Known as the “crossroads of the South,” metropolitan Atlanta has reached a critical turning point. Growing faster and sprawling farther than any human settlement in recent United States history, Atlanta has been losing an average of 500 acres of forests, farmland and green space to development each week. Today, Atlanta has fewer acres of preserved open space per resident than any other metropolitan area of similar size and density.

Our Efforts

We’re acting to preserve the best of the area’s parks, greenways and wild lands, or its green infrastructure, as a planned network of natural areas. The first, and perhaps most critical acquisition, was a major addition to Arabia Mountain Park that formed the foundation for a larger network of green space.

We worked with community leaders and partners from state and local government as well as private non-profits to protect a total of 2,173 acres, which nearly doubled the size of the county park and created part of a corridor linking the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve to nearby Panola Mountain State Park. Combined, the two parks constitute one of the largest natural area in metro-Atlanta. The preserved lands provide opportunities for trail systems, heritage preservation and education, recreation, and ecosystem and wildlife protection.

What Is Green Infrastructure?

Do you know what green infrastructure is, really? Watch our video to find out what people think of green infrastructure and learn from the Fund's Will Allen exactly what we mean when we use the term.



Video by The Conservation Fund.

Learn More

"The Lost World of Arabia Mountain," Creative Loafing 
Lithonia
Our Green Infrastructure Projects
Lindsay Street Park, Atlanta