Atlanta uses parks to build flood resilience into neighborhoods

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August 21st, 2024

Cook Park. A cement path bordered by grass leads to a blue pond. The sky is blue and cloudless.
Rodney Cook Sr. Park, located near the Vine City and English Avenue neighborhoods of Atlanta’s westside, was designed by Trust for Public Land and Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management to prevent disastrous flooding. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

This story was updated on Wednesday, Aug. 21 at 1:44 p.m.

Atlanta has a couple of parks centered around water features that are popular for locals and visitors alike. But Historic Fourth Ward Park and Cook Park aren’t just pretty — they’re also protecting their neighborhoods from floods.

On a hot, sunny and cloudless day in Vine City, Linda Adams stood on a footbridge over Cook Park. It spans over a pond with a fountain, dotted with ducks, and reaches the ground at a big grassy field where kids play. Over by the playset, kids run around a splash pad. 

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