Sustainability: Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
There isn’t a playbook to follow that can guide us towards a sustainable society. In fact, there’s not even a consensus on the definition of what a sustainable society is. But we are exploring the concept through Fifty Forward.
We’re just beginning to brainstorm on what a future sustainable Atlanta region might be and gather together the leaders, thinkers and doers who may set us on the right path.
Please track our progress here on this webpage. It’ll be updated after each meeting or forum that delves into the complex issue of sustainability.
At the first Fifty Forward program, held April 10 in partnership with the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, more than 500 Atlanta leaders and residents, either onsite or online, listened as Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels shared his plans to transform Seattle into one of the world’s most sustainable cities.
Mayor Nickels’ address began a conversation that’s at the cornerstone of the Fifty Forward effort: to visualize metro Atlanta’s preferred future and then plan the steps to make it happen. You can watch the forum in its entirety right now and join our online discussion on sustainability.
Since then, ARC and one of its partners in the Fifty Forward endeavor, the Civic League, have convened two other meetings on sustainability.
Sustainability Working Group, June 11
On June 11, the Sustainability Working Group – a collection of public officials and civic and business leaders –was divided into four smaller groups who were then taken through an exercise designed to identify a desired future for the region, short-term actions and strategies and roles that should be assumed by the public, private and civic sectors.
From their conversations, several themes emergered:
- Metro Atlanta should be a leader in efficiency and self-sufficiency.
- The region should strive for land use patterns and supportive transportation investments that allow and encourage non-automotive travel.
- We should work to preserve and celebrate our natural places as a key component of the region’s extraordinary high quality of life.
- The region should become a world leader in developing and implementing technologies that aid sustainability efforts here and across the globe.
The Working Group also identified immediate and ongoing obstacles to sustainability, primarily the lack of leadership and education.
The Working Group pointed out that, to get to the point of becoming a global leader in the new economy and a model for sustainability, metro Atlanta leaders must coalesce around a vision of the future and recognize that some elements of status quo development may no longer be appropriate. A lack of resources is also a challenge now and for the foreseeable future.
The group then discussed the critical next steps needed to move the region towards the future Atlanta that they preferred, the number one next step being to cultivate leadership and provide adequate education.
Businesses, the Working Group determined, need to investigate how sustainable business practices can help their bottom line. They should also commit themselves to the long-term, insulating their company from changes in political leadership. Through their corporate practices, business should instill a culture of sustainability in their workforce and the greater community.
Finally, the Working Group brainstormed ways civic institutions can help speed the inevitable shift towards sustainability. These organizations will likely play a central role in moving the region toward sustainability by supporting, developing and encouraging innovation. Civic institutions should also serve as resources for anyone looking to become more sustainable and will likely be the primary advocates and educators of the benefits of sustainability.
Civic League Neighborhood Forum, July 7
The Civic League for Regional Atlanta convened a Neighborhood Forum on July 7, 2008 in Chattahoochee Hill Country that attracted 53 people. Over the course of two hours, participants worked in small groups of eight to 10 on a series of questions that helped them think about how the region can accommodate growth and a better environment.
By the end of the evening, the groups had generated and recorded 203 ideas, including region-wide support for public transit, support for greater density in some parts of the region so that other parts could remain mostly undeveloped. The forum also identified the need to foster an interest in creating and supporting “green” industries, such as alternative energy companies, and encouraging existing industries to adopt “green” technologies.
Support for protecting Atlanta’s water supplies was another common theme. One way the Atlanta region could become an enviable place to live, one group said, was by conserving and preserving the area’s watersheds. Another group was specific: What was needed was “stopping or controlling pollution running off into the Chattahoochee river.”
Start your own sustainability working group
The ARC is encouraging individuals and groups to watch our first Fifty Forward forum and then talk about it, either through your own viewing party or by contributing to the discourse through our blog.
Learn More
There’s no single solution that will lead us to sustainability. We’re going to have to rethink recycling and waste, energy, land use, transportation and our water use. Learn more about the problems and potential solutions that apply to Georgia. Click here…