Newsletter | December 9, 2025
In this week’s Voices:
- Tanyard Creek showcases the history of sewers, creeks, and stormwater in Atlanta
- A College Park coffee shop that feels like your living room
- “Where we want to be” and the real vision for Atlanta neighborhoods
- Have a cup of coffee on us!
Send your feedback about this newsletter to hello@canopyatlanta.org.
Photos by Claudia Maturell
A strange concrete channel lies in the shadow of I-75 in northwest Atlanta. Fenced and nameless, it snakes through a ravine between the interstate and a dense patchwork of condos.
At the south end of this channel is a graffiti-covered culvert under the highway, marked as a CSO outfall, or combined sewer overflow. But in the half mile that follows, something phenomenal happens: This dark trickle of water transforms into a jewel in the Beltline’s emerald necklace, Tanyard Creek Park.
On a bright fall day in October, writer and urban designer Hannah Palmer explored parts of Tanyard Creek, a place she calls “the most violently engineered creek in Atlanta.” She writes about her nature walk and how decisions made a century ago continue to determine who lives with the smell of sewage and who fears the sound of rain.
“I visited this spot, curious to see how our normally hidden stormwater infrastructure becomes visible,” Hannah writes. “The transformation that follows—from open sewer to urban oasis—shows what’s possible when a distressed creek is restored to a healthy condition.”
“A creek can’t be racist, but infrastructure can.”
—Hannah Palmer
Want to catch up on the work Canopy Atlanta is doing and share what is happening in your neighborhood? Come out for a free cup of coffee this week.
Canopy Atlanta is popping up in coffee shops around Atlanta. We’ll share our location every week in the newsletter and on social media.
📅 Thursday, Dec. 11, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
📍 Ke’nekt Cooperative: 1492 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd SW, Suite A, Atlanta, GA 30310
By Genia Billingsley, Community Journalist
Over the past four years, I’ve spent countless hours listening in Atlanta communities. I've attended neighborhood meetings and community gatherings, listening to residents talk about their hopes, their frustrations, and the daily realities of living in a city that’s constantly changing.
Whether I’m in Grove Park, Lakewood Heights, Clarkston, South Atlanta, or Pittsburgh, I often hear the same needs: safer streets, affordable housing, places where children can play and elders can rest, and where neighbors know each other.
But alongside those shared dreams, each community also has its own rhythm, history, and sense of identity. Some are built on deep family roots; others are shaped by migration, reinvention, or survival. Every neighborhood tells its own story about what it means to belong.
“It’s just going to take time before we get to where we want to
be—like other communities, you know, like Grant Park.”
—Jason Brooks, Vice Chair, Lakewood Heights Community Association
By Nzingha Thompson-Hall, Innovation Lab Fellow
Breakfast in the suburbs can be fabulous, especially at a place like C’est La Vie, with its ethereal, stylish, and chic ambiance.
The idea of C’est La Vie comes from Belinda Charles, an entrepreneur who started her cafe as a mobile beverage truck. In its original form, the truck catered weddings, birthdays, parties, and business events.
In 2024, Charles expanded to a brick-and-mortar shop located in the heart of College Park. The cafe has classics like espresso, flavored macchiatos, and lattes. Guests can also enjoy pastries like strawberry danishes and flaky red velvet croissants. On weekends, the cafe serves adult beverages and wine.
Canopy Atlanta does journalism differently. We pay and train local journalists to cover local issues, overseen by local editorial boards. Help us keep it local by becoming a member today.
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