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
Seattle Legalizes Co-Living
A new state law requires all Washington cities to allow co-living facilities in areas zoned for multifamily housing.
NYC Officials Announce Broadway Pedestrianization Project
Two blocks of the marquee street will become mostly car-free public spaces.
The City of Broken Sidewalks
Can Los Angeles fix 4,000 miles of broken sidewalks before the city hosts the 2028 Olympic Games?
Study: Automobile Dependency Reduces Life Satisfaction
Automobile dependency has negative implications for wellbeing. This academic study finds that relying on a car for more than 50 percent of out-of-home travel is associated with significant reductions in life satisfaction.
San Diego School District Could Accelerate Workforce Housing Program
A proposal to build housing on five district-owned properties could yield 1,000 housing units for low- and moderate-income district employees.
Denver Transit Board Approves $1.2 Billion Budget
The 2025 budget for the Regional Transportation District is the largest in the agency’s 55-year history.
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.
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
Village of Glen Ellyn
City of Laramie
American Planning Association, Sustainable Communities Division
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Cambridge, Maryland
Newport County Development Council: Connect Greater Newport
Rockdale County Board of Commissioners