From Industrial Blight to Urban Greenspace

Located in a lowland area, the urban watershed of the Clear Creek Basin that sits at the heart of Atlanta’s historic Fourth Ward was subject to intermittent flooding and sewer overflows during storm events. To address this problem, the City initially planned to fix the sewer overflow problem by laying more pipe via a tunnel extension of the sewer system. But then came the idea to transform a blighted industrial lowland into urban greenspace with stormwater control features and green infrastructure designed as a beautiful public park.

We were hired to plan and execute the design for the first 5 acres of the Historic Fourth Ward Park, which included the stormwater detention pond and surrounding aesthetic features. With stormwater flowing into the pond from its four sides, we designed distinct artistic features for each side, including a step down channel, a water wall with sculptural elements, a tunnel to bring water into the pond, and subsurface water discharges into a dry stream bed. The park was the first component of what will be a 22-mile BeltLine Greenway, described as the most comprehensive economic development effort ever undertaken in Atlanta.