Georgia – The Next 25 Years

The Georgia population was 5.5 million in 1980 and 6.6 million in 1990. Georgia’s population now exceeds 9 million residents and forecasts are that we will add 3 to 5 million more before the year 2030. In many ways the growth that occurred in Georgia since 1980 caught us off guard. While local governments prepared comprehensive plans and built infrastructure, the national and global trends that brought more commerce and people to many areas of our state were overwhelming. The good news is that in 2006, many Georgia cities have good strategies and codes to deal with more growth. The bad news is that while we can expect growth and prepare, many factors will make the next 25 years very challenging.

The population of Georgia will look much different in the next 25 years. Georgia will have many more citizens over the age of 60. These new retirees will need more health care, transportation and housing. In addition, the number of homes, condos or apartments occupied by couples without children and single adults will increase. This will occur as Americans are waiting longer to get married, waiting longer to have children and living longer after children have left the home. Finally, the percentage of non-white citizens in the U.S. and Georgia will increase.

Georgia will increasingly be challenged by transportation issues. While half the state’s population lives within counties around Atlanta, the other half is spread out across many cities and suburbs in Georgia. The existing roadways and transit systems serving current residents in Georgia require substantial funds for ongoing maintenance and reconstruction. At the same time, federal funding which supplied a large portion of our transportation revenue is unlikely to provide the same resources in the future.

Environmental protection and water availability are already major issues in Georgia. Water conservation and protection measures will become common as we seek to preserve a finite resource that is necessary for growth in our state. In an age where technology allows many citizens to live almost anywhere, protecting quality of life is recognized as an important strategy to attracting the most talented professionals and corporations.

Finally, while many areas of Georgia have growth largely through suburban expansion, redevelopment of communities that have existing infrastructure will grow. Cities in Georgia have walkable neighborhoods, attractive city streets and other amenities. The outlook for Georgia is good but to be successful our strategies to handle new growth cannot be rooted in the characteristics of past.

September 12, 2006
IAP2 Georgia Chapter – Brown Bag Lunch Talks, Atlanta, GA
for more info please email sallison@jjg.com

September 20, 2006
Atlanta Regional Housing Forum, Atlanta, GA
for more information please download the PDF

September 20 – 22, 2006
GEDA Annual Conference, Savannah, GA
for more info please visit their website at www.geda.org

September 21, 2006
Creating Everyday Neighborhoods: a conference on redeveloping Urban Nowhere Zones
for more info please visit their website or call (404) 385-3500 or email cqgrd@coa.gatech.edu

October 6, 2006
Southface – Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable, Atlanta, GA
for more info please visit the website at www.southface.org

MARK YOUR CALENDAR AND COME JOIN US NEXT MONTH!
October 11 – 13, 2006
GPA Fall Conference, St. Simons, GA 
for more info please email Rob LeBeau

Visit the GPA Calendar of Events website page for a full listing...

District 5 – Activities Summary

by Phil Clark, District 5 Board Member

On May 17, Ms. Beverly McElroy from the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) spoke to 30+ planning and zoning officials from the Middle Georgia Region on the new State Land Conservation Program at the Milledgeville Country club.

Putnam County is in the process of re-writing their zoning code that will be smart-growth oriented. Two of the new districts being added will be a "conservation" district and a village district. The Conservation District is designed for a low impact development; it will be the only zoning district allowed around environmentally sensitive areas. The village district is being designed as a true "walkable community". The most exciting aspect of these new districts is that Putnam County has already had developers waiting for this new code to become effective, which they hope will be early 2007.

Pulaski County has recently adopted subdivision regulations and a zoning ordinance.

Vernon Ryle, III recently held the latest brown-bag seminar on the subject of sign regulations.

Central Georgia Rail to Trail Association, Inc. recently became incorporated and has begun its work to develop a shared-use trail between Macon and Milledgeville on an old abandoned rail line.