We need more jobs and growth

Posted on May 20, 2013 by admin
AndyStaines-Suit

Andrew Staines, First Secretary for Trade & Business Policy in the British Embassy to the US in Washington DC

By Andrew Staines, First Secretary for Trade & Business Policy in the British Embassy to the US in Washington DC

“We need more jobs and growth.”

That was something I consistently heard when I was in Atlanta recently for the annual Europe Day celebration luncheon sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Atlanta.  I also met with leaders of the Metro Atlanta Chamber and a range of other officials across academia and business. I was impressed by the Metro Chamber and its large and internationally engaged membership. They have a strong commitment to building Atlanta’s presence on the world stage, so I look forward to Georgia’s business interests staying active in global trade issues—especially the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

TTIP is a once in a generation opportunity to eliminate trade tariffs, regulatory barriers and red tape across huge volumes of transatlantic trade, and the Europe Day luncheon focused on this critically important topic.  Fostering key trade relationships and global growth is one of the most important tools we can use to create new jobs by strengthening local, national and global economies.  Formal negotiations are scheduled to launch in time for our mid-June G8 Summit in Loch Erne, Northern Ireland.

As Prime Minister David Cameron recently said in Washington DC, this deal is worth the effort.

For example, the US and the EU both have large auto manufacturing industries.  Automobile safety is of paramount importance in both markets – yet we currently have different safety approval procedures causing new vehicles to be tested twice.  We should consider how we can recognize safety testing in each other’s markets, cutting costs whilst not compromising safety.

This is why the EU and the US must lead from the front.  An ambitious and comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership could bring economic gains of over $120 billion on each side of the Atlantic once the agreement is fully implemented.  The EU and the US account for about half of global economic output and the proposed agreement is an important opportunity to establish Twenty First Century trade rules.

 

Georgia alone exported $1.1 billion to the United Kingdom in 2012, up from $988 million in 2011. The UK stands as the second largest investor in Georgia, creating nearly 25,000 jobs in the state.  Georgia has benefited from the investment of some of the UK’s largest brands, hosting Americas headquarters and significant operations for British companies, such as Triumph Motorcycles, JC Bamford, InterContinental Hotels Group, and Lexis-Nexis.  The UK is the largest European market and the sixth largest in the world for Georgia exports.  Similarly many Georgia companies have discovered the UK and the EU to be great export markets for both goods and services, including UPS, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Crawford & Co., Equifax, Georgia-Pacific, Global Payments, NCR and many others.

If TTIP is going to happen, business will need to play a key role.  Her Majesty’s Consul General in Atlanta Annabelle Malins sums it up well: “The southeast United States can gain a great deal from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership’s job-creation potential. However, for these negotiations to succeed, decision-makers in Washington will need to hear from their constituents. They will want to know which tariffs to cut and where the EU’s and US’ rules and regulations need to be as compatible as possible. If an agreement is to be finished within two years, time is of the essence.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andrew Staines is the First Secretary for Trade & Business Policy in the British Embassy to the US in Washington DC where he leads amongst other things on the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP, the EU-US FTA).  Andrew is also the Trade Counsellor to the UK Mission to the World Trade Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland.  Andrew joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 2008.  Prior to joining the FCO, Andrew worked as a senior executive covering corporate finance in Anglo American plc, the global mining business; as a specialist adviser to the Treasury Select Committee at the British House of Commons; and as a Corporate Finance Manager for Deloitte in the UK and Australia.

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Foreign driver’s license legislation a big move forward for global business

Posted on April 9, 2013 by admin
Jorge Fernandez 2.75x3.5

Jorge Fernandez, Vice President, Global Commerce, Metro Atlanta Chamber

During this past legislative session, Georgia scored a victory for global business with the passage of SB 122- a bill that will allow for the extension of temporary driving privileges to foreign workers at Georgia companies.

It may sound small, but consider that every day around the state, foreign companies that have chosen to build a home in Georgia  – and even local businesses that are attracting global talent – all have a myriad of back-end logistics to navigate when it comes to making sure foreign workers are in compliance with the law.

Previously, when a foreign worker’s visa expired, so did their Georgia driver’s license. That meant that, in those cases where a company wanted a worker to remain in the U.S. and renew their visa, suddenly that executive or prized employee was without a Georgia driver’s license during that visa renewal process.

The visa renewal process can take time, and that meant the worker had to depend on others to drive them around, for example, or had to arrange alternative transportation for their children to go to school – a logistical headache.

Our foreign companies and bi-national chambers spoke up about this – and we listened.

During the legislative session, a partnership of organizations, including MAC, the Georgia Department of Economic Development, foreign chambers of commerce and the Georgia Department of Driver Services, along with global company leaders, worked together to craft and pass legislation that would extend driving privileges during that visa renewal process.

The measure passed and now awaits the Governor’s signature. Additionally, a drivers’ license reciprocity bill sponsored by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce also passed, allowing Georgia to enter into agreements with certain countries to make it easier for international workers to obtain drivers’ licenses.

The passage of these legislative measures sends the right competitive message. We commend our legislature and Governor for their support.

The recruitment of foreign companies does not end with the landing of a company in Georgia. To truly be a great place in which to grow and foster international business and the recruitment of global, world-class talent, a state must listen to companies and work to continue to help them grow long after their offices have opened.

Georgia strives to remain competitive and offer a superior quality of life to foreign employees who call our state home. Most importantly – we listen and when concerns arise, we act.

As a result, we offer the best environment for international companies to achieve their highest level of success. At the end of the day it is about helping the economy continue to thrive and it’s about creating an environment for job growth.

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TSPLOST is about bringing region together to fight traffic, move forward

Posted on July 31, 2012 by marynevaire

By Amir Farokhi, Executive Director of GeorgiaForward

Each year, over 35 million people take the Øresund Bridge between Malmo, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark. The toll bridge/tunnel runs five miles and primarily carries residents in cars and trains from Malmo to work in Copenhagen. What is remarkable about the bridge is not that it is an engineering marvel, but that two cities, in two different countries, came together and understood that their region’s economic competitiveness depended on being better connected. They didn’t try to snipe companies from one another or live under the shortsighted belief that their respective futures were not tied to one another. They realized that they were stronger working together than against each other.

Amir Farokhi, Executive Director of GeorgiaForward

Here, however, as the July 31 TSPLOST vote approaches, we do not have a regional mindset. The TSPLOST will ask the Atlanta region to vote on funding, through a one-percent sales tax, 157 transportation projects over the next ten years. The list is not perfect but it represents a rare, triumphant, regional collaboration to address Georgia’s underinvestment in transportation infrastructure.

Yet, we see arguments that the project list doesn’t give a certain county enough of what it wants or that the projects are not going to solve traffic. Aside from the fact that all major cities have traffic and will continue to have traffic, the greater misconception is that everyone gets what they want. It is not possible. Atlanta is not getting everything it wants. Neither is Kennesaw or Fayetteville. What matters is that the region gets what it needs. Even though you may not use all 157 transportation projects, the projects are likely to make the region more economically competitive through new jobs, higher property values, and better connectivity. Meanwhile, Charlotte, Houston, Denver and others are investing in transportation infrastructure, from transit to roads.

Former Chicago Mayor Bill Daley was asked why he spent so much time and money on the center city. He responded that his father said that it doesn’t matter how good an apple is, if the apple’s core is bad, nobody wants the apple. Metro Atlanta is one big apple (err, peach). When Cobb County does well, it is good for Clayton County too; if intown Atlanta is vibrant and livable, the exburbs are a viable real estate market.

Fundamentally, across the world, people are moving to cities. 49% of the world’s population lived in cities in 2005. By 2030, 60% of the world’s population is expected to live in cities. The cities that flourish will be those that invest in their people and infrastructure.

We do not have a monopoly on being a “good place to do business.” We are not the only desirable place to live in the South. We have a diverse community with diverse economic assets and a great airport. To be a place that attracts the best and brightest and sprouts new companies, we also have to invest in our transportation network. Doing that requires rising above our paralyzing number of local governments that alone cannot address big issues like transportation. Our future success requires thinking and acting as a region.

If Malmo and Copenhagen can build a five-mile bridge because they understand their region needs it to be more competitive, surely we should consider investing in projects across our region that make us all stronger, even if we don’t personally use each one. One proposed project is a transit line, less than five miles long, between the MARTA’s Lindbergh Station and Emory/CDC, one of our biggest employment clusters. Will we see the value in these projects for all of us or will we put self-interest over regional needs?

Amir Farokhi is Executive Director of GeorgiaForward. The views expressed here are his own.

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Telework Works for Metro Atlanta

Posted on July 26, 2012 by admin

Tedra Cheatham, executive director of The Clean Air Campaign

As the Atlanta region takes a serious look at its traffic congestion problems in advance of the July 31 Transportation Referendum vote, one strategy that private and public sector employers have been embracing is the adoption of telework as an efficient way to work smarter and help employees avoid traffic.

Nationally, Atlanta stands out as a leader when it comes to creating opportunities for employees to work from home. A recent Microsoft study tagged Atlanta as the most telework-friendly city in the U.S. What’s more, the technology infrastructure available here gives our workforce access to crucial broadband technology, making Atlanta one of the most-wired cities anywhere. Our large population of Gen-Y workers (who account for 45 percent of teleworkers nationally) also brings a keen understanding that work is something you do, not a place you go.

But, even with many of the region’s employers and commuters already leading the telework charge, our roads are still congested and we can do more. New numbers on regional commuting show that 11 percent of commuters who do not telework are interested in starting, and 45 percent of them believe they could telework 1-2 times per week. That’s another 242,000 people who could be putting in a productive workday without ever having to get into a car.

State leadership has demonstrated strong support for telework. Former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue instituted the country’s first state-supported tax credit for employers to start or expand telework programs. And Governor Nathan Deal is supporting the third-annual Georgia Telework Week, taking place August 20-24, encouraging employers and individuals to show support for telework and learn best practices.

The numbers clearly reflect the success happening in Atlanta with telework. Consider this: telework has grown so quickly that it now eclipses carpooling as the most popular commute alternative in the area.  According to the most recent survey on regional commuting conducted for the Georgia Department of Transportation, from 2007 to 2010 the number of people who telework at least occasionally rose 35 percent to 600,000 people.

This is exactly the kind of change The Clean Air Campaign works to create every day. As a nonprofit organization, we partner with the region’s transportation management associations (TMAs) to encourage the use of commute alternatives such as carpooling, vanpooling, transit, bicycling, walking, and, of course, telework. Thousands of commuters and more than 1,600 employers statewide are participating in voluntary commute options programs. Currently, more than 250 Georgia employers have taken advantage of our free telework and consulting services to develop or expand formal telework programs.

A wide variety of forward-thinking local employers, from public to private, large to small, see these benefits every day. WellStar’s program has helped it land in the top ten among Working Mother’s 100 Best Companies. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) allows more than one-third of its employees to work from home on any given day. Local design firm VeendendaalCave eliminates 850 commute trips a year from just 70 employees through telework

Some of the best success happening anywhere with telework is happening right here.  But to move the region forward, and, in turn, restore our economic vitality, we must continue to pursue all options available.

Tedra Cheatham is executive director of The Clean Air Campaign.

 

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Atlanta’s Transformative Opportunity

Posted on July 25, 2012 by admin

Atlanta’s Transformative Opportunity

Adie Tomer, senior research associate at the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program

The upcoming transportation referendum vote is a major inflection point for metro Atlanta businesses and residents. If passed, the projects the referendum would authorize promise to help transform Atlanta’s economy, creating jobs in the short-run and expanding access to opportunity in the long-run.

But as the metro area awakes on August 1, irrespective of whether the vote passes or not, Atlanta will be left with the same core issue: How do you address the costs of growth?

Atlanta hasn’t been a sleepy town for a long time, but the Atlanta of 1970 bears only a passing resemblance to the sprawling metropolis of today. Back then, metropolitan Atlanta had a population of just over one million spread over five counties. Today, the metro area is home to 5.3 million people and covers 28 counties.

In just four decades, that’s an increase of 4.1 million people and an eye-popping 6,749 square miles. That’s larger than the state of Connecticut.

Such rapid expansion also brought rampant decentralization. Atlanta’s jobs are no longer concentrated in the central business district; instead, Brookings research shows that 63 percent of jobs are more than 10 miles from downtown. Over four in five low income households live in the suburbs, often seeking more affordable housing.

Such decentralization has real costs on the local transportation network. Driving is no bargain, as Atlanta consistently ranks as one of the most congested metro areas in the country. Across the region, nearly half of commuters live and work in different counties—proving Atlanta is truly a metropolitan economy.

Yet while Atlanta’s metropolitan borders continued to expand, transit service did not. MARTA may include the word “metropolitan,” but its service area is anything but. Clayton, Gwinnett and Cobb counties famously passed on original membership, instead opting to run their own services. For the 23 counties on the suburban fringe, they’ve decided to omit local transit service entirely.

The lack of regional thinking and uncoordinated transit investments have limited transit’s potential impact. Using Brookings transit research, we found Atlanta ranks in the lowest tier nationally when it comes to transit’s ability to reach people or jobs. It ranks equally low when it comes to connecting the two. For example, the average employer in suburban Atlanta can be reached by only 10 percent of the metropolitan workforce via transit. When looking at just the country’s 10 largest metropolitan areas, Atlanta is the worst across each measure. Atlanta’s transit performance also trails comparable metro areas making large-scale transit investments, like Denver and Salt Lake City.

This environment is becoming untenable. Congested roads are a headache for people and businesses and provide a disincentive to attract new businesses. An inadequate transit network forces people to own a car and swallow ever-rising gas prices. And for Generation Y and retiring baby boomers looking for denser neighborhoods with multiple transportation options, Atlanta has little to offer.

To grow for the future, Atlanta needs to reconnect its economic base, and TIA is a step in the right direction.

Major transit investments, like rail to Emory University and the CDC, promise to enhance connections between major employers and their workers. Initiating the Belt Line will provide transportation alternatives and meet the denser housing demands of the next generation. And roadway investments, like the I-285 interchange improvements, will smooth traffic in some of the metro’s most congested stretches.

Atlanta’s regional leaders also need to pay attention to other developmental factors. There are no silver bullets, and it will take more than just roads or rail to solve Atlanta’s quagmire. Local land use planners and elected officials need to start questioning whether the region can continue expanding by over 1,000 square miles a decade. Economic development agencies and their private sector partners need to start promoting locations closer to multimodal transportation infrastructure. In the end, this vote is really just the beginning.

July 31 is a big day in Atlanta. For us onlookers across the country, we will ask a different question that next morning: Is Atlanta stuck in neutral?

Adie Tomer is a senior research associate at the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program

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Atlanta has a long history of “crazy” ideas

Posted on July 24, 2012 by admin

Tom Bell, chairman
Mesa Capital Partners, LLC

Throughout our history as a city, metro Atlanta has often found itself in the spotlight for its lofty plans and big ideas. Some of our most famous leaders have faced controversy, and even open ridicule, for trying to take our city in new directions.

When Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. made good on his campaign promise to build a modern sports facility that would bring a major league baseball team here, he fought an uphill battle. In 1964, when city leaders broke ground on the $18 million Atlanta Stadium, the American League had already turned the city down and the Milwaukee Braves had yet to sign on to move to Atlanta.

Critics called the stadium “Allen’s Folly,” and for a while it looked like they might be right. The stadium was finished in time for the 1965 baseball season, but the Braves move was tied up in lawsuits, and it wasn’t until the following year that the Atlanta Braves played their first regular season game there. Mayor Allen threw out the first pitch. Thirty years later the stadium played host to the baseball competition for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.

The stadium was a risky move for Allen, but it was a move that sealed Atlanta’s future as a major sports city – a legacy that carries over today with great professional teams and NCAA championship games.

Along similar lines, the creation of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was met with a mountain of criticism, as was the original referendum for MARTA. Plenty of people said our leaders were nuts for attempting these projects and for asking our citizens to help pick up the tab.

But where would we be if our leaders had backed down? What would metro Atlanta be like if we hadn’t taken our chances on an airport and a public transit system?

More importantly, what will our city be like if we fail to pass the Regional Transportation Referendum on July 31? Our leaders face the same criticism for this bold plan as past leaders faced for their “crazy” ideas. We’d be foolish to listen.

This referendum will deliver an $8.5 billion investment for 157 infrastructure improvement and congestion relief projects for a 10-county region. It will do so in the form of a one penny sales tax that will cost the average citizen $122 a year. That’s compared to the $924 the average Atlanta commuter spends now each year for what the Texas Transportation Institute calls the “congestion tax,” made up of wasted fuel and lost time sitting in traffic.

The project mix includes major interchange improvements, including a fix for the dreaded I-285/Ga. 400 interchange, and first-ever transit developments, including the “Clifton Corridor” rail line. It’s the biggest transportation infrastructure improvement project our region has ever attempted and the critics are having a field day. We can and must face down those critics as we have before.

If we don’t get this passed, we are going to look back with deep regret. As other cities pass us by and attract the growing companies and workforce talent – cities like Charlotte, Denver and Salt Lake City that have already passed regional transportation sales taxes – Atlanta could cease to be a vibrant hub for business and the capital of the southeast! Our economic growth will stall and our brand will suffer – the city that dared to embrace civil rights, that got gutsy enough to pursue major league baseball, had the audacity to go after the 1996 Olympic Games and the place that built the world’s busiest airport could well find itself on an irreversible downward path.

We owe it to ourselves to take another bold step to ensure a successful future.  Vote YES on July 31!

By Tom Bell, 

Chairman, Mesa Capital Partners, LLC

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Regional Collaboration is Essential for Metro Area’s Future

Posted on July 17, 2012 by admin

By Clair Muller 

Clair Muller, Former Atlanta City Council Transportation Chair and Former Atlanta Regional Commission Board of Commissioners

Much has been written about the July 31 vote for the transportation referendum. Will our 10 counties vote for the project list that our metro Regional Roundtable devised?  Will it help that the project list was agreed to with the help of citizens and transportation planners from existing, vetted transportation proposals? Will we finally begin to think of ourselves as a region, when it matters?

The key issue in this referendum is whether we will put in place the means to build the necessary infrastructure the region needs for our future economic success and quality of life. I believe it is crucial that we not only pass a region-wide plan but also that we validate the concept of regional cooperation and teamwork for major initiatives that can really only be addressed at this level—regionally—and by this means—cooperatively.

Voting on a regional basis moves us forward towards regional management for transportation. It also builds the pathway for control and accountability. Transportation is, by definition, a larger issue that cannot be effectively managed at a local level. Almost all core transportation crosses governmental boundaries, and almost two-thirds—63%—of metro area citizens travel outside their home counties for work. In addition, our regional infrastructure supports the transport of supplies and goods throughout the Southeast. Increased transportation access improves the economy of our entire region. I believe that establishing a regional funding and control model for all of Georgia for is a great step forward to ensuring that we meet our current and future needs.

Regional cooperation is crucial for sustainable growth. We need a solution that addresses both our current traffic crisis and anticipates future growth and the need for transportation choices. We have a wide range of diverse needs in the metro region. We need to provide options for all citizens, and to bring the metro area back into the game regarding economic development—attracting jobs and companies whose employees are accustomed to transportation options. Young residents are demanding choice in modes of transportation, or leaving the Atlanta area for cities that offer them. Atlanta is currently a magnet for retirees who seek a warm climate and proximity to children/grandchildren. By 2015, it is projected that 90% of our growing older population will live in neighborhoods with no access to transit. While certainly not perfect, I believe the referendum’s project list provides a good mix of solutions to address the most pressing needs of residents and communities throughout our 10 counties.

I spent many hours watching our metro Roundtable working hard to put together our project list. They voted unanimously to approve. That process was an exercise in cooperation that was the best I have seen in the past 20 years. Thank you to Sam Olens and Shirley Franklin for getting us started down that cooperation path. Thank you to our Regional Roundtable. I hope that the cooperation can continue. I’m sure the other 11 Regional Roundtables had similar success in putting together a cooperative project list.

While no one likes a new tax, I see the opportunity for voting on a specific project list—developed with citizen oversight, and with accountability a requirement of implementation—as infinitely more desirable than a tax where revenues collected are spent on projects on which we have no input. A sales tax draws revenue from more than the region’s citizens—travel, tourism and convention dollars will also contribute to supporting our transportation systems. It provides the means for our interconnected region to, first, get needed funding and, second, make the difficult trade-offs that are required when there so many diverse needs to represent. The referendum is the best opportunity to provide citizen control over our transportation future.

I’m cheering for approval of the transportation vote in the metro region—and in all 12 regions of Georgia—and hoping for continued dialog among the 12. The region’s, and Georgia’s, future requires that we work together to create infrastructure—and connectivity—that serves us all.

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Atlanta small businesses depending on passage of Regional Transportation Referendum

Posted on July 9, 2012 by admin

Atlanta’s small business owners know that, while this city is a great place to run a business, our traffic is a disaster.

There’s nothing worse than having chefs and customers arrive late to class, stressed to the max because they had to fight gridlock. Those moments of pure frustration spent waiting in bumper-to-bumper congestion are costly.

Mary Moore, founder and CEO of The Cook’s Warehouse

The price of our traffic mess for businesses comes in lost productivity, increased labor cost, missed or delayed meetings with clients and in hampered opportunities to develop new customer, as well as lost shopping frequency of existing customers.

Metro Atlanta citizens have a chance to change that on July 31 by voting YES on the Regional Transportation Referendum, or TSPLOST.

This one penny sales tax would result in an $8.5 billion investment into 157 projects that will directly impact traffic and transportation issues over a 10-county region.

But just as importantly, that $8.5 billion investment is expected to support 200,000 jobs and $19 billion in new income for the metro area—a very good return on our investment and the reason so many of Atlanta’s business leaders support the referendum.

Atlanta business owners are among the city’s greatest assets and, because of that, it is imperative that we, as a community and as leaders, do everything that we can to support them. That includes taking a lead on issues like transportation improvements.

A study by the Atlanta Regional Commission shows that traffic congestion costs the average metro Atlanta commuter $924 a year. The sales tax is estimated to cost commuters only about $112 a year, a bargain compared to their traffic congestion costs.

I’m no fan of taxes and this referendum may not be the perfect plan for everybody, but it is a chance to do something. In this case, don’t let perfection stand in the way of good enough, we have to start somewhere.

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TSPLOST critical to making Atlanta a place future generations call home

Posted on July 3, 2012 by admin

My day job involves advancing prosperity and quality of life in the core of the Atlanta region. But I’m also a full-time parent of three teenagers. When it comes to issues like regional transportation, I see no separation of the priorities of my profession and that of my responsibility to younger and future generations, including my own kids.

A.J. Robinson is the president of Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District

I am convinced that the critical decisions that affect businesses in metro Atlanta today will also make a tremendous impact on whether or not they grow up and decide to do what many of you and I have done: choose Atlanta, as a place to live, work and raise a family.

The July 31 Regional Transportation Referendum provides us an opportunity to address many of the traffic issues that plague Atlanta residents and to provide new transportation options for workers and families. For our economy, it means the opportunity to support over 200,000 jobs, while attracting and retaining companies and the talented workforce on which they depend.

For my kids, projects like the Atlanta BeltLine and the Atlanta Streetcar will mean that the lifestyles of access to great amenities and connectivity that their generation clearly demands will be flourishing right here when they begin their careers. It means that the centers of employment where they may seek jobs will be more likely to be thriving, still hosting some of the world’s top companies, growing businesses, new startups, and civic organizations.

Without making investments like 157 projects designated for $8.5 billion in funding through a 1 penny sales tax in this referendum, we take an enormous risk in allowing those opportunities—and other regions—to pass us by.

This is a game changer for Atlanta. Today, our roads are seriously outdated for the volume of traffic they now carry. The gas tax that has funded transportation can no longer keep up with the demands of repair, not to mention the investments in new infrastructure needed to support a 21st century economy.

At the same time, the public’s attitude regarding transportation has evolved. What was anathema to people 20 years ago is expected and desirable to many metro Atlanta residents who are drawn to transit oriented, walkable, and mixed-use communities. If we are fortunate enough that our children wish to live nearby as adults, we can be assured that this is the type of Atlanta they will demand.

The down economy and global financial woes have walloped the metro area. Atlanta is still struggling to recover. Most of us do not want to see higher taxes; but, this is a case where we have to look at this penny as not a tax but an investment in our region’s essential infrastructure and economic development needs—just as we would invest in a new factory for our business or a new roof for our home.

A “yes” vote on the referendum is not just about the transportation improvements that will make our lives easier and our region more prosperous over the next decade. It’s about making sure that the Atlanta of the 21st century is one that our children and their children are willing to also say “yes” to. Please join me and bring your family, friends, and colleagues to the polls on July 31.

For more information on the Regional Transportation Referendum and your early voting options, please visit www.untieatlanta.com and click on the “Vote Yes” button.

For the past nine years, A.J. Robinson has served as president of Central Atlanta Progress (CAP) and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (ADID), overseeing these influential civic organizations dedicated to maintaining a safe, vibrant and economically robust downtown neighborhood that positively impacts the city of Atlanta.

TSPLOST Testimonials: Why is voting “YES” on July 31st so important for Atlanta?

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The Future of Atlanta Depends on TSPLOST

Posted on June 21, 2012 by admin

By Mark Toro

Partner, North American Properties

Mark Toro, partner, North American Properties

Richard Florida, the prolific author of The Rise of the Creative Class and Who’s Your City, has long been considered a visionary and free thinker.  His focus on macrodemographic shifts and their impact on the world economy has led him to be a sought after expert and advisor.

In December of 2007, Florida came to Atlanta to share his perspective at The Midtown Alliance Annual Meeting. At that point, none of us had an inkling of the economic abyss that was about to open all over the U.S., yet we were introduced to the sea change that was underway in American cities.

Florida suggested that “The Creative Class”, a new and distinctly different breed of American, was busy carving out a niche for themselves in places like Old Fourth Ward, Reynoldstown, East Atlanta and West Midtown, leading the force of urban regeneration in a city that had become the poster child for suburbanization.

For those of us who had spent most of our adult lives in the bucolic settings of East Cobb, Dunwoody, Duluth and McDonough, raising our kids in a homogenous suburban bubble, it was anathema to us that people “like us” would live cheek-by-jowl in an urban environment with people who did not look like us, but the facts speak for themselves.  After losing population for 4 decades, the City of Atlanta has gained population each of the last 10 years.

And it will continue to grow. Estimates by the Atlanta Regional Commission have our region growing by nearly three million people over the next 30 years.

That means having a solid infrastructure, and meaningful solutions to our traffic problems. That also makes the passage of the Regional Transportation Referendum, or TSPLOST, even more important.

In Who’s Your City, Florida describes how cities and regions take on the predominant personality of those who choose to live there, suggesting that the only direct positive correlation to GDP is to the personality type he calls “Open to New Experiences”.  He cites cities like Boston, Austin, Denver, San Francisco and Seattle, indicating that they are likely to continue to grow and, predicting that this population will deliver the mental horsepower to innovate and advance, providing the infrastructure to support their lifestyle.

His latest book, The Great Reset, supports the premise that from every great economic cataclysm comes a paradigm shift in the thinking of the majority.  He indicates that The Great Recession has brought about another sea change in our living habits, borne of scars to our psyche, which has resulted in record low homeownership numbers and a flight to urban settings.

Florida projects that this shift is permanent and pervasive, led by the largest generation in US history.  Some 77 million echo boomers have spoken: “we want authentic, walkable, fully amenitized communities that afford mobility without reliance on our cars”.   And they are not alone.  Many of their parents, empty-nesters seeking diversity and vitality, are leaving the suburbs in droves to live a high-energy lifestyle.

If the Atlanta region is to succeed in attracting this new breed of  highly mobile American, it is imperative that we provide the environment and the infrastructure that they seek, because they are likely to “vote with their feet”, choosing to reside in a community that responds to their needs.

Every great city comes to a crossroads and we have now come to ours.  We can continue to pave ourselves into oblivion, hoping that our suburban lifestyle can continue to support the metro economy, or we can heed the warning of the next generation: “grow up and be a real city or we’re going elsewhere”.  Atlanta citizens have a chance to heed this warning by voting in support of the TSPLOST on July 31. This landmark referendum is an $8.5 billion investment into 157 projects for a 10-county region – a plan that can forever change our infrastructure, our ability to grow in the right ways, and our future.

Our economic life depends on it.

Why Is It Important To Vote Yes? from Metro Atlanta Chamber on Vimeo.

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