I'd like to see more discussion about growing Atlanta's middle class, not only by attracting newcomers but organically. What is everyone's definition of middle class? I would love to see the vision for Atlanta in 20-30 years be something like "Atlanta will have the largest middle class of any major US city by 2030."
I thought that the emphasis on infrastructure was very interesting, though there was not much discussion on what is the right type of infrastructure. Also, I thought that there was inadequate focus on the role of education, which is an urgent issue considering the state of education in Georgia. Overall, I thought that the presentation lacked depth and wish that the slides had not been recycled to the point where they emphasized data for Houston, TX, as opposed to Atlanta. I also was expecting more controversy and fireworks -- as well as a greater emphasis on public spaces.
It was very interesting to watch the reaction of the attendees to the presentation by Mr. Kotkin.
Although I disagree with his assumptions about the essential nature of cities and their reason for existing, I'm very appreciative of the discussion, and don't disagree about the positive socio-economic effects they *sometimes* produce.
The primary conclusion I came to after the conference was that I would be loathe to be invested in any long useful life physical assets in this (or any other) city in America. There doesn't appear to be enough jobs here (or in any large MSA) to support the standard of living the new wave of migrants "aspire" to.
What I would be excited to invest in would be our people.
If our goal is to be a "city of aspiration", it seems we should be working/ investing in new industries/ methodologies to encourage all our new (and existing) residents to aspire to something creative within themselves. To inspire our citizenry to innovate.
And so, perhaps we should aspire to be a "City of Inspiration". The innovations and industries the inspired enivironment produces will naturally result.
That's a commitment we can all make with pride and hope for the future.