Westside Communities Alliance

A partnership between Atlanta's westside communities and institutions of higher education.

Rise Up Atlanta Event in Ashby Circle Playlot

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On Tuesday morning, September 17th 2013, as a part of Rise Up Atlanta, hard-working volunteers coordinated by Park Pride showed up to revitalize Ashby Circle Playlot.

The whole volunteer crew!

Completed work includes:

  • Sanding and painting the playground
  • Removing invasive species from the perimeter of the park
  • Planting native species
  • Installing wattles to prevent soil erosion caused by stormwater run-off
  • Building birdhouses

Volunteers included:

  • Cheerleaders, players, and staff from the Atlanta Falcons;
  • Akamai Technologies staff for Danny Lewin Community Cares Day
  • Staff from YP

The next Rise Up Atlanta event in the Westside will be held on Tuesday, October 29th in Washington Park. Find more information here: http://www.handsonatlanta.org/HOC__Volunteer_Opportunity_Details_Page?id=a0CA000000ReePFMAZ

Mulching and sanding/painting the playground!

Read the story from the Atlanta Falcons.

See more pictures in our album and in Park Pride’s album.

Organizers of Ashby Rise-Up
From left:
Kendyl Moss, Vice President of Community Relations for Atlanta Falcons
Christi Jackson, Executive Director of The Conservancy at Historic Washington Park
Gwen Mason, Associate Director of Training Operations at YP
Gloria Smith, Resident of Washington Park
John Ahern, Volunteer Manager with Park Pride

Urban Alchemy: Restoring Joy in America’s Sorted-Out Cities

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Urban AlchemyOn June 27th, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture hosted Dr. Mindy Thomspn Fullilove, author of Urban Alchemy: Restoring Joy in America’s Sorted-Out Cities, to come and speak. In case you missed it, you can watch the video on Ustream or YouTube. You can also view the flyer for the event for additional information.

In the book, Dr. Fullilove, Professor of Clinical Sociomedical Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University and Public Director of the American Institute of Architects, “takes readers on a tour of successful collaborative interventions that repair cities and reconnect communities to make them whole.” She does this using nine elements of restoration:

                        1. Keep the whole city in mind
                        2. Find what you’re FOR
                        3. Make a mark
                        4. Unpuzzle the fractured space
                        5. Unslum all neighborhoods
                        6. Create meaningful places
                        7. Strengthen the region
                        8. Show solidarity with all life
                        9. Celebrate your accomplishments

Urban Alchemy is also one of the textbooks being used in Georgia Tech’s Semester in the City: Engaging Westside Communities.

In her talk at AARL, which hosts regular arts and literature events, Dr. Fullilove asserts that despite the working assumption in our society, we are not in competition, and need to learn to build trust, build teams, and cooperate.  Pick up the book at Charis Books and More and find out how you can join in the collaborative and help us go “From Chaos to Communication”.

 

WCA Staff Attends Westside TAD Meetings

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The third and final Westside TAD Neighborhood Implementation Plan took place on  Thursday evening, June 27th, 2013 at the Higher Ground Empowerment Center.

WestsideTAD

All meetings, facilitated by PEQ and presented by APD Solutions, were well-attended with redents being very vocal about their questions and concerns. Notable development representatives include Kimley-Horne, Cooper Carry, and Invest Atlanta. Elected officials present indluded: Byron Amos, Vice Chair for Atlanta Board of Education; “Able” Mable Thomas, State Representative; and Michael Julian Bond and Ivory Young, District 3 Councilmembers for Atlanta City Council.

The final meeting reviewed suggestions that APD Solutions has made over the course of their Neighborhood Implementation Planning process.

Some identified development themes included:

  • Neighborhood Amenities
  • Sustainability
  • Heritage Tourism
  • Entertainment
  • Connections

The key project areas are:

  1. James P. Brawley Corridor
  2. Joseph E. Boone Corridor
  3. Northside Corridor (mixed-use)
  4. Northside Corridor (entertainment)
  5. Martin Luther King Jr. Corridor

Recommendations for quick implementations:

  • Streetscaping
  • Traffic controls
  • Land banking
  • Urban Agriculture
  • Tax Relief for seniors

View the Westside TAD Aggregate Map.

Social Justice Committee

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Housed in the School of City and Regional Planning in College of Architecture, the Social Justice Committee addresses issues of inequality in metro Atlanta through action and advocacy in planning. They provide planning-specific skills to community-led initiatives in areas that lack resources, power or voice. We seek to develop mutually beneficial partnerships with communities and raise social justice awareness at Georgia Tech. The goal of the SJC is to create opportunities for students to apply their education and experience through planning projects in underserved communities.  Membership is open to all GT students. Current projects are focused on food access and transportation safety issues in the Pittsburgh neighborhood. Past projects include a redevelopment plan in a small block in English Avenue, a brownfield clean-up of Peoplestown, crime prevention through urban design in Home Park, and town hall meetings on the impact of a new Falcons Stadium.