Most of all, Leon fiercely loved Atlanta. He also felt that a city’s magic lay in its rich diversity he was involved in and passionate about civil rights and social justice throughout his life. Leon held many convictions as a visionary planner, including the need to transition away from a car-dependent city to a more pedestrian and public-transit-friendly place, the need for affordable housing, and the vital role that parks and greenspace play in the livability of a city. This was a source of great pride for him. The result of this work was the John Lewis Freedom Parkway, which added miles of usable greenspace to the inner city. In 1991, Leon spearheaded and helped broker a resolution between the Georgia Department of Transportation and multiple intown neighborhood associations to avert a highly controversial highway extension. “We’re using the Olympics to build a new city.”ĭecades later, in his late 80s, he was one of three authors of a just-published book on the subject, “Atlanta’s Olympic Resurgence.” “We’re not doing these things simply for the Olympics,” he said. Leon deeply believed that the Olympics should be a vessel for urban Atlanta’s contemporary rebirth. Embedded in this work was a driving purpose far bigger than putting on successful global games. Leon continued to teach and consult until 1990 when Mayor Jackson asked him to return to City Hall to help prepare Atlanta for the 1996 Olympic games. He proudly chaired the board of the Boys High Alumni Association and was a longtime board member of Southface Energy Institute. He served as president of the American Institute of Planners (now the American Planning Association) and won numerous city planning honors and awards. In 1979, he was named the director of graduate studies in city planning at Georgia Tech. One of his most enduring accomplishments during that time was the creation of the Neighborhood Planning Unit program, which gives local neighborhoods a voice in local development and was considered a bold innovation when it was created. In 1974, he was tapped by the newly elected mayor Maynard Jackson to become the commissioner of budget and planning, serving in that role from 1974 to 1978. During this time, he was also involved in the planning of the MARTA rail system. He began a long and illustrious city planning career as a consultant to cities around the country. He often liked to recount that he and Madalyne couldn’t get a loan when they first sought to live in Ansley Park because the neighborhood was redlined by the banks as a neighborhood “in decline.” Leon crafted a neighborhood plan in the 1960s, helping to revive the neighborhood to its historic glory. Leon loved his big rambling house and was devoted to the neighborhood.
#ELISE EPLAN FULL#
With their three children, extended family and countless friends, their Ansley Park home was always full of people. Get The AJT Newsletter by email and never miss our top storiesĪfter a short stint in the army, he met and married Madalyne Buchman in 1959, and they shared a wonderful and adventuresome life together. A self-described wayward student in his early youth, he hit his stride in his 20s, accumulating master’s degrees from the University of Tennessee, the University of North Carolina and the London School of Economics.
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