By Kate Sweeney How did it come to be that a small city a full 30 miles north of the city of Atlanta set the precedent for so-called “urban” design — the sort of pedestrian-friendly planning that’s taking suburban and in-town neighborhoods alike by storm? In this week’s episode of What’s Next ATL, the podcast […]
Category: Thought Leader
Posted inThought Leader
Celebrating the Environmental Legacy of President Jimmy Carter
by Georgia Conservancy Communications Director Brian Foster “My thoughts on conservation are grounded in a lifelong love of the natural wonders of Georgia and our responsibility to pass on the land, water, and forests in a better condition than we inherited them,” wrote President Jimmy Carter in his acceptance of the Georgia Conservancy’s Distinguished Conservationist […]
Posted inThought Leader
Atlanta Officials Make Major Move to Define the Region as Esports Capital
The Atlanta Sports Council launches Atlanta Esports Alliance™ to further position metro Atlanta as the capital of esports By Metro Atlanta Chamber Last week, the Atlanta Sports Council (ASC) announced the launch of the Atlanta Esports Alliance, its new division committed to bringing major esports and gaming events to metro Atlanta. The announcement was made […]
Posted inThought Leader
What’s Happening with Hipsturbia in Atlanta
By: The Wilbert Group Urban Land Institute named “hipsturbia” one of the top emerging trends for 2020 after ULI member and North American Properties’ Adam Schwegman introduced the buzzy phenomenon in a ULI Atlanta focus group. Here’s why. Each year, Urban Land Institute publishes its “Emerging Trends in Real Estate” a joint-publication with PwC — […]
Posted inThought Leader
Where is Buckhead Heading?
By Jim Durrett, Executive Director, Buckhead CID Last week I attended the launch party for HUB404, which will be the nation’s first Transit-Oriented Park with nine acres of elevated green space that connects to MARTA’s Buckhead station. As I looked out from the 11th floor of the Atlanta Financial Center at the space that will […]
Posted inThought Leader
MARTA Board Approves Agreement for New Rail Car Fleet
Additions to System Will Boost Performance and Customer Service By MARTA The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) board of directors has approved a $646 million agreement with Stadler Rail for the purchase of 254 new rail cars. The agreement also contains options for MARTA to order up to 100 additional rail cars. The procurement, […]
Posted inThought Leader
Arts spark conversations and community engagement
By Katrina DeBerry, program officer, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta The arts are a physical manifestation of the heart and soul of community. Not just what feels good, but all the things that make us human can be expressed and understood through artistic representation. The arts give voice to issues that give us joy and […]
Posted inThought Leader
Beyond the numbers
By S. Kelley Henderson, Chief Executive Officer, Action Ministries From and early age, we were taught to “show your work.” Although the answer may have been correct, demonstrating how you arrived at the answer demonstrated competency and hopefully your ability to repeat the same results. The same holds true for using statistics when tracking trends […]
Posted inThought Leader
Metro Atlanta Chamber Building a Community of Middle-Market Businesses Driving Growth in the Region
By Metro Atlanta Chamber During an evening event on Oct. 30, the Metro Atlanta Chamber-powered Backed by ATL announced the addition of five new middle-market companies to the program. The Backed by ATL initiative was launched to support scaling middle-market companies, helping to accelerate growth and fuel economic impact across metro Atlanta. The latest companies […]
Posted inThought Leader
Mission Accomplished – Building Atlanta’s Sustainable Future
By Audrey Leous, Project Manager, Planning & Sustainability, Central Atlanta Progress Peachtree Street is home to some of the largest and most well-known high-rise buildings in Atlanta. Over the past decade, many of these buildings have participated in a hallmark program known as the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge (ABBC). Originally enrolling in 2011, the City […]
Posted inThought Leader
What law firms can learn from the NFL
By Sharon A. Gay, Office Managing Partner, Dentons This fall I want to highlight something outside the usual legal realm: How the NFL—and the Pittsburgh Steelers no less—have played a key role in making Dentons a nationally recognized leader in diversity. You may have heard of the NFL’s Rooney Rule, which was created by the late […]
Posted inThought Leader
MARTA GM/CEO Jeffrey Parker Selected as WTS ‘Man of the Year’
Women in Transportation Seminar’s Atlanta Chapter Cites Parker’s Strong Track Record of Hiring and Promoting Women as Reason for Selection By MARTA Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) General Manager and CEO Jeffrey Parker has been selected by Women in Transportation Seminar (WTS-Atlanta) as its 2019 “Man of the Year.” WTS, a non-profit organization dedicated to […]
Posted inThought Leader
Update: Atlanta – The City in the Saplings?
By Teri Nye, Park Designer at Park Pride (and person who draws) This column provides an update to Teri Nye’s July 2019 column, Atlanta: The City in the Saplings? and an initial response to last week’s Tree Protection Ordinance Public Meeting. Park Pride is a member of the Atlanta Canopy Alliance, whose goals include educating […]
Posted inThought Leader
Georgia’s Center for Victims of Torture Fights Stigma To Provide Mental Health Care To Thousands in the U.S. and Around the World
By The Center of Victims of Torture Kidane* was tortured while serving in the Eritrean military. The beatings were so damaging, he could no longer work. He escaped to the refugee camps in northern Ethiopia, where he isolated himself, staying away from others, alone with his shame and dark thoughts. But he found rehabilitative care at CVT […]
Posted inThought Leader
MARTA Celebrates 40TH Anniversary with Stakeholder Reception and Community Festival/Concert
By MARTA MARTA celebrated the 40th anniversary of combined rail and bus service with a stakeholder reception at Georgia State Station, followed by a free festival and concert near Avondale Station on Sunday, November 3 that drew a crowd of nearly 2,000. In 1979, MARTA’s first train ran from Avondale to Georgia State. The first ride […]
Posted inThought Leader
Needed: Smart Governance
By Samuel S. Olens and Crawford G. Schneider The minds of entrepreneurs, technologists and new wave urbanists are consumed with the future of “Smart Cities”. However, too often, visions of Smart Cities are disassociated from the citizens themselves. That said, it is indisputable that modernizing the digital, physical and social infrastructure of a community can result in widespread […]
Posted inThought Leader
Through Metro Export Challenge, Regional Companies Find Success Going Global
By Metro Atlanta Chamber Metro Atlanta is the gateway, through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, to worldwide markets. The region’s traditional trading partners of Japan, Germany and the U.K. are bolstered every week by new additions, from Turkey to Poland and Finland. Exports form a critical part of metro Atlanta’s economy, and the Metro Export Challenge […]
Posted inThought Leader
How is Midtown Going to Handle All of this Growth?
By Kevin Green, President and CEO, Midtown Alliance One question we’re asked often is, “how is Midtown going to handle all of this growth?” It’s not a surprising question. We did the math recently and since 2000, the 1.2 square-mile ‘core’ of Midtown has seen the delivery of more than 80 major development projects. That’s […]
Posted inThought Leader
Who can help you tell your life story?
By Erin Drury Boorn, senior philanthropic officer, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Life can often feel like a big checklist – groceries, laundry, work goals and more. At the end of the day, as you are falling asleep and thinking about what you did not get done today, you may start to think, “What am […]
Posted inThought Leader
Climate Change Requires Action from Each of Us
By Deron Davis, Executive Director, The Nature Conservancy The City of Atlanta, Camden County and other Georgia municipalities are pursuing projects to address the immediate and future challenges that climate change will inflict on communities and economies across the state. From Atlanta’s Clean Energy Plan to Camden County’s innovative coastal resilience pilot project, forward-looking policymakers […]
