ABSTRACT
The initiatives were grassroots: "We were young, we were professionals and we were true believers waging a crusade," explained community resident and Freedom Park Conservancy activist Cathy Bradshaw. Eplan, respecting the connection to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site and the Carter Center, proposed the names Freedom Park and Freedom Parkway. The study noted that Freedom Park serves the largest population, with 95 entrances; it is also Atlanta's most pedestrian-accessible city park, ironically, due to its extended perimeter in the shape of a tollway interchange. According to George Dusenbury, commissioner of Atlanta Parks Recreation, and Cultural Affairs, Freedom Park is the legacy of activists who saved Atlanta's intown neighborhoods from dismemberment by highway construction. The conservancy's goal is to provide the community with a deeper understanding of how neighbors took themselves to the mat to protect the community and build the park, says Billy Davis, secretary of the Freedom Park Conservancy.
