By Hannah E. Jones, Park Pride’s Marketing & Communications Manager
Atlanta is parched.
At the time of writing this column, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the entire state of Georgia is under severe, extreme, or exceptional drought. While our dry spell has finally come to an end with recent rain, predictions show that the drought is expected to persist in Atlanta and most of Georgia at least through the end of July.
And extreme weather conditions, like what we’re currently facing, aren’t going away. As park people, we at Park Pride consider parks and greenspaces essential areas of resilience which can help address chronic stresses from extreme weather.
As SCAPE Studio’s Gena Wirth put it during an interview in January, “[Implementing] climate adaptation strategies is something we have to do in today’s contemporary landscape design environment. It’s not really an option.” (Click here to read her conversation with Park Pride’s Director of Park Visioning Teri Nye.)
Atlanta is considered water-rich, meaning we typically receive substantial precipitation, but in many parts of the state, the soil has poor water-holding capacity, and droughts can develop quickly.
But there’s a solution that can address both flooding and drought: Increased pervious surfaces (grass, mulch or gravel), as opposed to impervious surfaces (asphalt or concrete). This helps reduce heat and replenishes the local water table by keeping water onsite rather than immediately diverting it to a drain or the street. Trees and vines also help capture stormwater.
“What’s really exacerbating and creating more problems is development that’s not thoughtful and smart,” said Ashby Nix Worley, The Nature Conservancy’s Coastal Climate Adaptation Director. “It’s really important that we promote smart development in the right places, while also preserving natural infrastructure that’s playing a critical role. Decreasing heat in cities with forests, and absorbing water with flood plains and wetlands — these are free services that communities would have to pay for otherwise.”
Trees Atlanta Executive Director Greg Levine identifies downtown Atlanta and the neighborhoods immediately south and west as the areas of highest need for more green due to fewer trees and more impervious surfaces. This means that these neighborhoods are hotter and at a higher risk of flooding. This is both a quality-of-life issue and a serious health concern, as extreme heat is the leading cause of death for weather-related fatalities — typically more than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined.
To address this, Trees Atlanta is focused on planting trees in these areas of the city and pursuing concrete removal. When planting trees, choosing the right location is important — thinking about how they relate to the park’s features (like benches, playgrounds, and walkways) and how they can best shade these features during the hottest parts of the day.
“Parks and greenspaces are places for people to find relief, especially when we have a loss of power or blackouts,” Greg said. “A park is a cooling center that never loses energy, whereas everything else can.”
Teri emphasized that access to public water is also paramount in beating the heat, and shared that there’s an increased appetite among community groups to install water features in their parks, like splash pads and water jets. She also recommends that parks & recreation departments reevaluate the traditional season for pools and water features, as our hot periods now extend well into spring and fall, and provide much-needed relief from the new normal record-breaking temperatures.
Ultimately, for our parks, natural areas and tree canopies to provide their full benefits, there needs to be buy-in from elected officials, decision-makers, developers, residents, and more. Now is the time to truly solidify our legacy as the City in the Forest.
“Greenspace and trees are not just for beautification — They are critical in the lives of Atlantans. Especially as cities continue to get hotter, they’re that much more critical,” Greg said. “We want to be ahead of it and realize these things are coming, and for us to be prepared.”
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