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Indicators of Sustainability | ||||||||
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At a meeting on March 18, 1999, representatives from The Georgia Conservancy, the Metropolitan Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, the Regional Business Coalition, Habersham & Cowan, and the Center for Urban and Regional Ecology mutually agreed that a common set of indicators are needed to describe, measure, and track the rate of change of "quality of life" in the metropolitan Atlanta region. Although many individuals and organizations already produce or rely on such indicators, it was recognized that there is a lack of consensus or agreement on the definition, acquisition, and interpretation of the metrics. Without a trusted common "language" that describes the region, it is not possible for the community as a whole to develop a shared vision for the future. Thus, it was resolved on March 18 that this group, or "alliance", would collectively sponsor an initial inquiry into the need to develop a community consensus on a comprehensive and unambiguous set of sustainable indicators. It was further decided that this inquiry should be held as soon as possible to capitalize on the unique political opportunities afforded by the passage of Senate Bill 57 that created the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority. On May 3, 1999, the Alliance for a Sustainable Atlanta sponsored a three-hour workshop at Georgia State University to solicit comments regarding the need to develop a community consensus on a set of sustainable indicators. The Center for Urban and Regional Ecology (CURE) — a collaboration among Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia, and Georgia State University — agreed to manage the workshop on behalf of the Alliance. The workshop was facillitated by Civic Strategies, Inc. Approximately 70 people attended, including representatives from government, business, environmental groups and other non-profits, and academia. At this workshop, the representatives were asked to consider:
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