City of Atlanta Invites AIS to International Conference on “Greener Cities”

By Trevor Pendergast, Humanities Teacher/Grade 12 Head of Year

Atlanta has a metropolitan population of more than 5 million people, with a downtown area of more than 400,000 residents. By 2030, Atlanta’s metropolitan area will double, and the number of residents in the city downtown will be over 600,000. As a result of this growth, Atlanta’s vision for growth is focused on such things as increasing green space, improving mobility and creating high-density housing while maintaining or improving economic development. One of the initiatives that the City of Atlanta is currently developing to achieve this goal is the construction of the Atlanta Belt-Line, which, when completed in twenty to twenty-five years, will be recognized as one of the most innovative re-development projects in the U.S.A., forming 13 new parks, 22 miles of transit and 33 miles of trails.

In order to better ensure that the Belt-Line initiative realizes its full potential, the City of Atlanta, in collaboration with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), hosted the 2nd Annual Economic Development Global Partnership Forum on March12 to 14, 2008. The focus of the forum this year was “Greener Cities: Public Transit and Green Space Policies.” The forum was chaired by the Honorable Shirley Franklin, Mayor of the City of Atlanta, and was attended by political and technical representatives from 18 sister cities from all over the world. The forum highlighted the benefits of public transit and green space programs worldwide and helped to better communicate initiatives, such as the Belt-Line, to both Atlanta residents and to international partners. Countries involved in the forum included: Greece, Belgium, Romania, Benin, South Korea, Japan, Nigeria, Jamaica, England, Germany, Trinidad and Tobago, Israel, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Austria, Taiwan, Georgia and France. During the forum, participants were expected to benefit from expert case studies and presentations, along with peer-to-peer best practice sharing that was designed to examine land use policies, explore new ideas about revitalization and redevelopment, create more “livable” communities, and facilitate funding.

Atlanta International School was provided the unique honor of being invited to participate in the forum, as organizers of the forum felt that a youth component was an essential ingredient required when considering and discussing the problems associated with Atlanta’s rapid growth. As a result, various members of the student component of the AIS Green Committee, along with Sherry Week’s third quarter Theatre 8 class, combined forces to present exhibits and a dramatic performance involving the students’ perspectives concerning Atlanta’s environmental issues. All exhibits and the performance were created exclusively by the students, with the attending teachers, Darren Rollins, Sherry Weeks and Trevor Pendergast, providing direction, guidance and supervision. The efforts of the students were a huge success, with the students receiving a standing ovation from the audience, and a special visitation from Mayor Franklin. Congratulations, AIS students on a job well done!