KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Oak Ridge is a diverse area that attracts several kinds of people. In it, visitors can explore a national laboratory and some of the large swaths of natural parks around it, all in the same day.
Legacy Parks, a nonprofit organization that works to enrich East Tennessee's natural beauty, created a guidebook on how Oak Ridge can make the most out of the region's natural assets.
It was written with four guiding principles in mind: stewardship, district identity, connectivity, as well as regional and national impact. The guidebook was created in response to the Oak Ridge Blueprint Plan, which is meant to help guide Oak Ridge's overall growth.
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“The guidebook is intended to be a living, working document that will serve as a philosophical and practical set of guidelines for how to maximize the area’s natural assets,” Carol Evans said in a press release, executive director of Legacy Parks Foundation.
In it, Legacy Parks recommends that Oak Ridge and the counties surrounding it should care for its natural habitats while also developing a district identity by providing more spaces and activities in the area's districts.
It also suggests that the region should work to provide physical, visual, emotional and economic opportunities for people to connect with the community.
The guidebook also identifies specific opportunities where certain districts in Oak Ridge can improve.