Chattanooga becomes 3rd National Park City in the world
Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 5:20pm
Adelaide National Park City is proud to welcome a new member to the international family! Chattanooga in the USA state of Tennessee becomes the first city in the Americas to receive National Park City status and just the 3rd overall behind London and of course us!
Chattanooga has an incredible story of transformation over the last 50 years. In the 70s it received the unfortunate reputation of being one of the most polluted cities in the US. This was due to Chattanooga being an industrial hub, and ironically the picturesque mountains that line the city would trap the pollutants leaving a haze over the town. Since then, the city and its residents have been able to reduce emissions and build Chattanooga’s reputation as a nature lover’s dream.
Adelaide National Park City project lead Sheryn Pitman says she was proud to mentor Chattanooga through this process following Adelaide’s experience.
“We’ve been working with Chattanooga over the last couple of years and it’s been a joy to follow their journey from start to finish. The city has come so far over the last 50 years and the desire of the city’s leaders and residents to build healthy nature back into the city and restore the river to the point that Chattanooga is now a biodiversity hotspot is wonderful to see,” Dr. Pitman said.
The campaign for Chattanooga National Park City has built upon the legacy for change and has included dozens of grassroots and community-led organisations, the City of Chattanooga, local business and over 5,000 signatures from local residents endorsing the National Park City status.
Chattanooga’s National Park City status has been granted following a peer review process involving both London and Adelaide National Park Cities, World Urban Parks and the Salzburg Global Seminar.
Dr. Pitman says she looks forward to continuing to work with Chattanooga in the future.
“Chattanooga officially becoming a National Park City is a great thing for us here in Adelaide as it strengthens the global movement for healthier cities and gives us another community full of energy and ideas to share. The more cities committed to bringing people and urban nature closer together, the more we can learn and achieve together. The Chattanoogans are always fun to work with too. There’s so much more to Chattanooga then the Chattanooga Choo Choo!”
Watch this space as we look forward to welcome Breda in The Netherlands as the 4th National Park City, with their official ratification to take place in May.
For more information on Chattanooga’s NPC status and how the decision was reached, go to, Chattanooga National Park City.