In Metro Atlanta, for every one acre of tree canopy lost, one acre of impervious surface was gained in the 16-county Atlanta metro region between 1991 and 2005. This statistic is up from a 2001 study that illustrated for every two acres of tree canopy lost, only one acre of urban development replaced the forested land. ARC, Georgia Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land are working to develop a regional strategy to protect greenspace and provide support and assistance to those working on greenspace acquisition and protection in the 20-county Atlanta area.
Greenspace Tools
The Green Infrastructure Toolkit (PDF) helps provide a better understanding of greenspace and its benefits, outlines a common language to discuss acquisition and preservation, suggests steps to create a local greenspace strategy, presents tools available to acquire and preserve greenspace, offers references and resources and emphasizes the need to work regionally to encourage successful, long-term protection of metro Atlanta’s remaining natural systems.
Video: "Greenspace"
Interview with Dan Reuter
View now: Windows Media Player
The Protected Lands Inventory and Database catalogues existing parks and greenspace in the 20-county Atlanta area through the coordination with local governments and other entities that own or manage greenspace in the region. The inventory and database can be viewed through a greenspace mapping Web site that allows users to search for parks, greenspace and publicly accessible properties in any part of the 20-county area.
The Green Infrastructure Priorities Map identifies areas in the region that could have conservation value with a regional network of protected greenspace. The map is a graphic illustration of potential priority areas that will be refined through feedback from stakeholders in the region.
Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Workshop ARC and the Georgia Chapter of the American Planning Association (GPA) cosponsored with the Chattahoochee Hill Country Conservancy a one-day Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) implementation class on Friday, November 9th, 2007 in Palmetto, Georgia. Changes to Georgia’s TDR law were approved by the Georgia legislature several years ago and have made it easier for a communities and non-profit organizations to use TDR. The TDR training class focused on the nuts and bolts of operating a TDR program. Presentations from the TDR workshop are available below.
TDR is a tool that allows a community to designate development “receiving areas” to legally transfer property development rights from “sending areas” and thereby protect greater open space. The only current Georgia TDR example and the location of the training event is the Chattahoochee Hill Country in Fulton County. The Chattahoochee Hill Country Conservancy is a non-profit organization seeking to implement a land use plan to protect the ecological health and quality of life in a 65,000-acre area of south Fulton County, northwestern Coweta County, eastern Carroll County and eastern Douglas County. To learn more about the Conservancy and Transfer Development Rights, please visit their website at http://www.chatthillcountry.org/.
Fowler Presentation- CHC/TDR Workshop, Nov 2007 (PDF)
Pruetz Presentation- CHC/TDR Workshop, Nov 2007 (PDF)
Roskie Presentation- CHC/TDR Workshop, Nov 2007 (PDF)
The Greenspace Challenge (PDF)
November 2006 Update on Greenspace Planning (PowerPoint)