Major investment in public spaces initiative for Historic Pleasant Hill

On Tuesday, October 8, Reimagining the Civic Commons - a collaboration of national foundations and civic leaders dedicated to revitalizing public spaces in ways that benefit communities - announced its third round of investment in 10 cities, including Macon-Bibb County.

The funding will be used in the cities to transform public spaces in ways that counteract harmful trends facing America, from social isolation to economic segregation to climate change. The cities will use the investments to create or enhance a variety of civic spaces, including trails, parks, community centers, neighborhood main streets, active transportation corridors and public gardens.

Macon-Bibb County will receive $750,000 over the next three years to continue the neighborhood-led, multi-organization collaborative work happening in the Historic Pleasant Hill Neighborhood. This will include continuing the work to reconnect the neighborhood and mitigate the damage done by the interstate's construction decades ago, funding capacity-building for leadership to improve outcomes of impoverished neighborhoods through public spaces investment, neighborhood events, and more.

"Our team has been dedicated to creating a stronger sense of belonging in the Pleasant Hill Neighborhood through cultural preservation, community engagement, and collaborative planning with partners," says Community Planner Tonja Khabir. "We are excited to continue the work we've done in connecting with over 400 residents and community members to shape a vision for the future. With this support, we're pumped to push forward with our plans, heal past wounds from divisive infrastructure, and power up our neighborhood for sustainable growth!"

"Macon's RCC efforts stand apart because of the broad array of partners at the table together focusing on solving issues in real time. Participating in the network has unlocked new potential for projects and healing in Macon's urban core," says Alex Morrison, Executive Director of the Urban Development Authority. "It has been a joy to lead it for the last several years, and this expansion and funding will take our work to the next level."

"With Americans' trust in government at an all-time low, the collaborative efforts in Macon-Bibb's Pleasant Hill neighborhood show a new way forward," said Bridget Marquis, Director of Reimagining the Civic Commons. "This community-driven approach to the public realm will be a model for any city aiming to co-create a hopeful future for neighborhoods that have experienced disinvestment."

"Some people say you can't fix the wrongs of the past, but our work through Reimagining the Civic Commons and Macon Action Plan are showing that we can make things right moving forward, that we can come together to make life better for everyone," says Mayor Lester Miller. "What's happening in Historic Pleasant Hill - from the Blight Fight to new affordable housing to creating new parks to reconnecting the two halves to downtown to eating to services and more…is just the start of what needs to be done. But it will have decades of impact."

The Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority is the convening agency for this effort. Active and engaged partners working together include the AARP, Bike Walk Macon, Causey Construction Consulting, the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, Friends of Rosa Parks Square, JBK Southern, Inc., Macon-Bibb Community Enhancement Authority, Macon-Bibb County Consolidated Government, Main Street Macon Christmas Lights Extravaganza, NewTown Macon, Ocmulgee Heritage Trail, the Peyton Anderson Foundation, Rhythm and Jazz, WT Designs, the JPB Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, and the William Penn Foundation.

About Macon's work with Reimagining the Civic Commons

Macon was host to a Design Studio in April 2023 - Investing with Intention: Our Four Outcomes - when the group spent three days learning about Macon's public spaces and revitalization efforts, exploring Downtown's connection to the Historic Pleasant Hill neighborhood, and learning about the collaborative efforts to turn Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park into Georgia's first National Park.

Macon was selected because of its work to advance civic engagement and strengthen democracy through public spaces. For Macon, RCC cites the Macon Action Plan (MAP) as a national example of how cities can creatively involve residents in improving their communities. The RCC's report cites the Macon team's use of "democratized implementation," meaning they actively engage people and groups in planning, designing, and building projects, as opposed to centralizing it with one organization. It was approved in 2015 after an 18 month-long planning process that was open to the entire community and included input from more than two thousand people through engaging public meetings and events, online forms, and more.

With the Plan - thanks to initial funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Peyton Anderson Foundation ($1.5 million from each) and grant implementation by the Community Foundation of Central Georgia - the Downtown community and surrounding neighborhoods have completed eighty percent of the strategies and projects in the original plan. Downtown, through the success of MAP, has also attracted more than $400 million in additional public and private investment.

About Reimagining the Civic Commons

Reimagining the Civic Commons is an ambitious national initiative demonstrating that strategic investments in public spaces can connect people of all backgrounds, cultivate trust and create more resilient communities. Since 2016, it has worked with a network of leaders across the public, private and nonprofit sectors to change how they design, manage and program urban public spaces.

The initiative's innovative model supports cities to invest in civic spaces like parks, trails, community centers, libraries and public gardens in ways that deliver critical social, economic and environmental benefits. The next phase of the initiative is funded by The JPB Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and The Kresge Foundation.

Launched in 2016 in five cities with an initial $20 million investment, the initiative expanded to include additional cities in 2020. Cities receiving funding from this round of investment are Akron, Ohio; Camden, New Jersey; Cincinnati, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Lexington, Kentucky; Macon, Georgia; Memphis, Tennessee; Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and San José, California.

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