Chattanooga TN is now its greenest city after the National Park City Foundation designated the town North America’s first National Park City.
This recognition means that a city embraces all aspects of outdoor life, from preserving forests and lakes to being stewards of native plant species and honoring cultural diversity through art, history and play. Chattanooga has illustrated these aspects, from its support of Lookout Mountain Conservancy and heralding the Highland Park futsal fields to educating and providing access to native plants for its residents.
“We’ve used the National Park City movement to encourage folks to think about Chattanooga as a city in a park rather than a city with some parks,” said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. “The outdoors is our competitive advantage; it’s at the heart of our revitalization story as well as the core of our identity. We’ve always known how special Chattanooga’s connection to the outdoors is, and now it’ll be recognized around the world.”
The pathway to this journey began nearly two years ago with the passionate voices of residents, community leaders, business owners and nonprofit partners coming together in support. Through a series of public meetings, Chattanooga gathered more than 5,600 signatures advocating for a National Park City charter.
Last November, the city submitted its “Journey Book” to the National Park City Foundation to provide a visual snapshot of the collective work that is continuously at play in making Chattanooga one of the most livable cities in the nation. Last month, the review team made the pilgrimage to Chattanooga to experience firsthand the parks, wildlife sanctuaries and urban landscapes with time spent meeting the many people propelling this movement forward.
In April, city officials received the good news that their hard work and diligence had paid off. To mark this milestone achievement, Chattanooga will host a public celebration on Saturday, April 19–coinciding with Earth Week–at Ross’s Landing along the banks of the Tennessee River. The event will feature local artists and a presentation by Dr. Daniel Raven Ellison, a National Geographic Explorer and creator of the National Park City movement coupled with more than 50 citywide activities and events.
For more information, visit ChattanoogaNationalParkCity.org.