By John Ruch
A newly released South River Forest green space vision report includes such big ideas as green jobs programs, affordable housing pilots, and a new, 445-acre park centered on the former Atlanta Prison Farm and its controversial public safety training center.
The “Explore South River Forest” vision is intended to spark joint efforts between the City of Atlanta and DeKalb County to create and connect roughly 3,500 acres of green space. At the behest of the Georgia chapter of The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Atlanta Regional Commission led a stakeholder input process last year to produce the report, released on Feb. 24. The vision is just a set of recommendations that the City, County and other powerful interests can consider and act upon, or not.
“The ARC report highlights a huge opportunity to enhance air and water quality and benefit communities by protecting, connecting and activating an extensive network of forest and parkland inside I-285,” said the TNC in a written statement. “Achieving this vision will require a team effort that involves collaboration among the City, the County, a dozen disparate communities, and nonprofit organizations.”
The South River Forest concept is built on the longtime work of many local organizations and was formalized in “The Atlanta City Design,” an official City planning and development vision co-authored in 2017 by former City Planning Commissioner Tim Keane and Ryan Gravel, the urban designer who created the Atlanta BeltLine vision.
“The ARC’s report reflects an evolution of ideas that began with the Atlanta City Design, and outlines some of the opportunities and challenges for that big vision,” said Gravel in a text message. “But remember, like the City Design, the South River Forest is just an idea for our future. The work required to accomplish it will be difficult at times, and it is urgent because Atlanta is changing so fast. This report is among the first of many…
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