Fifty Forward Visioning Process Reaches Capstone Event

 

In 2008, the Atlanta Regional Commission launched the Fifty Forward initiative as a way to explore scenarios for metro Atlanta focusing on the region’s future livability, prosperity and sustainability.  The initiative was introduced at ARC’s 2008 State of the Region breakfast and challenged some 1,000 attendees to determine their preferred future by asking questions such as: What will metro Atlanta be like in 50 years?  What are the key issues, trends and opportunities to consider in helping to make our region thrive in the future? What are short and long-term action steps the region must achieve to reach our goals?

Over the couple of years that followed this 2008 State of the Region breakfast ARC has convened forums on Health, Sustainability, Demography and Diversity, Megaregions, the Economy and Globalization, Science, Technology and Innovation, Land Use and Housing, Transportation and Energy (Additional information on past forums can be found here).

On July 29 the Fifty Forward capstone event will be held at the Carter Center in Atlanta. This event will combine all the input received through the previous forums, relating research and other products that have been created over the past two years into a unified long-range vision for the Atlanta region.  This event will also seek to make recommendations to structure what some priority implementation steps may be. To register for this event please visit http://www.atlantafiftyforward.com/futures_forums.html .

For more information about Fifty Forward, contact: 

Cain Williamson

Atlanta Regional Commission

CWilliamson@atlantaregional.com

Is it Game Over for Atlanta? I Think Not!

There was an interesting article that came out of the New Geography website recently. In his article titled “Is it Game Over for Atlanta?” author Aaron Renn questions the Atlanta Region’s staying power.

Atlanta was only recently one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country, but has experienced a major population slowdown in the past couple years of the recession. Renn’s article points to trends that have contributed to this slowdown, such as a battered housing market and an unemployment rate above the national average of 9.7%. 

But according to Renn’s article (and most of you would probably agree), the metro area’s biggest Achilles heel is found in its infrastructure woes. Apart from the fact that the region is currently restricted from using what has been its principal water source supply, which is a huge issue in and of itself, the region has failed to adequately fund and invest in its transportation network for years. The region’s population has grown by over 1 million people in the past eight years alone, but the amount of funding for both MARTA and GDOT is currently less than it was in 2000. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this equals serious problems for the existing transportation infrastructure and those residents trying to utilize it.