How the Downtown Chattanooga Alliance Creates a Cleaner, Greener, and More Inviting Downtown

When you’ve visited Downtown, you might have noticed friendly people in bright orange shirts picking up trash and greeting visitors. These folks are Ambassadors for the Downtown Chattanooga Alliance (DCA). The DCA's mission is to ensure the beautification, cleanliness and safety of Chattanooga's Business Improvement District (BID).

The average day for an Ambassador includes anything from picking up trash, pressure washing, supporting unhoused individuals, giving Downtown visitors directions, taking group photos, planting flowers and other landscaping, all within the Business Improvement District  - the area of Downtown that the Downtown Chattanooga Alliance operates.

“The Ambassadors’ work of cleaning, picking up trash, and removing biohazards is often far from fun, and yet this hard-working team brings good humor to every job, never fails to welcome visitors, and warmly works to de-escalate challenging situations with our neighbors in crisis,” DCA Executive Director Steve Brookes said. “They continue to impress us and everyone they meet throughout the District.”

Chattanooga’s BID boundaries are roughly the Tennessee River to the north, Highway 27 to the west, 11th Street to the south, and a combination of Georgia Avenue and Cherry Street to the east.

Over the past year, the DCA helped beautify Downtown by cleaning up 1,037 biohazards, power washed stains, smells, and deep cleaned sidewalks for 495 hours, removed 1,830 graffiti tags and stickers, collected 18,347 bags of trash, cleaned 4,437 trash cans, and performed weed abatement on 651 blocks.

“Having a welcoming Downtown, which the DCA is now creating, helps our patrons to have a wonderful experience both before and after a show at one of our beautiful theaters,” Tivoli Theatre Foundation Executive Director Nick Wilkinson said. “In addition, the DCA has gone above and beyond to clean up graffiti, help with trespassing, and create an overall safer and healthier environment Downtown.”

The Ambassadors are always there to assist Downtown residents, business owners, property owners, and visitors. If you notice something that needs to be cleaned up Downtown or want an Ambassador to walk you to or from your car, you can call 423-206-4200. For less immediate issues, you can reach out to the DCA by emailing dtchattalliance@gmail.com.

The DCA’s commitment to a vibrant, visitor-ready Downtown keeps our city cleaner and more inviting for tourists. Learn more by visiting www.dtchattalliance.org.