By Hannah E. Jones, Park Pride’s Marketing & Communications Manager
Community Powered Parks: That’s how Park Pride has worked for more than 35 years, and now it’s front and center.
Last week, we debuted our new website, logo and tagline — giving us a fresh look and a better online hub for everyone who loves Atlanta’s parks. Our new look, website, and tagline all say what we’ve always believed: great parks start with the people who love them.
But what do Community Powered Parks look like? Take Peoplestown’s Four Corners Park, for example.
Despite decades of underinvestment, this park has been an important gathering space for many years. In 2023, the Friends of Peoplestown Parks worked closely with Park Pride’s team of park designers to create a new plan for the park. Park Pride awarded a significant grant to the project in 2025 and, this summer, the Bezos Earth Fund awarded Park Pride $9.4M to lead the redesign and construction of Four Corners Park.
When the funding was announced, lifelong Peoplestown resident and local leader Columbus Ward said, “This grant makes all the difference for our park and our community. We have given our all to this park for decades, and seeing this project become real makes all the hard work well worth it.”
Park Pride didn’t decide what’s in the plan — neighbors did. Our role is to listen, invite the right partners to the table, and to help bring the community’s vision to life. Because, at the heart of it all, our big idea is that communities have the big ideas.
At Four Corners Park on Saturday, October 24, we hosted a community celebration to kick off this incredible project. The park was bustling with a food truck, face painting, balloon art, a display of the design, and more. Several hundred neighbors came out to spend the afternoon in the park and, in addition to the other festivities, enjoyed a brief program with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, District 4 Councilmember Jason Dozier, Parks & Recreation Commissioner Doug Voss, the Bezos Earth Fund, the Friends of Peoplestown Parks and Park Pride. We also had live performances from the Carver High School Marching Band and the Barack & Michelle Obama Academy Chorus and Dance Team.
“What a day for Peoplestown and for the Four Corners Park,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said. “Let’s talk about how we got here: Peoplestown residents and the Friends of the Park have been dedicated champions for this space for years, and I have nothing but respect and admiration for your advocacy, your passion, and your commitment. Thank you to Park Pride for listening to these residents, seeing their vision, and providing early support in planting and planning this process.”
Councilmember Jason Dozier added, “One thing I’ve learned about Peopletown over the years is this is a community that knows how to organize, that knows how to advocate, and knows how to fight for the things that matter to its residents. Four Corners Park is a perfect example of that spirit.”
That’s Community Powered Parks in action. This is how we’ll continue working with communities across Atlanta for years to come.
Save the date for our 2027 Parks & Greenspace Conference on Monday, March 22, 2027, at the Atlanta Botanical Garden! The theme is Community Powered Parks, an ode to the collaborations that turn greenspace into community space.
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