C O N S E R VAT I O N
The Chattahoochee River was historically a corridor of trade between the Cherokee and Muscogee people that was given over to industry.
Restoring the Riverfront in Atlanta By Andrew White, PLA
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n unseasonably cool and drizzly day greets me when I arrive at the Chattahoochee River on a May morning. A chorus of local birdsong harmonizes with the ever-present hum of industry as I greet a group of dedicated residents working to conserve Atlanta’s riverfront. Through my role as a landscape architect at Park Pride, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know this community of stewards who have built grassroots political support for conserving Atlanta’s riverfront in partnership with nonprofits and City of Atlanta. Thanks to decades of city planning and community activism, this movement is gaining momentum at the grassroots, municipal and regional levels. Atlanta’s relationship with the Chattahoochee has always been complicated. Historically a corridor of trade between the Cher-
The Chattahoochee also is a vital natural resource, beautiful to behold, and necessary to support Atlanta’s growing population and native wildlife. 26
Parks & Recreation
okee and Muscogee people, the river was given over to industry after European colonization for manufacturing, power production and disposal of waste. Some of these industries, notoriously Chattahoochee Brick, used an abusive system of convict leasing, exposing unpaid laborers of color to agonizing working conditions. These extractive uses left scars on the regional ecology and culture.
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The Chattahoochee also is a vital natural resource, beautiful to behold, and necessary to support Atlanta’s growing population and native wildlife. Amid these overlapping layers of natural, cultural and historical meaning, a movement co-led by community and the city is restoring the river as an iconic and accessible public corridor, offering places of memory, restoration and recreation. Keith Sharp, one of the grassroots leaders of Atlanta’s riverfront movement, has been stewarding a vision for a five-mile system of trails and parks along the river since he first learned of it in 1994. Called Riverwalk Atlanta, the project will reconnect Atlanta to its waterfront by providing access to the river’s edge, while also restoring local ecology through a steady cadence of volunteerism and some
