Georgia Forward hopes new governor will adopt its vision

October 15, 2018, 5:44 pm/2 Comments

Macon, GA – Nothing like a hurricane to bring the state closer together.

Eight years ago, Georgia Forward launched its first forum to unify the state by convening leaders from every corner of Georgia.

It also happened to be a gubernatorial election year, and both candidates for governor – Nathan Deal and Roy Barnes – participated in the forum via a video teleconference.

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Metro Atlanta also wants ‘More MARTA’ – as transit gains favor

October 8, 2018, 6:13 pm/5 Comments

More MARTA started out as a vehicle to bring more transit to the City of Atlanta.

Now it’s turned in to a cry for More MARTA in metro Atlanta.

Although the More MARTA $11.5 billion project list was tied to voters in the City of Atlanta passing an additional half-penny MARTA sales tax to be invested within the city, the last two MARTA board meetings were filled with people who wanted “More MARTA” in their jurisdictions.

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Charleston Mayor Joe Riley: ‘You can never stop listening’

October 1, 2018, 4:36 pm/1 Comment

A fascinating conversation between two public servants took place last week – thanks to ULI Atlanta. It was a conversation that should become a guiding platform for how Atlanta can evolve into a next generation city.

The conversation took place between former Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley Jr. – who has been described as the best mayor in the country, serving his city for 40 years; and Atlanta Planning Commissioner Tim Keane, who worked for Riley for eight years before coming to Atlanta.

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Music Midtown is an urban balancing act

September 17, 2018, 8:59 pm/4 Comments

The hosting of Music Midtown in Piedmont Park continues its delicate balance of having an incredible outdoor musical festival in the midst of densely populated neighborhoods inconvenienced by its impact before, during and after the two-day weekend.

The 2018 Music Midtown was no different.

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Gwinnett’s Charlotte Nash on MARTA: ‘We are ready to roll’

August 6, 2018, 6:30 pm/6 Comments

By any measure, Charlotte Nash is a poster child of Gwinnett County.

She has lived her entire 65 years in Gwinnett, one of the few among the county’s 920,260 residents as of a year ago. When she was born, Gwinnett had fewer than 40,000 residents.

Nash now serves as board chair of the Gwinnett County Commission. Over the years, she has had a front-row seat to view changes in the county, one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation over the last 30 years.

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Now is a good time to create a City of Atlanta transportation department

July 23, 2018, 5:41 pm/7 Comments

When contemplating a vision for Atlanta’s future, transportation issues often are a centerpiece of how we envision our city.

The assumption of the Atlanta City Design Project is that the city’s population will double or even triple over the next 30 years.

So the challenge facing Atlanta is how do we incorporate more people living within the city limits without having complete gridlock on our city’s streets.

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A special time for France – and for all who long for global harmony

July 16, 2018, 2:42 pm/10 Comments

After France won the World Cup on Sunday, I called my cousin – Alain Bourla – in Paris. Alain lives along Boulevard St. Germain near Boulevard St. Michel in the Latin Quarter (my favorite part of Paris).

So what was the reaction in Paris? Alain told me the city was going crazy. He took the phone to his balcony so I could hear the wild celebration outside his apartment.

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Plans to redesign Monroe Drive are ‘completely incomplete’

July 9, 2018, 11:05 pm/26 Comments

It’s no secret that Monroe Drive is an accident-prone corridor in the City of Atlanta.

Just ask Ivan Schustak. He was walking along Monroe Drive in the crosswalk at Yorkshire Road on March 29thwhen he was hit by a car turning left from Monroe Drive.  

Schustak, who is visually impaired, attended a Renew Atlanta community presentation of the latest proposed plans to improve the corridor of Monroe Drive-Boulevard Avenue at a town hall meeting at Grady High School on June 28th.

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City needs to hit pause on Brock English Ave. project

July 1, 2018, 11:37 pm/11 Comments

A proposed mixed-use project by Brock Built Homes and partners has become a lightning rod in the already divided English Avenue community.

Despite a lack of consensus among key players on the Westside, the project has been sailing through the Atlanta City Council’s committee meetings. It was scheduled to go before the full Atlanta City Council on Monday, July 2, but it has been delayed for 30 days. 

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Atlanta region needs to refresh annual LINK trips

June 18, 2018, 11:35 am/5 Comments

For 22 years, an impressive group of metro Atlanta civic, business and government leaders have spent three days a year visiting a North American city to learn how other cities are handling their urban challenges.

The LINK trips also have provided people an opportunity to get to know each other – connecting with leaders from different races, genders and sections of the Atlanta region as well as people from different circles of influence.

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