Planning board offers new way to boost region

A so-called mega-region concept would help spur business development and lead to solving major problems in Georgia and neighboring states--so says a regional planning commission.

The proposal pushes the idea that different cities and communities can find more economic and problem-solving success by selling themselves as a group instead of individually. The Piedmont Atlantic MegaRegion would include communities from North Carolina through parts of Georgia into Alabama.

The concept comes from the Atlanta Regional Commission, a planning group for the metro Atlanta area. ARC chairman Sam Olens says this approach can make it easier to attract international business. And with a down economy, it’s even more critical.

"When you’re in a bad economy, instead of sulking about the economy, let’s make the plans so when the economy improves we’re in fifth gear maximizing that potential strength. So now’s the time to in fact create those partnerships so you get out of the starting gate faster."

Olens says a good example of an area with name recognition is Raleigh-Durham’s Research Triangle.

He says the mega-region concept could also lead to solutions for Georgia’s transportation and water resource problems.

Atlanta starts developing 50-year plan

Metro Atlanta. Click on image for interactive
map. (metroatlantachamber.com)

With the state gripped in a drought, concerns that Atlanta's economic engine is sputtering and persistent gridlock fears, the Atlanta Regional Commission figured it was a better time than ever to start shaping the city's future.

The commission launched a two-year project Thursday to develop a 50 year growth plan for the 10-county region, and the state's water crisis wasn't far from the minds of the more than 1,000 business and government leaders who attended the launch.

Organizers boasted they were doing their part to conserve water by not offering it at the dozens of tables, saving some 70 gallons of water. And the message: "Conserve, conserve, conserve" flashed on a video documenting the city's rapid growth.

"The only good thing about the water crisis is it's made us forget about traffic," quipped Sam Olens, the commission's chairman. "Well, maybe not."

The commission will host a series of forums designed to help shape Atlanta's future in 50 years. They will include eco-friendly building, alternative fuels and land and water conservation.

"Now more than ever we need to look beyond our more short-term planning horizons and our geographic boundaries to develop a fresh vision for the Atlanta region's place," Olens said.

Glen Hiemstra, a Seattle planner, outlined three ways for the city to evolve. One path is the city to become a "green leader" embracing more alternative energy and becoming a hub, once again, for passenger train service. Another is for the city to become a "Techtopia," focused on attracting businesses in the nanotech, life sciences and energy fields.

A third route is to become a haven for the city's growing senior population, which is expected to double by 2025.

"Will our communities be ready for that?" asked Hiemstra. "To be ready for that, they need to have lifelong livable communities."

All three paths are part of a "big picture which if accomplished makes Atlanta as vital and admired - as successful - as it is today."

"If you want to change the present, change the future," he said. "The future is not just something that happens to us. It's something you do."

Atlanta Regional Commission

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(The Associated Press)