hero’s walk

time : 2026

place : sweet auburn historic district, downtown atlanta, ga

process : complete streets, civil right’s heroes, historic sweet auburn, the public realm

completed for : Atlanta Downtown Improvement District

collaborators : Kaizen Collaborative; Sweet Auburn Works; JIMA Studio; Isidor Studio

The Sweet Auburn Hero’s Walk encompasses one mile of public streetscape beginning at King Memorial Station and ending at the Jackson Street Bridge. Defined by a series of 11 totems displaying interchangeable info graphics bolstering the civil right’s history of the Sweet Auburn Historic District, the Hero’s Walk is a culturally significant piece of the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District’s capital campaign to improve three consecutive miles of streetscape along historic Auburn and Edgewood Avenues from Courtland Street to Jackson Street. Day & Day Company has developed an actionable proposal to implement established design guidelines and transform the historic district’s public realm by employing a series of Complete Streets Initiatives. Developed in collaboration with the civil engineers at KAIZEN Collaborative, the designers at JIMA Studio who have developed the Hero’s Walk totem sign, and Isidor Studio’s interchangeable info graphics telling the story of the Sweet Auburn Historic District’s championing figures, the streetscape improvements feature broader sidewalks with defined pedestrian and amenity zones, a rhythmic tree canopy, improved lighting, and a series of biofiltering planters- supporting a more comfortable pedestrian experience for this historic destination in the city.