In Madrid, Spain, where Shelby Meek lived for about five years, parks were a shared space where visitors could feel embedded in their community.
“I missed that when we moved back, especially with young kids,” Meek, a Chattanooga resident, said in a phone interview.
Meek sees that collective spirit at Coolidge Park and in the upcoming plans for Montague Park, and she’s eager for more neighborhood parks with that kind of communal atmosphere. It’s a priority she hopes to encourage as part of a new 15-member volunteer board, which city leaders formed to help shape the future of Chattanooga’s parks and outdoors system.
“I think Chattanooga is really well positioned to become the gold standard of the idea of ‘a city in a park,’ especially with the close proximity to natural resources and outdoor activities,” Meek said.