“More than 30 years after Atlanta’s Freedom Park emerged from successful grassroots efforts to block a highway expansion, the need for a new vision for the park’s future has arisen. Seeking to unify constituent desires around economic viability alongside ecological value, some 70 potential initiatives were identified and prioritized according to ease of implementation, duration, and cost. Told in a compelling narrative, the People’s Plan exemplifies the imperative goals we need to achieve if we are truly to move forward as socially equitable communities.”
– 2021 ASLA National Awards Jury
In the late 20th century, Atlanta faced a critical juncture as a proposed highway threatened to tear through seven urban communities. From this crisis emerged a powerful grassroots movement whose victory not only halted the highway but birthed Freedom Park, a 130-acre green space stretching over 2.5 miles.
For years, Freedom Park existed as a patchwork of disconnected green spaces, its full potential unrealized. The Freedom Park Conservancy initiated a master planning process to transform this infrastructural “scar tissue” into “connective tissue” linking the community. The challenge: honor the park’s legacy of civic action while meeting the evolving needs of a diverse, multigenerational constituency.
Through virtual platforms, interactive tools, and targeted outreach, a true “People’s Plan” was created, identifying over 70 potential projects rooted in three guiding principles: Assembly, Education, and Connection. The final framework acknowledges Freedom Park’s position as a nexus of civil rights history, connecting Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthplace with the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library via the John Lewis Freedom Parkway.
By interweaving local, national, and international significance, the park tells a uniquely American story of resilience and progress. Freedom Park stands as a living testament to hard-won victories and the ongoing pursuit of equality and justice.
Winner, 2021 Honor Award – Analysis and Planning, ASLA National
Great Park
One of the world’s largest municipal parks, the 1,300-acre Great Park in Irvine, California, is currently under construction with phased openings continuing through 2029. The conceptual framework encompasses redesign and implementation of near- and longer-term uses, with the intent to “put the park back into the park.” The vast site, which was once the Marine ...
Guthrie Green Park
Guthrie Green transforms a 2.6-acre truck yard into a lively urban park in the heart of downtown Tulsa’s emerging arts district. Opened in September 2012, Guthrie Green has become the area’s leading destination, drawing 3,000 plus people weekly to activities that have enriched the urban experience and spurred district-wide revitalization. The high-performance ...
Fernwood Avenue Park
The Fernwood Avenue Park represents a significant opportunity for the city to enhance the water quality and availability of groundwater for residents, while also offering public amenities. Equipped with four detention basins that capture water onsite and from the street, the project plays an important role in the community as a stormwater infiltration site. Th...
Bend of the River Botanic Garden
The Bend of the River Botanic Garden Master Plan reimagines an 88-acre site in Temple, Texas, into a regional attraction. Situated at the intersection of I-35 and the Leon River, the site comprises two donated parcels, consolidated to serve Temple’s growing population of over 96,000.
SWA led a comprehensive public engagement process, facilitating conver...