AnswAtlanta’s historic strengths and success in periodic selfreinvention offer a means to reverse these trends. Indeed,
resurgence may already be underway: the region’s growth
in GDP since 2009 has outpaced that of both the New
York City and Los Angeles regions, making it the country’s
seventh largest in total GDP. In the coming decades,
Atlanta’s challenge and its great opportunity will lie in
its ability to capture an appropriate share of regional
growth: for the region to continue to prosper, its urban
core must thrive as a place to live, work, and do business.8
In an effort to build on strengths and mitigate weaknesses,
Mayor Kasim Reed, Chair of Invest Atlanta, commissioned
this Economic Development Strategy. It builds on previous
efforts, notably including a 2004 effort called the “New Century Economic Development
Plan,” conceived as an impetus to focus City government on supporting business growth and
development. That Plan contained a set of specific action items; a 2007 audit by the City of
Atlanta’s City Auditor’s Office concluded that the City had completed half the action items
and was progressing well on the remainder. In addition, this strategy builds upon and provides
a framework for advancing the goals detailed in other economic development plans, such as
the Atlanta Regional Commission’s (ARC’s) Regional Economic Competitiveness Strategy, ARC’s
Livable Center Initiative, and the City of Atlanta’s Strategic Community Investment Report.
Seeking to build on this progress, Mayor Reed convened a steering committee to guide this effort.
It was comprised of representatives from the Atlanta BeltLine Inc.er:
Explanation:
