PROJECTS

Atlanta Housing Authority's HOPE VI Revitalization of Grady Homes Study (2009)

CQGRD is working to measure the performance and impact of the Atlanta Housing Authority's (AHA) revitalization of Grady Homes into a mixed-income/mixed-finance community, through the use of a HOPE VI grant in conjunction with private investment dollars. The major objectives are to determine the impact of the effort on the quality of life on residents who lived at Grady Homes at the time of the HOPE VI award, to evaluate the extent to which the mixed-income revitalization stimulates economic development in the surrounding community, and to evaluate AHA's success at achieving the goals of family self-sufficiency through a physically redesigned environment.

View the AHA Grady Homes Study project (2009) page.

Healthy Housing: Forging the Economic and Empirical Foundation (2007)

Healthy Housing: Forging the Economic and Empirical Foundation identifies the economic and empirical links between housing and health, develops a new conceptual model on the complex effects of housing on health, identifies the direct and indirect links between housing and health, benchmarks the current housing and health link for the 13-county Atlanta region, and presents recommendations and future research needs to strengthen the link between housing and health.

View the Healthy Housing project (2007) page.

A Time for Leadership: Growth Management and Florida 2060 (2006)

A Time for Leadership presents a new growth-policy framework based on “the four Ps”: patterns, preservation, passages, and places. A Time for Leadership builds on the 2003 report by the Florida Chamber Foundation entitled New Cornerstone, which called for a shift from growth management to growth leadership.

View the Florida Coast project (2006) page.

Economic Diversification of Camden County, GA: Quality Growth and Development Report (2005)

CQGRD worked in conjunction with Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute to employ tools, such as a quality growth audit, to identify obstacles to achieving the community's vision for its future and to provide examples and recommendations which community members could use while planning for the future. This study also explored a comprehensive infrastructure management program to help manage growth in a coastal community.

View the Camden County project (2005) page.

Incremental Urbanism: New Models for the Redesign of America's Commercial Strips (2004)

One of CQGRD's first projects was to assess Buford Highway, running from the Perimeter to Midtown in Metro Atlanta, and speculate on what a better future could be. Buford Highway is one of the most dangerous corridors for pedestrians in the United States, yet it houses a diverse population that is more likely to walk for transportation. This study explore an urban retrofit by changing the strip from dangerous, dysfunctional highway to healthy, functional boulevard.

View the Incremental Urbanism project (2004) page.

PROCEEDINGS

Healthy Places Research Group (2003-Present)

The Healthy Places Research Group (HPRG) is a collaborative effort involving Georgia Tech's College of Architecture, Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health, Georgia State University’s College of Health and Human Sciences, and the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development. It also involves professionals from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), researchers, students, and others interested in exploring the co-relationship between the built environment and the health of communities. In monthly meetings, members learn about the most recent research and practices regarding health and the built environment. As a result, several research collaboration and student learning opportunities have emerged. Participation is open to anyone interested in exploring the characteristics and advancement of healthy places.

View the Healthy Places Research Group (HPRG) page.

Atlanta BeltLine Decision Support Tool: Strategic Planning Session (2008)

In October 2008, the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development (CQGRD) facilitated a strategic planning session to help the BeltLine Tax Allocation District Advisory Committee (TADAC) frame a work scope and approach for framing procedures and measurements in the development of the Atlanta BeltLine Decision Support Tool (DST). Presentations provided by seven experts in the fields of economy, transportation and infrastructure, health and environment, and community development as well as discussions with participants, helped contextualize a process and identify metrics to both short term impacts of development proposals and long term impacts of the BeltLine project, based on the overall goals, objectives, and vision for the BeltLine.

View the BeltLine DST Planning Session (2008) page.

Megacities, Megaregions, and Spatial Planning Symposium (2007)

In June 2007, CQGRD hosted a symposium on megaregions that brought together leading researchers and practitioners from several disciplines to discuss the challenges and opportunities posed by newly developing megaregions. Papers were presented by 14 academics who are contributors to a forthcoming book that is being edited by Georgia Tech’s Dr. Catherine Ross, executive director of CQGRD and Harry West Chair of Quality Growth and Regional Development. The symposium gave the participants a chance to engage in discussion of the theoretical basis of megaregions from a multidisciplinary perspective and advance the field of megaregions study.

Visit the Megacities, Megaregions, and Spatial Planning Symposium (2007) page.

Everyday Neighborhoods Workshop (2006)

This one-day conference presented the elements of Everyday Neighborhoods—good urban design, mixed uses, pedestrian-friendly and transit-oriented development, equity, lifecycle community-orientation, and various aspects of sustainability-environmental, health, and economic. The conference provided a venue for a multi-disciplinary discussion of the barriers to creating Everyday Neighborhoods and the strategies to overcome those barriers.

Visit the Everyday Neighborhoods Workshop (2006) page.

Transportation Design for Communities Workshop (2006)

Transportation Design for Communities was a two-day program held in May of 2006 that presented principles to help create more livable places. Experts shared their tools for designing transportation facilities where pedestrians, bicyclists, transit customers, and motorists are all partners in mobility. The program focused on community and street design solutions, economic and land development implications, land use regulations that support transportation projects, and the community involvement process.

Visit the Transportation Design for Communities Workshop (2006) page.

Governments and Growth Workshop (2006)

A sequel to the 2004 Governments and Growth Workshop, this 2006 edition continued the discussion among elected officials and local government staff, community leaders, and others about growth-related issues and strategies for sustaining a high quality of life and prosperity for Georgia's communities. Special guest speakers included Mayor Bob Poydasheff of Columbus, GA and Mayor Ron Littlefield of Chattanooga, TN.

Visit the Governments and Growth Workshop (2006) page.

Governments and Growth Workshop (2004)

Elected officials and local government staff, community leaders, and others from throughout Georgia gathered in Atlanta for the 2004 Governments & Growth Workshop. The workshop featured expert-led panel discussions and breakout sessions on growth-related issues, including: land development, public engagement, transportation methods and funding, legal tools and economic development. Presenters offered the most current thinking on these issues, along with practical tools and strategies to implement quality growth practices in Georgia communities. More than 30 experts were available to answer questions and brainstorm solutions to various challenges, including managing industrial development, crafting effective public participation strategies, and balancing housing development with other forms of economic development.

Visit the Governments and Growth Workshop (2004) page.

Context Sensitive Design Symposium (2004)

More than 100 engineers, urban designers, city planners, municipal and state officials, community and nonprofit representatives, and others met with national experts in May 2004 to learn more about context-sensitive design (CSD), a philosophy for transportation system and public space design that takes into account environmental, aesthetic, historic, and community resources to produce projects that meet transportation needs and support the community's goals and surroundings. The presentations and results of the hands-on workshop are available online.

Visit the Context Sensitive Design Symposium (2004) page.