltLine Emerald Necklace: Atlanta's New Public Realm, brought a "green" vision to the project, calling for a new park system that would add more than 1,400 acres of greenspace to the city, including four new parks, and five park-centered mixed-use developments.
• Support greenspace acquisition along the proposed BeltLine corridor through a $2.5 million challenge grant to the Trust for Public Land.
• Encourage government and public support by funding The BeltLine Partnership, an organization formed by Mayor Shirley Franklin to spearhead passage of a Tax Allocation District and to reach out to affected communities.
  • In late 2005 the Tax Allocation District was approved, clearing the way for more than $1.5 billion in funding for the project. The cornerstone to the TAD’s passage was The Atlanta Development Authority’s Redevelopment Plan and Land Use Study, which the Foundation also helped fund.
  • Public support for the BeltLine, meanwhile, remains strong as evidenced by research we helped fund through Park Pride, our parks advocacy partner.
• Introduce national funders to the BeltLine. Through our membership in Living Cities, an influential national coalition of 17 investment partners that focuses on urban neighborhoods, we hope to steer additional funding toward the BeltLine. Founded in 1991, Living Cities brings together national foundations, financial institutions and a federal agency in 23 cities to revitalize urban city neighborhoods.

Also in 2005, our trustees approved new investments aimed at building greater support for parks in Atlanta, including:

• A $350,000 multi-year grant to Park Pride to support their community engagement and outreach efforts – particularly the work they do to encourage citizens to become more involved with their parks and their advocacy for a better park system for Atlanta.
• A $160,000 grant to Emory University to conduct research gauging residents’ attitudes toward and usage of parks. This research is vital to understanding the condition of Atlanta’s parks and will be key to the city’s effort to expand Greenprints, a comprehensive database that tracks city park conditions and needs.
• A $150,000 grant to the Piedmont Park Conservancy for park improvement. Our grant dollars supported the renewal and preservation of Atlanta’s crown jewel park, and set the stage for the next phase of improvement and expansion to commence.

Key Facts

• Atlanta has the least amount of park acreage of any city its size in the country.
  • National average is 19.6 acres of parks per 1,000 residents
  • Atlanta’s average is 7.5 acres of parks per 1,000 residents
• Atlanta has one-third the number of parks employees per acre of parks than other leading cities.
• Atlanta’s acreage as a percentage of the city’s land puts it at the bottom of the list.
• Atlanta’s tree cover is 27% of the land, well below the 40% recommended level for a healthy city

We Should Create More Parks in Atlanta*

Parks Are an Important Part of the Quality of Life in Atlanta*

* Based on a Park Pride survey of 1,400 Atlanta residents who were asked about their perceptions of parks.

Contact:
Elise Eplan, vice president, eeplan@ambfo.com
Margaret Connelly, senior program officer, mconnelly@ambfo.com
Darren Long, program associate, dlong@ambfo.com