Our first batch of seeds has been planted!
Projects actively underway.
The idea is to invite members of federally recognized Native American tribes with ancestral ties to Chattanooga for a multi-day event of heritage tours, outdoor recreation, an artist's market, music, and stickball.
Imagine a picnic or breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack... where every bite heals, nourishes, and reconnects you to the land — no big-box junk, no mystery ingredients, just local, clean food grown and prepared by people who care. That’s the promise of Community Helps Itself (CHI) Markets in Chattanooga, the nation’s first National Park City: fresh, vibrant, life-giving food delivered to your door or ready for pick-up across the Valley. Picture this: a 50-mile Food Box overflowing with fragrant fruits, crisp vegetables, pasture-raised meats, fresh dairy, fermented kombuchas, raw honey, and small-batch delights — everything chosen to support your body’s regeneration, energy, and joy. From the top of Lookout Mountain to the valley trails and riverbanks where you kayak, climb, or simply breathe deeply, our food fuels real living. Local and clean: Foods sourced directly from neighbors and trusted small farms. Healing and alive: Nutrient-rich picks that support cellular renewal and vibrant health. Community-first: 14 years of partnership with local growers, nonprofits, and neighbors to offer an alternative to unhealthy, mass-market foods. Perfect for every moment: Romantic picnics, family dinners, active days on the trails, or a restorative visit to Chattanooga. How it works Choose your Food Box or Pic Nic Box for two, family, or group needs. Order Tuesday–Monday; place your order by Monday at midnight. Local deliveries arrive Wednesday (Local Delivery Day). Pickup available Thursday–Friday at community locations across Chattanooga. Start living — and tasting — the difference. Visit our Facebook page, Community Helps Itself CHI Markets, to see today’s boxes, farmer stories, and community partners. For details, box options, and to place your order, visit our website or message us on Facebook. Order your box, pack your blanket, and step into a healthier, more loving way to eat and live in Chattanooga. Reserve your box today and keep the vision of clean, local food alive.
The Litter Bit Louder Tour is all about cleaning our community one neighborhood (and song) at a time. This project invites everyone to tidy up the city and have fun while doing it! Connect with other residents and help keep trash off of our streets while a DJ plays your favorite tunes. It's a mobile, intentional party for the whole block. Speaking of blocks, why not celebrate a job well done with a block party? At the last stop of each tour, everyone is welcome to meet us at the final neighborhood park for clean views, local food trucks, and live entertainment where you're the star. That's right, we're putting the "Care" in Care-aoke!
Picture this: it's a warm, sunny day in Chattanooga, and you're out paddling the Tennessee River. There's a gentle breeze in the air, and the water is gently lapping against the sides of your boat. You pass by the downtown Riverfront and Coolidge Park and head towards Maclellan Island--a uniquely wild nature sanctuary in the middle of Chattanooga's downtown core. You decide this is the perfect place to rest and enjoy your packed lunch. You dock your kayak and walk ashore, and notice a beautiful, woodland path, lined with gorgeous native ferns, flowers, and trees. A wooden sign greets you: "This way to Paddlers' Rest". You wander down the meandering path, enjoying the beautiful woodland garden path, and discover a gazebo in the middle of the woods. The gazebo sits in a small clearing, surrounded by beautiful woodland gardens and native plants. The warm breeze blows through the gazebo, and you sit down on the bench, enjoying your lunch, the gardens, and the sounds of nature and the river. We propose a collaboration between us, the Chattanooga Botanical Garden, and the Chattanooga Audubon Society to build a mini woodland garden at Maclellan Island! We hope this project will help bring new attention to Maclellan Island, especially with the increasing risk of losing the island and its history to erosion. This project will also serve as a catalyst to bring a botanical garden to Chattanooga by showing the community and our city what we could be capable of! This proposed garden could become the first stepping stone to saving Maclellan Island and building something unique there in the years to come. Maclellan Island is a large island in the middle of the Tennessee River, located in the heart of Chattanooga's downtown and tourism sectors. It's quite the unique gift to Chattanooga; what other city has a nature preserve island in the middle of their downtown core? Maclellan Island supports many species of flora and fauna, and serves as a rich Native American archeological and historical site. Unfortunately, due to dams upstream and boat wake along the river, Maclellan Island is losing shoreline at a rate of an acre per decade. Maclellan Island is hoping to secure grant funding to stabilize the shoreline all the way around the island, and we hope that some increased activity on the island will strengthen the case for funding. If nothing is done to save the island, we are losing a crucial piece of Chattanooga's history and natural environment for the generations to come. Furthermore, this garden could be the first step in building something completely unique and new on Maclellan island in the years to come! The Chattanooga Botanical Garden is a newly formed nonprofit group looking to build a botanical garden in Chattanooga, and we hope that this project will help shine a spotlight on our mission. We want to create a mini garden for people in Chattanooga to enjoy now while we work on building the big one--but we also hope this puts us on the radar for securing our own grants to make those things possible! We hope this collaboration will be another first stepping stone in creating something beautiful for Chattanoogans, and continued partnerships with the Audubon Society in the future. Don't worry -- a crucial part of both ChattBG's and the Audubon Society's mission is stewardship of the natural environment and resources -- so we would not be building or planting anything that would disrupt the natural wildness of Maclellan Island! We plan to landscape with native plants and other plants that highlight the natural beauty of the island. We definitely would not be planting any invasive species! Our paths and gazebo will be constructed of natural materials that are designed to blend back into their surroundings. We plan to partner with Foxwood Gardens, a local garden design company that specializes in holistic and native gardening, to design the woodland garden. We also plan to pull in local craftsmen and carpenters to construct the gazebo. The gazebo would be open air, about 20' in diameter, and have a bench wrapping around the interior, providing plenty of room for people to come out and sit. Between both ChattBG and Audubon Society, we have a vigorous group of supporters and volunteers that would assist with installation of the gardens and periodical maintenance! The garden at Paddlers' Rest would be the first stepping stone in creating something beautiful for Chattanooga to enjoy for the years to come. We hope this project will become a catalyst for both the Chattanooga Botanical Garden, but also the Chattanooga Audubon Society and even Maclellan Island. Who knows... this could be the start of something really beautiful being made at the island! Most importantly, we want to ensure that Maclellan Island is protected for years and years to come, and we hope this will be a small piece of that puzzle.
Chattanooga Audubon Society is now known for the infamous Maclellan Island goats. These world-famous cuties have been in the news from NY Times, CNN, CBS, and Backpacker Magazine. They do important work by chomping down on invasive species that have taken over the island. Now the public has the opportunity to boat out to the island with an experienced naturalist for a guided tour and short hike to visit the goats. This excursion takes you to Maclellan Island, where you’ll learn about its history, ecological features, and the birds you may spot along the way. And of course, the highlight is meeting the famous Maclellan Island goats! Funds will be used to pay for the naturalist on staff, as well as boat transportation to get the goats safely back to the island in June. Take your ride on the Goats and Boats tour, sponsored by Chattanooga Riverboat Company! Photos provided by Will Crooks (NY Times) and Views From Above
Create a greater city and county-wide network of safe walking and biking streets, paths, and trails to connect all our parks, schools, community centers and neighborhoods together for people of all ages and abilities. Leverage our existing resources by coordinating public, private and community efforts. Utilize creative low-cost alternatives to create more model streets, and work with the neighborhood associations to create what their individual communities actually want. Through this process, we can further identify both short-term and long-term projects and look for opportunities to highlight our history and cultures through public art and other installations. Several community connection projects were suggested through this larger National Park City Seed project. All those can be incorporated into this greater long-term vision. Our streets are our biggest park system. Active people and kid's streets are safer streets and make for safer communities. Many of us learned to ride and skate, or play a sport on our neighborhood's streets. We will always need major streets for cars and commerce, and to serve our rapidly growing population, but we also need streets that we can live on and play on, not just drive on. Active streets create a sense of community. Virginia Ave in St. Elmo is a prime example of what some signs, paint and some creativity can inspire at a very low cost. Part of its success is largely because it created a safe connections to the Riverwalk and beyond. This street now regular hosts events and draws in people from all over to experience them. It even brought in and created new business opportunities. It was just a back-alley type a street with not much going for it, until this safe street and community greenway was created. Now, it's a destination itself. We should collectively define and standardize what a Safe Steet is as part of this project. A Safe Street should be a low volume, low speed, well lit, and well marked street. It should connect to other Safe Streets, paths and to specific places likes parks, schools and businesses. Additional steps like frequent CPD patrols, or even WIFI hot spots in certain areas, could also greatly enhance their quality. The city worked with the community in Highland park to create the 14th St Bikeway. This makes a great East/West Safe Street. This street is now more visibly active than it has been in years. Homes along this street are now in higher demand. Within Highland Park it is pretty good, but it does have its challenges. On either end, it doesn't connect well to other places as it has a couple of busy streets to cross with no safe crossings installed. Holly Street starting on Main Street in Highland Park and going all the way to Orchard Knob Middle School would make a really good North/South Connector. It would create a safe path linking parks, schools and businesses to the community. It would serve Highland Park, Orchard Knob and the Avondale/Churchville neighborhoods. Places like Tatum Park, Orchard Knob Middle and the Carver Community Center would be connected. Ultimately, it should be put to these neighborhoods first to see if this is what they would like to have. If not, other neighborhoods, by their responses to this seed project alone, would be glad to have similar. Where to start - Get a long-term written commitment from the Mayors, City Councils and others to pursue the larger vision of a safe connected city and county. Create an area-wide committee of stakeholders and resources to focus on and drive this long-term project. Identify and recruit neighborhood champions to add to this committee. Identify other streets like Holly that would make a great Safe Street. Start on places like Holly by installing wayfinding in the form of signage and street markings. Evaluate whether street corner bump-outs and other low-cost small speed reducing treatments may be necessary, and if so work them into our budgets. The main obstacles are the high speed, high-volume roads it must cross. Mid-block signalized crossings and islands like on Broad St, where the Riverwalk Extension crosses, would be good solution at these types of dangerous crossings.
Overview World Fair Chattanooga is a community-driven initiative that brings Chattanooga residents together through monthly celebrations of international festivals, combining food, culture, and intentional learning experiences. Each gathering is inspired by a cultural tradition from one of the city’s diverse communities and is designed not only to celebrate, but also to educate and foster meaningful connections. In addition to global festivals, the initiative also reimagines American traditions, such as Thanksgiving; as inclusive, shared experiences where international communities can participate, contribute, and feel a sense of belonging The Need As Chattanooga continues to grow and diversify, there remains a gap between coexisting and truly connecting across cultures. Many international communities are underrepresented in public spaces, and opportunities to learn about traditions, histories, and lived experiences are often limited or surface-level. At the same time, residents are seeking more meaningful, human-centered ways to engage with their city and with one another. This initiative responds to that need by creating intentional spaces where cultural exchange is accessible, welcoming, and rooted in shared experience. The Idea This initiative establishes a city-wide series of festival-inspired gatherings, where each event highlights a different cultural celebration such as Holi, Diwali, Día de los Muertos, Tết, and Central American independence festivals. Alongside these, a special community-centered Thanksgiving gathering is introduced as a space where international residents can experience and reinterpret an American tradition through their own cultural lens. This creates a two-way exchange—celebrating global festivals while also making local traditions more inclusive and representative of the city’s diversity. How It Works Cultural gatherings are organized in collaboration with community members who wish to share their traditions. Each event centers around a festival and is brought to life through food, storytelling, and interactive experiences. Traditional dishes are served with context about their significance, and a storytelling element introduces attendees to the meaning and history behind the celebration. Interactive components—such as music, crafts, or cultural practices—encourage participation in a way that feels approachable and respectful. The initiative grows through partnerships and participation, allowing events to take shape based on interest, availability, and cultural relevance rather than a predetermined schedule. Impact on the City World Fair Chattanooga contributes to Chattanooga’s growth as an inclusive and connected city by creating opportunities for meaningful cultural exchange. It enhances cultural understanding by allowing residents to experience traditions beyond surface-level exposure, fostering empathy and awareness. The inclusion of Thanksgiving as a shared, cross-cultural celebration helps bridge the gap between local and international communities, allowing newcomers to feel included in American traditions while also expanding those traditions to reflect the city’s diversity. The initiative strengthens community connections by bringing together individuals from different backgrounds in a shared, welcoming environment. It also supports inclusive representation by giving international communities a platform to share their identities and traditions authentically. Additionally, by activating public spaces with purposeful programming, the initiative contributes to the vibrancy and cultural richness of the city.
Chattanooga's Walnut Street Bridge is already one of the city's most beloved public spaces. It’s a place where people walk, pause, and take in the river. "Chatt Spots" turns one bench on that bridge into something more: a visible, low-barrier point of connection for anyone who could use a conversation about their mental health. This is not therapy. It's a painted bench, distinct from the others, staffed by trained community members who can offer evidence-based guidance, connect people to local behavioral health and social resources, or simply be present when someone needs to talk. The bench operates on a simple insight backed by a growing body of global evidence: that brief, accessible, human conversations in familiar public spaces can reduce distress, increase help-seeking, and bridge the gap between struggling alone and getting support. The bridge is both a metaphor and the setting for our plan. The idea draws from several evidence-based traditions. Community-based peer support models, including the Friendship Bench program originating in Zimbabwe, which demonstrated that trained lay health workers delivering problem-solving therapy on public benches significantly reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety and showed that non-clinical conversation in everyday settings can produce meaningful outcomes. Research on community health workers, peer support specialists, and "everyday helpers" consistently finds that people are more likely to engage with someone who feels approachable and embedded in community life than with a formal clinical referral. People that look like them, talk like them, and know their unique community context. The evidence also shows that the physical environment matters: nature, water, open air, and movement all reduce cortisol and support emotional regulation making a pedestrian bridge over the Tennessee River an ideal setting. The "Chatt Spots" bench would be visually distinct, painted in a way that signals its purpose without clinical branding. Think warm, inviting, maybe a little playful. We could have signage on the bench, "Want to Chatt?" The name itself does the work: it's a question, an invitation, and a nod to the city all at once. Signage would make the purpose clear: "This bench is here for you. Sit down if you want to talk about how you're feeling. No appointment. No cost. No judgment." Staffing would draw on Chattanooga's existing networks of trained peer support specialists, community health workers, faith-based counselors, and mental health first aid graduates. Volunteers and paid staff would rotate shifts during peak bridge hours (evenings, weekends, lunch hours). Training would cover active listening, psychological first aid, motivational interviewing basics, safety planning, and warm handoffs to local resources including the crisis hotline (988), community mental health centers, and Hamilton County's behavioral health services. The bench also serves as a connective node in a broader ecosystem. It can distribute resource cards, QR-coded links to self-guided tools, and information about local support groups, food banks, housing assistance, and substance use services. For people who aren't ready to call a hotline or walk into a clinic, the bench is the lowest possible threshold; you're just sitting down on a bridge you were already crossing. This seed aligns with National Park City principles in a direct way: it uses a beloved public natural space to improve quality of life and human connection. It treats the Walnut Street Bridge not just as infrastructure or scenery but as a civic commons, a place where nature, community, and care intersect. And it embeds health in the fabric of everyday life rather than sequestering it behind clinic doors. We're starting small. The first phase is a 10-week Saturday pilot with two trained volunteers, one painted bench, four hours a week. The goal is to test whether people will sit down, what they need, and whether the bridge works as a setting. That gives us real encounter data to take to funders and the city for a full-year program. The model is scalable. If "Chatt Spots" works on the Walnut Street Bridge, the concept can expand to other public spaces, Coolidge Park, Renaissance Park, the Riverwalk, creating a distributed network of visible, accessible mental health touchpoints across the city. Chattanooga becomes not just a National Park City but a city where the landscape itself supports emotional well-being.
At Creative Discovery Museum, we believe children are not just future citizens, they are active contributors to the communities they call home today. As Chattanooga fulfills its vision of becoming a National Park City, CDM invites our youngest residents to help imagine what that future could look like. “Chattanooga Kids Imagine Their National Park City” centers children and families in reimagining shared spaces through play, creativity, and exploration. Inside the Museum, families will participate in hands-on Creation Station activations where children can draw, build, and share their ideas for a better Chattanooga. Using open-ended prompts like “What would you add to your city?” and “How can we take care of our parks and places?”, children will express ideas through art and collaborative building. These contributions will form a visible, evolving collection of community-inspired ideas. This playful process introduces civic engagement in an accessible, meaningful way—encouraging children to see themselves as creators of change. In September, these ideas will extend beyond the Museum through Play Street: A National Park City for Kids, a temporary transformation of the street in front of the Museum into a child-centered public space. By closing the block to traffic, we will reimagine how a city street can function as a place for play, creativity, and connection. Inspired by children’s ideas, the Play Street will feature flexible, hands-on zones for building, art-making, nature exploration, and movement. Designed as an open, welcoming environment rather than a programmed event, it invites families to gather, play, and experience a version of their city that prioritizes people over cars. This project connects children’s imagination to real-world experience, demonstrating how public space can be reimagined through a child-centered lens.
Create a small greenhouse at the corner of 2310 Vance Ave that functions as both a growing space and a public-facing art installation. Built using reclaimed glass block from the Ridgedale Mill redevelopment, the structure gives new life to historic materials while anchoring the existing community garden. By day, the greenhouse supports plant propagation, herbs, and educational programming. By night, integrated low-energy LED lighting transforms it into a softly glowing beacon, a visual landmark that signals activity, creativity, and care within the neighborhood. The project blends sustainability, adaptive reuse, and public art, creating a space that is both functional and inspiring. It will serve residents, small businesses, and visitors while reinforcing Ridgedale as a place where industry, nature, and community intersect. KEY FEATURES Reclaimed glass block from Ridgedale Mill Year-round growing + propagation space LED-lit “beacon” for nighttime visibility Community programming + workshops Small footprint, high visual impact IMPACT Activates a prominent corner site Supports local food + education Reinforces identity of Ridgedale as creative + sustainable Demonstrates adaptive reuse in a tangible way
During the last three years, with the work of the Deconstruction Advisory Board and in collaboration with caring community partners, some of Chattanooga's oldest lumber and bricks have been saved from the landfill. Some are the only physical remains we have of entire historic buildings that have been erased from our landscape. Some are precious pieces of our past that can retell the Chattanooga story. It is time, in America's First National Park City, for the aged beauty of these reclaimed materials to make their entrance out of storage and into the present - at the Brickyard. The Brickyard is located in an outdoor space. Imagine it as a garden to our past where history is reborn; where artists and craftspeople use their talents and skills to thoughtfully transform our historic brick and lumber into scenic exhibits and a playspace unlike any other. Impossible to duplicate as every brick and every board is a work of art in itself and where the only limitation will be your imagination!
Construct a floating dock at the base of the Hunter bluff and bolt 50+ world class sport routes on the Hunter bluff and create a world class sport crag downtown with observation viewing areas on walnut bridge. Building a dock would create 25x the number of routes, open the cliff to all skill levels, reduce risk / liability through use of protection bolts and safety ropes, reduce misuse and trashing of area, generate spectacle, provide access control and potentially generate revenue through dock rentals/ day use, events, etc. I have traveled the world for climbing for the last 30 yrs, and I have never encountered elsewhere some of the limestone features found on the Hunter bluff. I have climbed on the Hunter bluff for the last 30 yrs often accessed by boat or a footpath often choked with trash. Deep water soloing ( climbing without ropes over water) is a unique experience but this this cliff creates challenges for DWS due to the underwater debris (see old iron beams), snags, and shallows. For this reason, climbing on the hunter bluff has traditionally limited to low traversing with a few daring vertical routes that go un-repeated and under appreciated.
Orienteering is a combination of puzzle solving and an Easter Egg hunt. Simply put, it is using tools to efficiently find your way through an outdoor maze to unlock new discoveries and new experiences. Urban orienteering just means that the maze is in a city and its surrounding areas. It offers a unique and enriching experience that brings families, neighborhoods, and children together in meaningful ways. For families, it creates opportunities for shared adventure and teamwork, encouraging parents and children to collaborate, problem-solve, and communicate as they navigate their surroundings together. For children in particular, it builds a range of valuable skills — from map-reading and spatial awareness to confidence and independence — all while keeping them physically active and mentally engaged. Beyond the family unit, urban orienteering fosters a deeper sense of connection to the local neighborhoods, as participants discover hidden gems, historical landmarks, and community spaces they might otherwise overlook. It encourages people of all ages and fitness levels to explore their city on foot, promoting inclusivity and a shared sense of belonging. In this way, urban orienteering transforms ordinary streets into a living classroom and playground, strengthening community bonds one course at a time. Courses can focus on various parts of the communities and both the natural and man-made aspects of them. Maps would be made available (physical maps as well as digital maps for phone usage) showcasing various courses in the Chattanooga area. Each course would consist of several orienteering points (O-Points). Participants would use the maps to navigate to each of the O-Points on the course as efficiently as possible. Some ideas for courses are as follows: + Neighborhood-O: Partnering with neighborhood associations, each neighborhood could sponsor their own orienteering course that features points of interest in their area. + Bridge-O: The downtown bridges are an iconic part of Chattanooga, full of history and engineering. + Art-O: Public art is a big part of the Chattanooga area and, often, ignored. + History-O: History is everywhere waiting to be uncovered. + Architecture-O: Interesting and historic buildings dot the Chattanooga area. + UTC-O: This large campus is a perfect place for urban orienteering + Park-O: Stringers Ridge would serve as a perfect bridge between urban orienteering and the outdoor sport of Orienteering that typically takes place in larger wooded domains. Orienteering classes can be held and an orienteering club could be launched to put on events. Free phone apps, such as Strava, can be used to "gamify" the orienteering courses and create competitions. Thriving orienteering clubs exist in the Atlanta, Nashville and Birmingham areas.
Chattanooga has built a reputation as an outdoor destination, but for many residents, the true entry point into mountain biking is still missing. You can access incredible trails, but for a beginner they often feel intimidating, technical, and unforgiving. For some, that intimidation is enough to never try—missing out on the 100+ miles of singletrack within 30 minutes of downtown. For others, the opposite happens: they jump in too quickly, get in over their head, and have a negative or even unsafe first experience. Both outcomes lead to the same result: people disengage before they ever experience the joy of riding the mountains surrounding Chattanooga. At the same time, Chattanooga’s parks and pathways are full of people already riding bikes. These spaces are accessible, familiar, and used every day—but they are not designed to help riders safely build the skills and confidence needed to progress to natural trails. This project fills that gap. From Sidewalk to Singletrack is a simple way to introduce more people to mountain biking by adding approachable features in parks and along pathways, anchored by a welcoming, beginner-focused bike park. As a first step, we have identified a Hamilton County-owned site along the Riverwalk as an ideal pilot location. This site is uniquely positioned: it is accessible, already heavily used, and offers gentle terrain that is perfect for introducing riders to the fundamentals of mountain biking. At the heart of this pilot is a Welcome Hub kiosk—a simple but powerful idea. Someone walking or riding along the Riverwalk can stop, look at a map, and think: “I’ve always wanted to try mountain biking…” From there, the path forward is clear: - Learn the basics on-site using natural-surface flow trails and small features - Build confidence on a small asphalt pump track designed for all ages - Discover nearby beginner-friendly trails and know exactly where to go next The goal is simple: Ride something here, then go ride somewhere bigger. This pilot site becomes more than just a park—it becomes a gateway to Chattanooga’s entire trail network. By starting with a modest, highly visible project, we can: Lower the barrier to entry Introduce new riders in a safe, welcoming environment Build momentum and community support That momentum sets the stage for a future full-scale regional bike park on a larger parcel of land. Other cities like Knoxville, Bentonville, Asheville, Nashville, and Austin have shown that accessible bike infrastructure sparks participation, builds community, and grows a culture of riding. Chattanooga already has the trails. This project creates the front door. A place where someone can stumble upon it, hop on a bike, and think: “Oh… I can do this.” And from there, begin exploring everything our region has to offer.
We propose creating a small, intentional pocket park at the downtown library, designed for, but not limited to, children ages 0–5 and their caregivers. The space would prioritize sensory play and accessibility, ensuring all children and families can engage meaningfully in a compact urban setting. In the heart of Chattanooga’s urban core, this space would provide a safe, playful, and accessible outdoor environment in what is otherwise a concrete-heavy area. It would extend the library’s role as a community anchor by seamlessly connecting indoor early learning spaces with a dedicated outdoor play experience. This pocket park would: Expand access to nature and play for young children downtown Support early childhood development through unstructured, sensory-rich outdoor exploration Create a welcoming, family-friendly destination in the city center Demonstrate how small, thoughtfully designed green spaces can have outsized community impact By pairing an already vibrant indoor library experience with an intentional outdoor space, this project embodies the spirit of a National Park City (bringing nature, play, and community into everyday urban life). This project aligns with One Chattanooga by ensuring that all families, regardless of background or neighborhood, have access to safe, high-quality spaces for play, learning, and connection in the heart of our city.
On warm evenings in Chattanooga, the riverfront becomes more than just a place to walk — it becomes a place to move. ChattaLatin Riverfront Social is a free outdoor salsa and bachata dance gathering held at Coolidge Park and other public spaces along the Tennessee River. With music playing and the river as a backdrop, dancers of all levels — from beginners to experienced — are invited to come together and share the joy of Latin dance. The idea is simple: create a recurring space where people can dance, connect, and experience culture in one of Chattanooga’s most beautiful public places. A short beginner-friendly lesson at the start of the evening invites anyone passing by to join, even if they’ve never danced before. Afterward, the space becomes an open social dance where the community and visitors alike can participate or simply enjoy the atmosphere. Cities across the country — from Atlanta to Miami to New York — have thriving outdoor Latin dance gatherings that bring energy and connection to public spaces. Chattanooga already has a growing salsa and bachata community through classes, socials, and cultural events. Also, a social media over 600 followers and group chats over 200 dancers/community members. This seed builds on that momentum by bringing the dance floor outside and making it accessible to the entire city. Over time, the vision is for ChattaLatin Riverfront Social to become a recognizable part of Chattanooga’s summer rhythm — a place where music carries across the park, where strangers become dance partners, and where people of all backgrounds come together through movement and culture. By activating public spaces with music, dance, and community participation, the project transforms an ordinary evening at the park into a shared cultural experience that reflects the vibrant and welcoming spirit of Chattanooga.
Chattanooga has great parks, courts, and green spaces that invite people to move, play, and connect outdoors. However, many people arrive at these spaces without the equipment needed to use them. A basketball court without a ball or a field without a frisbee often sits empty even when people are nearby and interested in playing. Maybe they just need a bit of an invitation! This project would install simple community sports gear boxes in selected parks and public recreation areas. Each box would contain shared equipment such as basketballs, soccer balls, frisbees, footballs, jump ropes, and other simple play items. Anyone visiting the park could borrow the equipment during their time there and return it when finished so that others can use it as well. The goal is to reduce barriers to outdoor recreation and make it easier for people to engage with Chattanooga’s parks in active and joyful ways. By making equipment freely available, parks become more welcoming for families, youth, and visitors who may not have brought their own gear or may not have access to it at home. The boxes would operate on a simple trust based system supported by community partners and volunteers. Starting with a small pilot at a few parks would allow the project to test the idea, learn what works best, and build momentum for expanding to additional neighborhoods. Not every piece of equipment will make it back to the box, and that is okay. If it helps more people get outside and play, it is a trade worth making. Over time, these shared play stations could become a recognizable part of Chattanooga’s identity as a National Park City. They would encourage spontaneous play, outdoor movement, and stronger community connections in the places where people gather to enjoy nature.
Every week this summer, somewhere in Chattanooga, a park becomes something more. Scenic City Cinema is a free, weekly outdoor movie series rotating across neighborhoods throughout the city open to everyone, programmed for everyone, and shaped in part by the communities that host it. The series is built around variety and inclusion. One week maybe a family night in East Chattanooga, the next a date-night at Coolidge Park with food trucks and the river as a backdrop. A Spanish-language screening one evening, a nature documentary the next. Films requested by college students, by grandparents, by neighborhood associations that have never had a civic event built around their input. The programming rotates not just in location but in character so that over the course of a summer, Chattanooga's full range of communities sees themselves reflected in the series. The series will launch with a defined framework but the long-term vision is for neighborhoods to drive it themselves. As the series builds trust and traction, the goal is for communities to own their night: choosing the theme, selecting the film, and shaping the experience for their neighbors. The structure is intentional. The community ownership is real. And the barrier to attendance is zero. Cities that have built this well Austin, Memphis, Seattle have found that a free rotating outdoor cinema series does something that few civic programs can: it gets people outside, together, in their own neighborhoods, on a regular basis. It turns a park into a destination. It turns a Thursday evening into something worth planning around. Chattanooga has the parks, the neighborhoods, the river, and the civic momentum of a National Park City designation to make this happen. Scenic City Cinema is the weekly proof that all of it means something
Lookout Avenue at Georgia Avenue contains a dangerous traffic pattern that creates conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. The slip lane has led to several dangerous altercations in recent years and cuts off access to a recently refurbished memorial fountain honoring Chattanooga’s fallen firefighters. This project proposes a temporary pop-up park that closes the cut-through lane and transforms it into a safe civic space. Using movable planters, AstroTurf, benches, and chairs, the project would test a redesigned traffic pattern while creating new public space next to the courthouse lawn and the memorial fountain. The pilot would improve pedestrian safety, increase access to green space, and reduce the urban heat island effect in a heavily paved downtown area. It would also allow the community and city staff to observe how the intersection functions without the slip lane. If the experiment proves unsuccessful, the street can easily return to its previous configuration. If successful, the project could demonstrate a long-term opportunity to extend the courthouse lawn to the memorial park while improving loading access and creating potential accessible parking. Through a low-cost temporary installation, the project invites Chattanooga to test how a dangerous road could become a safer and more welcoming public space.
Turn the city’s most ignored spaces into assets that give back. Across town, there are hundreds of small grassy strips, berms, and leftover patches that serve no real purpose. They still cost money. They’re mowed, edged, fueled, and maintained on a recurring schedule—year after year—despite offering little value to residents or the environment. This project flips that equation. By converting these underused areas into native wildflower corridors, the city can reduce ongoing maintenance costs while increasing ecological value. Native plantings require far less mowing, fewer inputs, and minimal upkeep once established. That means fewer labor hours, lower fuel consumption, and reduced wear on equipment—real, measurable savings over time. At the same time, these spaces become functional infrastructure: • Supporting pollinators like bees and butterflies that are critical to local ecosystems • Improving soil health and water absorption, helping manage runoff naturally • Creating visually engaging corridors that elevate the everyday experience of the city Instead of paying to maintain empty grass, the city invests once and gains long-term returns—financially and environmentally. This is a simple shift with compounding impact: spend less, maintain less, and get more from the land we already have.