The City of Chattanooga is opening its parks and outdoors plan for residents to provide input that will give Chattanoogans a voice in the future of the city’s parks system. The six-month public engagement process includes community workshops and an online survey.
The final plan will provide a road map to reinvent Chattanooga as a city in a park, with a system of parks and protected open spaces that provides all residents the opportunity to easily connect with each other while enjoying nature and its benefits.
To develop a master plan, the city will first assess the current state of the city’s parks and green spaces, as well as engage with the community to track the park features Chattanoogans desire, and remove the barriers that keep residents from taking advantage of the city’s parks. The public engagement process for developing the POP began in May 2022 and will continue through December 2022.
“While our unrivaled outdoor spaces are the envy of the country, we know that our current park system falls short of providing equitable access and meaningful outdoor connectivity for all Chattanoogans,” said Mayor Tim Kelly. “Residents who add their voice to the city’s new parks and outdoors plan can play a role in the path forward where all neighborhoods have well-loved and well-used green spaces that showcase the beauty of our ‘Scenic City.’”
To take part in the POP development process, residents can:
- Visit www.chattanoogaparksandoutdoorsplan.com to learn more and to follow the plan’s progress.
- View the project StoryMap to learn more about the current state of Chattanooga’s parks and outdoors and the gaps and opportunities.
- Take the online survey to share your thoughts, hopes, and ideas.
- Join us for our first community workshop on Wednesday, June 8, from 5:00 - 7:30 p.m. at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center, to learn more and share your thoughts in person.
- Sign up for your own ‘Meeting in a Box,’ with all the tools you’ll need to facilitate a discussion with your friends, family, neighbors, or coworkers about Chattanooga’s parks and outdoors and how the POP can make a difference.
Chattanooga’s Parks and Outdoor Plan Driving Principles
The POP has four driving principles that are informed by local needs and by the success stories of the world’s best city park systems:
- Equity—a commitment to the premise that everyone deserves access to a great public park. We follow this with a park and outdoors system that is tailored to meet the unique needs of Chattanooga’s communities.
- Access—ensuring all Chattanoogans can easily reach the City’s parks and outdoors, removing the barriers that keep residents from being able to enjoy our parks, and keeping the parks consistently safe, clean, fun, and welcoming to all.
- Quality—setting a standard for design, construction, and maintenance that ensures these parks contribute to making the city more beautiful, high-functioning, ecologically healthy, and a great place to live (for people and wildlife alike).
- Place—recognizing the park’s role to authentically amplify the unique character and identity of its place and neighborhood. Parks are at the center of the great places communities value the most. Thus, it is with intentionality that Chattanooga will harness the power of parks to build on the unique characteristics that make our city so special.