PROJECTS

Troup County, GA Strategic Plan (2009)

To explore how best to leverage the growth coming to West Georgia, leaders from Troup County and the cities of Hogansville, LaGrange, and West Point have undertaken a two-year planning initiative with Georgia Tech designed to set the course for a sustainable future. The goal of the effort is to identify innovative strategies for promoting quality growth, fostering healthy economic development, enhancing the quality of life and protecting Troup County’s sense of place and community.

View the Troup County Plan (2009) page.

Atlanta BeltLine Health Impact Assessment (2007)

The Atlanta BeltLine would convert a 22-mile span of freight railway into a transit and trail loop, surrounded by parks and residential and commercial development. When we start a new development project, are we building a healthy place? How do we understand the health impacts of a new development? To answer these questions for the Atlanta BeltLine redevelopment project, CQGRD conducted a Health Impact Assessment (HIA). A HIA is a collection of procedures and tools by which projects, policies, and programs can be evaluated based on their potential effects on the health of a population and the distribution of those effects within the population. While the HIA tool is widely used abroad, the BeltLine HIA is one of the first conducted in the United States.

View the Atlanta BeltLine HIA 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.

Georgia Coast 2030: Population Projections (2006)

CQGRD completed 2030 population projections for the Coastal Georgia Regional Development Center in 2006. The projections included the six coastal counties as well as four adjacent inland counties. In addition, projections were completed for all incorporated cities within the 10-county region. The projection methodology used in this study was designed to take into account more recent economic and demographic trends to reflect the unique conditions of this rapidly growing area.

View the Georgia 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.

Development Potential of the SR365 Corridor in Hall County, GA: A Quality Growth Study (2004)

This study explores transportation, green infrastructure, and livability opportunities and constraints in this rapidly growing county in northwest Georgia, between Atlanta and Chattanooga.

View the Hall County project (2004) 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.

Metropolitan Atlanta: Alternative Land Use Futures Project (2003)

Completed in February 2003, the project was designed to inform the ongoing regional discussion on land use issues and a growing population. It was undertaken in response to the low-density development that characterized the region's growth patterns in the 1990s. The project constructed and tested three distinct alternatives to future land use planning, including focusing on corridors, centers, or environmental sensitivity.

View the Alternative Land Use project (2003) 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.

Mayors' Megaregion Meeting Series (2009)

In August 2009, CQGRD, along with the Cities of Charlotte and Atlanta, hosted the first of a series of meetings entitled the Mayors' Megaregion Meeting. The meeting came in response to The Case for a National Infrastructure: the Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion in the Global Economy forum hosted by CQGRD in March 2009. About 40 selected leaders from the business, civic, government, and academic communities in the Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion (PAM) attended the meeting in Charlotte to discuss the topics of infrastructure needs, improved communication, barriers to success, and a leadership structure for this emerging PAM group. Additional meetings have been planned for the future.

View the Mayors Megaregions Meeting Series (2009) page.

The Case for a National Infrastructure Policy: The Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion in the Global Economy (2009)

In March 2009, CQGRD and its partners hosted a forum on megaregions that brought together leading government (local, state, regional, and federal), business, education, and other concerned residents to discuss the challenges and opportunities posed by the megaregion concept. While keeping in mind the need for a national infrastructure policy, the role of the Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion (PAM) in the global economy was the focus of the forum. The forum gave participants a chance to engage in the discussion of the emergence of megaregions and PAM from a multi-level perspective and determine what the next steps for advancing megaregions concept as a whole.

View the PAM Megaregions Forum (2009) 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.

Megaregions and Transportation Planning Framework Symposium (2008)

A pressing policy question for the Federal government, states, regions and local areas is how should America respond to continuous and geographically focused population growth, spreading traffic congestion, natural resource depletion and the loss of economic competitiveness in the global economy? More explicitly, how should we structure transportation and infrastructure investment and an appropriate policy framework to be more responsive to the challenges and opportunities? A megaregion approach may offer a value-added structure that can guide national transportation policy and investment, while explicitly addressing the relationships among demographic change, land resources, infrastructure investment and economic development.

View the Megaregion and Transportation Symposium (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.

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.

Think Global, Act Regional Megaregions Symposium (2006)

On January 30, 2006, representatives from private, public, academic, and non-profit organizations across six southern states gathered in Atlanta, GA, for a groundbreaking symposium on the future of the emerging southeastern Megaregion, known as the Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion (PAM). This gathering, both informative and action-oriented, laid the framework for a region-wide agenda aimed at the creation of policies, infrastructure, resources, and regional cooperation to position the Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion for success in the global economy. Keynote speakers included Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson and City of Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.

Visit the Think Global, Act Regional Megaregions Symposium (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.