As the region continues to grow and urbanize, Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors is working to help the city become America’s first National Park City, a designation given by an international nonprofit organization to municipalities committed to improving urban life for their residents and the natural world.
At an event hosted by Chattanooga nonprofit Green Space on Tuesday, Brian Smith, director of marketing and communications for the Parks and Outdoors Department, said the city, which is set to become a national park city in 2023, is working to officially receive the designation in November.
“What if people no longer had to go out into nature, but could instead live in nature,” Smith says. “What if cities didn’t just have parks, but cities and parks became one?”
(Read more: Chattanooga and Hamilton County Schools partner to turn schoolyards into public parks)
The designation comes from the National Park Cities Foundation, a UK-based non-profit organization founded in 2018. In 2019, London became the first city to be designated a National Park City by the organization.
Smith said other U.S. cities, including Sacramento, California, and Louisville, Kentucky, are also pursuing the designation, but Chattanooga is the only city in the U.S., or even the entire Americas, that has been nominated as a national park city.
Part of the process to become a National Park City involves creating a charter that outlines the city’s commitment to improving urban green spaces.
At Tuesday’s event, Smith shared the city’s National Park City Charter, which includes increasing access to nature and promoting environmental stewardship.
“We realize that a lot of people have moved here to enjoy the outdoors,” Smith said, “so we have to rethink how we want to embrace natural beauty and parks.”
Chattanooga National Park City Charter Creed
— Unparalleled access to nature
— Outdoor Activities Culture
— Environmental Stewardship and Education
— Inclusive and sustainable development
— Community and cultural enrichment
— Food and Agriculture
— Arts and Creativity
sauce: City of Chattanooga
Over the past year, the city has been working to improve Chattanooga’s public parks.
In June 2023, the City Council unanimously approved a long-term vision for Chattanooga’s parks system.
A few months later, the city created a new 15-member Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors Commission as an advisory body to make recommendations on policy, rules, maintenance, operations and fees.
In its recently approved budget for next fiscal year, the city earmarked about $18.8 million to help improve parks across the city.
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Next steps
Now that Chattanooga has created a charter to become a national park city, the next step is to get 5,000 residents to sign the charter, Smith said.
As of Tuesday, 2,300 people had signed the petition.
The Parks and Outdoors Department is required to host 100 park-related events, and has hosted over 60 so far.
The department also encourages neighbors to share their stories and ideas about how to improve Chattanooga’s green spaces and outdoor activities.
(Read more: Windows kill birds in Chattanooga)
“How can we come together and share that story so the rest of the world and the rest of the country knows what we’re doing in the city of Chattanooga?” Smith said.
Smith said representatives from the National Park Cities Foundation will visit the city in November to determine whether Chattanooga will officially become a national park city.
If the group decides against it, Chattanooga could continue to push for the designation, Smith said.
Contact Ben Sessoms at bsessoms@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.
