SWA Group was selected by the Freedom Park Conservancy to create a new master plan and reimagine the park with its legacy in mind.

The Freedom Park Conservancy has chosen SWA Group, a leading landscape architecture and urban design firm, to re-envision Atlanta's 200-acre Freedom Park with a new master plan. An important aspect of the project will be addressing the remnants of a deserted east-side freeway project that destroyed hundreds of homes in the 1970s, displacing residents. Matt Hickman describes the legacy of the park and the significance of the project:
While the Georgia Department of Transportation’s freeway project never came to fruition, a victory for the local activists and community leaders who rallied against it, it did leave behind large swaths of overgrown, blighted land—a variable kudzu jungle—that long sat empty and unused. That is until the creation of what is today a well-maintained and topographically varied park popular with joggers, walkers, cyclists, and out-of-town sightseers looking to take in the city from a decidedly less tourist-clogged vantage point.
SWA Group will work to transform the park to better connect downtown Atlanta with adjacent neighborhoods and integrate the park's unique artistic and historical character.
FULL STORY: SWA Group tapped for Freedom Park master plan in Atlanta

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Florida Seniors Face Rising Homelessness Risk
High housing costs are pushing more seniors, many of them on a fixed income, into homelessness.

Massachusetts Budget Helps Close MBTA Budget Gap
The budget signed by Gov. Maura Healey includes $470 million in MBTA funding for the next fiscal year.

Milwaukee Launches Vision Zero Plan
Seven years after the city signed its Complete Streets Policy, the city is doubling down on its efforts to eliminate traffic deaths.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont