Chattanooga has a lot more in common with London, England + Adelaide, Australia than you think — because it’s now a National Park City, a first for North America.
This two-year long journey certainly had a lot of boots on the ground in a joint effort that involved signatures from residents + work done by community leaders, business owners, and nonprofits. Let’s take a look back.
- November 2023 | Chattanooga was nominated + launched a charter to get 5,000 signatures.
- December 2024 | After researching, hosting events, drafting proposals + securing support, the Journey Book was created and the application was finalized.
- February 2025 | The National Park City Foundation team provided feedback on the application.
- March 2025 | The National Park City Foundation’s peer review board visited the Scenic City + provided insight.
Now, not even one month after the visit, the Scenic City was granted the designation. What does this actually mean though?
National Park Cities (not to be confused with a National Park) mark a long-term global grassroots movement where a city will lead with the goal of connecting residents to a greener + healthier lifestyle.
For Chattanooga, this could mean efforts like education on native plant species, honoring cultural diversity, supporting sustainable practices, and much more. Think back to the introduction of the Parks and Outdoors Plan or when they introduced the mindset of the Scenic City being a “city in a park” versus a city with parks.
Some recent efforts that align with this initiative include:
- A proposal to preserve our tree canopy
- The Chattanooga Tree Project
- The “Evolving our Riverfront Parks” project
- Assessing recreation around the city
- Creation of urban ecological preserves
- Introduction of Kids in a Park
- Re-envisioning Montague Park as our own Central Park
As a government-initiated movement, there will also be opportunities over time for the community to help lead the progress. We recommend bookmarking the official Chattanooga National Park City website to stay up to date on events and ways to engage. And as always, stay tuned for our reporting on what’s going on in the city.
Ready to celebrate this milestone with the city? On Saturday, April 19, starting at 12 p.m., there will be a presentation with National Geographic Explorer + creator of the National Park City movement, Dr. Daniel Raven Ellison and other local artists on the Chattanooga Green.
Bonus: Stay tuned for coverage on 50+ Earth Week events that will take place as part of this dedication.
