The Sept. 12 Sustainability in Action Roundtable (SART) hosted by Southface Institute drew more than 30 attendees, from city officials and nonprofit leaders to housing executives, mobility experts and even comedians.
The morning’s theme, “Infrastructure in a Sustainable City,” spotlighted how Atlanta and the broader metro region are navigating the intersection of growth, climate action and equity. The event was hosted by Southface Institute Advisor Robert Reed and Amber Bland, a Scrum Master at Jackson Financial Services.
Speakers included Keyetta Holmes, AICP, director of zoning with the Atlanta Department of City Planning, Folashade Alao, a principal planner with the Atlanta Regional Commission, and Mandala Jones, CEO of the Clayton County Housing Authority.
Keyetta Holmes, director of zoning with the Atlanta Department of City Planning, walked attendees through the city’s ongoing Zoning 2.0 overhaul. The years-long project aims to make the code more accessible and transparent, moving away from dense text and toward graphics, plain language and a stronger connection between zoning and neighborhood character.
Folashade Alao, a principal planner with the Atlanta Regional Commission, emphasized the scale of Atlanta’s freight and infrastructure footprint.
“We are usually number one in the Southeast in terms of industrial development and freight activity and number five in the nation,” she said
That ranking underscores both economic vitality and the environmental pressures tied to trucks, logistics and last-mile delivery.
Participants were urged by Mandala Jones, CEO of the Clayton County Housing Authority, to think about sustainable infrastructure beyond roads and power lines.
“In Clayton County, there is a huge opportunity,” Jones said. “We’re laser-focused on addressing housing gaps, from the missing middle to mixed-use communities that can attract residents, reduce commutes, and build resilience.”
He also pointed to projects like the Flint River Trail and MARTA’s bus rapid transit investments as ways his county is linking sustainability with livability.
On mobility, Dakari Augustus, E-Mobility Program Lead at EVNoire, highlighted opportunities around electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. He explained that EVNoire is helping cities nationwide develop roadmaps, workforce training and electrification strategies.
“Sustainability is about systems,” Augustus said. “When we talk about infrastructure, we’re also talking about how people move, where they live, and the opportunities that flow from those decisions.”
Dr. Alao connected Atlanta’s work to broader trends. ARC’s Metro Atlanta Climate Action Plan is under development, with a final version expected in December. It covers sectors from transportation and buildings to industrial waste, identifying not only emissions-reduction measures but also funding streams and technical assistance for governments, nonprofits and individuals.
Atlanta is not alone. According to the EPA, 45 states, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and dozens of metropolitan areas have submitted climate action plans under the federal Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program.
Dr. Alao noted that about one-third of metro Atlanta’s jobs are tied to freight-related industries.
That statistic makes the case that sustainable freight isn’t just about reducing emissions; it’s also an economic lifeline.
SART also served as a reminder that everyday decisions matter. Dr. Alao encouraged Atlantans to consider the range of buying options available to them when making purchases.
Dr. Alao explained that she sometimes orders pet products online, but her first choice is a local pet store. “I can order things through Chewy, but there’s a local pet store down the street from me that I could walk or bike to…they provide insurance for their employees. These are long-time employees, and so I’m making a choice,” she said. Sometimes local stores are more expensive on certain items, and sometimes they aren’t. “Now, granted, there are also aspects of access, right?” Dr. Alao acknowledged that some “don’t have a car that they get to drive, or it’s not walkable.”
If online orders are unavoidable, opting for secure pickup lockers instead of doorstep delivery can help reduce emissions from multiple delivery trips. Delaying next-day shipping in favor of consolidated deliveries also reduces both labor and environmental costs.
The September SART showcased why showing up matters: attendees didn’t just hear from experts, they were part of shaping Atlanta’s future. For those looking to plug in, upcoming Southface events offer ways to act on sustainability.
On Monday, Sept. 22, Solar Sunday will celebrate the progress and benefits of solar energy locally and globally. The free event runs from 5–7 p.m. at Georgia Tech’s Kendeda Building.
On Oct. 30, the Visionary Awards will recognize leaders advancing sustainability across the Southeast. Both events give Atlantans a chance to connect, learn and turn dialogue into action.
The message from SART was clear: Atlanta is leading in infrastructure, but the work of building a sustainable city is ongoing, and everyone has a role to play.
“…moving away from dense text and toward graphics, plain language and a stronger connection between zoning and neighborhood character.”
Picture books. Brilliant.
Does anyone else ponder the demands all this ‘sustainable’ stuff has? For instance each solar panel requires silver, rare earth metals, manufacturing and shipping. Speaking these things into existence doesnt reduce emissions one bit and, in fact, it inflates the already large heads of the people who profit off this illusory technology.
Fir instance; all the mining required to create one solar panel produces multiples of any emissions which we hope to save, the problem compounds as we scale up. Think about all the energy required to mine to metals, produce the technology, ship the technology and install the technology. Im not a math doctor but I do know that in the centuries long battle of physics versus platitudes, physics holds a perfect record.
This city is already on the verge of going in to debt because of wanton spending by elected city officials who lack the ability to look where they are walking, the prices of all the inputs to this stuff is currently skyrocketing, adpting this specious stance will further entrench this city in debt with no revenue being derived from this unreliable tech. Disproportionately effecting the least fortunate because when the unreliable green technology fails, they’re without electricity. I suggest increasing efficiency by making buildings less porous to energy loss and enhancing efficiency.
In the end however, global warming is a Type 1 error; yes the earth is warming, no it is not the fault of humans or human activity – humans may have increased the amplitude of the warming curve, however, does anyone else know that the Sun will become a black hole, in its evolution to black hole status the sun becomes a Red Dwarf, consuming the earth – SWELLING IN SIZE to eventually have the asteroid belt as its belt. This takes place on the astrological time scale of space so, a few million years. The Sun is not a constant, static entity.
I am not a math doctor, however, I DO know that as a heating source grows closer usually things that lie in the path of the heating source become warmer. Would it make sense to think that a growing heat source, which all life depends on, makes things a scintilla warmer?
As the greater depression kicks off, the lack of energy because of the adoption of unreliable tech could bring us right back to the dark ages.
Thank goodness for Plant Vogtle and the foresight of the PSC.