About the event

Led by Jay Wozniak from the Trust for Public Land and Carrie Salvary, longtime resident and member of the Alliance at Cook Park, the free tour will share the story of this unique and award-winning park designed to control flooding with ecologically-sensitive features, driven by community partnerships and informed by the rich history and culture of the Vine City neighborhood.

Want to make a morning of it?  Come early or stay after to connect with the GBN family over coffee or brunch. We'll be hanging out at Rosie's Café before and after the tour.

Rodney Cook Sr. Park
616 Joseph E. Boone Blvd NW
Atlanta, GA 30314

Rosie's Café
48 Northside Drive SW
Atlanta, GA 30313

How to get there?
Taking MARTA to the Vine City station is a convenient way to arrive at both Rosie's and Cook Park. If you drive, street parking is available around the perimeter of Cook Park. We'll confirm the exact park meetup location prior to the event. The distance between Rosie's and Cook Park is about 0.9 miles, so walking or carpooling could also be an option between the park and the café, if you plan to do both.

What to bring?
Water, sunscreen, hat, binoculars, comfortable walking shoes, etc.

Can I bring a guest?
The RSVP form has room to indicate up to one guest, if there's someone you would particularly like to join you. Our hope is to include as many GBN alumni as would like to come. If space is available closer to the event date, we may be able to open up to more guests.

Is there a cost?
Registration for the tour of Cook Park is free. At Rosie's, we'll each be on our own tabs. If you're excited about alumni connection and would like to contribute in honor of the event, you're welcome to make a donation to GBN. 

About Cook Park 

Opened in 2021, this 16-acre park in West Atlanta provides recreation and gathering spaces centered around a wetland pond planted with native vegetation able to store, treat and slowly release over 10 million gallons of storm runoff. 

Designed to alleviate chronic flooding in a predominantly Black neighborhood (considered by many as an example of environmental injustice), the development required close partnership between Trust for Public Land the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management and local community leaders. 

The new facilities have been successful in minimizing flood damage—such as in 2024 from Hurricane Helene—but required razing 60 homes and has been part of regional gentrifying forces that threaten to displace legacy residents.

Tour leaders

Further reading about Cook Park

• Home page of the Alliance for the Activation of Cook Park

• Timeline of the Cook Park project from the Trust for Public Land

• A news article that gives a more recent perspective several years into the park’s operation: West Atlanta Turns Flood Zone Into a Park That Protects Homes

• A report for an innovative water project award that gives a good overview of the park history, layout, and functions, with diagrams: NAFSMA 2023 award application for Rodney Cook Sr. Park at Vine City

• A report from Grist, a nonprofit media organization, on how the park fared during Hurricane Helene, absorbing runoff volume in the park’s central low area rather than it inundating streets and houses: Climate change is politically divisive. Public parks? Not so much.

• Gift article link to the  New York Times article about Cook Park in the "50 States, 50 Fixes" series:  In Georgia, a 'Sponge Park' Floods So the Neighborhood Won't