GUEST BLOGGER: Otis White, president of Civic Strategies, Inc.
On July 7, the Civic League for Regional Atlanta did something unusual: It started asking average citizens what they would like the Atlanta Region to look like and work like in the next 50 years. This wasn’t by accident that this was going on at the same time as Fifty Forward. The Civic League is supporting Fifty Forward by convening 18 of these “neighborhood forums” in the next two years.
The first was in Chattahoochee Hill Country in south Fulton County. The format was simple: We invited citizens to come to a meeting in their community and, in two hours’ time, talk about what the future might hold. We don’t make any proposals or offer any plans. We just let participants describe how they thought the Atlanta Region could grow and become healthier and more sustainable. (You can find a detailed report of the forum by clicking here.)
Over the years, I’ve been involved in a number of these open-ended community meetings as a consultant. I always go away impressed by how intelligent, creative and fair-minded people can be when you give them the space to think and talk about something they consider important, like the kind of region they’d like to leave to their children and grandchildren.
And the forum in Chattahoochee Hill Country did not disappoint. This one (like the next two, in Stockbridge and Roswell) was about how we can have growth in our region and a cleaner and healthier environment. We asked people to work in groups of 8 to 10, and write down their ideas on flip charts. In the two hours, ideas flowed from these groups: transit, walkable communities, density in some places and green spaces in others. They imagined new “green industries” that could make the region a leader in environmental technology, and older companies embracing this new technology.
What will people say in other communities? We don’t know. They might agree with the Chattahoochee Hill Country citizens or disagree. They may have entirely different visions of the future or just add to what we heard on July 7. My prediction: In the end, we’ll be surprised by how much wisdom and foresight our fellow citizens have . . . if we give them an opportunity to talk and we take the time to listen.
The Civic League’s Stockbridge Neighborhood Forum will be on Thursday, Sept. 11; the Roswell Forum will be Tuesday, Sept. 16. We’ll have more details on location and time in the weeks ahead.
