Twenty-four communities across the City of Atlanta and unincorporated DeKalb County will share $2.3 million for improvements to neighborhood parks thanks to grant awards from Park Pride.
This is Park Pride’s largest grant cycle in history, exceeding the prior year’s awards by nearly $1 million. The City of Atlanta is the program’s most recent funder, with the Atlanta City Council approving $700,000 for park improvement projects in low-income communities.
“Every neighborhood in our city deserves access to quality greenspace, regardless of income or zip code. With this historic slate of grant awards from Park Pride, we will make progress on that goal,” Mayor Andre Dickens said. “I believe our parks have the ability to establish community connection and the power to shape and define the character of our neighborhoods. I am honored to continue building our strong partnership with Park Pride.”
Parks receiving grants include: Adair Park, Atlanta Memorial Park, Beaverbrook Park, Candler Park, Center Hill Park, Central Park, Chastain Memorial Park, Cleopas Johnson Park, DeKalb Memorial Park, Grant Park, Herbert Taylor and Daniel Johnson Parks, Historic Fourth Ward Park, Oakland Cemetery, Lang-Carson Park, Lenox-Wildwood Park, Lindsay Street Park, Lillian Cooper Shepherd Park, Melvin Drive Park, Peace Park, Sara J. Gonzalez Park, Lucius D. Simon Memorial Park, Springdale Park, West End Park, and Zonolite Park.
Dickens also announced on Wednesday the creation of a new advisory council he’s dubbed the “green cabinet.” The council has representatives from 13 local environmental groups who will advise the mayor on the city’s long-range parks and recreation plan adopted last year.
The cabinet will also advise the city on a parks and recreation infrastructure bond that will be put to voters in May and on how to use the South River Forest greenspace adjacent to the controversial Public Safety Training Center approved by the city last year.
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