Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1534028
April/May 2025 | maconmagazine.com 89 TOP Peth, right, takes part in the groundbreaking for the D.T. Walton project with other members of the Urban Development Authority. ABOVE Dorien Rozier, Alton Donaldson, Jerry Braswell, and Carolyn Rainey join Peth as part of the ParkMacon team. development will change that. The new parking deck will give people access to a parking deck closer to First Street and Poplar Street. The UDA and ParkMacon will operate the parking deck, which will also account for parking for residents of the new apartment units next door. For Peth, it's energizing to see her hometown become even more successful. "Additional residences are one of the core ways that I think downtown revitalization efforts have been so successful," she says. "Having people living downtown means that there's more opportunity for businesses to succeed here." The D.T. Walton project contributes to such revitalization efforts by taking a surface parking lot and turning it into a multi-level deck, attached to dense residential development. "It's going to bring life to a property that previously wasn't really being maximized during those peak hours for businesses and for people to be downtown," Peth says. For Peth, the D.T. Walton development is just a small piece of the potential she sees in downtown Macon. E N V I S I O N I N G C O M M O N S PA C E "My ideal vision for downtown is that we can accommodate the needs of different people– like business owners, employees, residents, and visitors– and create systems that work for everyone, reasonably and effectively," she says. "I want downtown to have something for everyone, and everyone in the community feels like they belong." One way she's working on that is through Reimagining Civic Commons. The program "cultivates trust and creates more resilient communities in a time when loneliness, distrust, climate impacts and economic segregation are on the rise," according to their website. Funded by Knight Foundation, Freedom Together Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, and William Penn Foundation, Macon's cohort is most focused on connectivity between Pleasant Hill and Downtown. "That's kind of what the ethos of my personal planning philosophy is about," Peth explained. "After we have our basic needs met for food, safety, water – our bottom tier of needs – the next needs are focused on community and relationships. Relationships with each other are critical to being able to create the best communities possible." That has led to the transformation of park spaces, additional bike lanes, and programming to bridge differences in public space. For Maconites who are interested in urban planning and being a part of the city's transformation, Peth urges them to ask critical questions about the built environment and get involved – rather than Keep up with Margaret Peth in her new column on land use, starting with the Little Richard House for the June/July issue. starting with complaints and criticism. "If you're enjoying a park, ask, 'How did this park get here?' If you're walking down the road and you notice the sidewalk isn't nice to walk on, think, 'Why isn't this sidewalk safe?' Really get into that framework of asking questions about your environment and why it is the way it is." Peth suggests volunteering for organizations like Bike Walk Macon, NewTown Macon, or Keep Macon- Bibb Beautiful that deal with the built environment. "It sounds really cliche, but you can be a part of the change," she said. "Your community isn't just your government leaders, or your elected officials, or organizations. You are your community, and you can take action to see the changes that you want. It probably won't be fast, it probably won't be easy, but it will likely be worthwhile."