15 Greenest Mayors (Atlanta, Franklin, Coleman: city hall, home, schools)

[noah]

8. Shirley Franklin, Atlanta - pop. 519,000

15 Greenest Mayors - 8 -MSN City Guides

"Often held up as the poster child for sprawl, Atlanta boasts more green than meets the eye -- and Franklin is to thank for much of the recent progress. Mayor since 2002, she has attacked infrastructures and intangibles with the same gusto, from overhauling the city's sewer systems to creating a Climate Action Plan. The city is building a public transit BeltLine, is tops in LEED-certified buildings and has implemented practices in City Hall that led to a 20 percent decrease in energy usage. A comprehensive private-sector group called Sustainable Atlanta is developing recommendations for further actions, and all eyes are on the future. "We are building a green, sustainable city," Franklin says. "We do this for our children, and we do this because it is the right thing to do."

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by noah

8. Shirley Franklin, Atlanta - pop. 519,000

15 Greenest Mayors - 8 -MSN City Guides

"Often held up as the poster child for sprawl, Atlanta boasts more green than meets the eye -- and Franklin is to thank for much of the recent progress. Mayor since 2002, she has attacked infrastructures and intangibles with the same gusto, from overhauling the city's sewer systems to creating a Climate Action Plan. The city is building a public transit BeltLine, is tops in LEED-certified buildings and has implemented practices in City Hall that led to a 20 percent decrease in energy usage. A comprehensive private-sector group called Sustainable Atlanta is developing recommendations for further actions, and all eyes are on the future. "We are building a green, sustainable city," Franklin says. "We do this for our children, and we do this because it is the right thing to do."

Didn't they close City Hall on Fridays and start employee furloughs? Of course you'll reduce your energy consumption by 20% when you close the building one day a week. I don't think I saw that in the LEED rating system points checklist, though.......

[StPaulEastSider]

Ha Ha... the mayors of Mpls/St.Paul, Rybak & Coleman [not Norm, another Coleman] are tied for 2nd & 3rd. That's almost a cop out on the part of whoever put together this survey.

I am a strong supporter of "going green" and I am very glad my future home made the list at all.

Closing City Hall one day a week... doesn't that case a backlog for workers? If not, I would think that means they were already overstaffed.

[noah]

Here is hoping that the Beltline is completed because that would make the area awesome, all the new parks, rail lines and trails. Hey, if Seattle can finally get light rail why not, despite the people who say it will never happen it seems like progress is being made.

Originally Posted by StPaulEastSider

Ha Ha... the mayors of Mpls/St.Paul, Rybak & Coleman [not Norm, another Coleman] are tied for 2nd & 3rd. That's almost a cop out on the part of whoever put together this survey.

I am a strong supporter of "going green" and I am very glad my future home made the list at all.

Closing City Hall one day a week... doesn't that case a backlog for workers? If not, I would think that means they were already overstaffed.

[StPaulEastSider]

Originally Posted by noah

Here is hoping that the Beltline is completed because that would make the area awesome, all the new parks, rail lines and trails. Hey, if Seattle can finally get light rail why not, despite the people who say it will never happen it seems like progress is being made.

AGREED... and while we are on the topic of "green" the percentage of dedicated greenspace in Atlanta is significantly lower than in other areas of the country...

NYC has 18% of it's land dedicated to greenspace, and ATL has 3%

By green space they mean parks and recreational areas. I'll have to look up the exact numbers, it was in something I was reading about the goals of the beltline project - one of which was increasing the green space in Atlanta.

[afonega1]

I don't mean to sound stupid but other than providing space for future people to relax,play,and for aesthetic purposes, are there any other reasons green space is important?When is there a critical mass?Is there such a thing as too much green space in a city that needs to become more dense.Or is that a benefit of having more green space(density).

[straightfromatown]

I think that's a good question. It's nice to have some parks and areas where you can just walk around, but having an empty space does nothing for the economy. Instead of having a business that could employ people, provide products or services to people who live near it, and generate more tax revenue for the city, the space just sits there doing nothing.


As for being a "green" mayor or city, who cares? People might claim that they want to help the environment and be green, but when it comes down to it the green-ness of a city is not high on the list of priorities for most businesses. I'd much rather have a mayor who knows how to attract new employers to the area than one who is popular for being green.

[noah]

Many of us, as residents in Atlanta, care about the amount of parkspace which is currently lacking in the city. If one wanted to make an economic point you could definitely say that parks add value. For example two weekends in a row in August saw 50,000+ people converge on midtown and piedmont park.

Originally Posted by straightfromatown

I think that's a good question. It's nice to have some parks and areas where you can just walk around, but having an empty space does nothing for the economy. Instead of having a business that could employ people, provide products or services to people who live near it, and generate more tax revenue for the city, the space just sits there doing nothing.


As for being a "green" mayor or city, who cares? People might claim that they want to help the environment and be green, but when it comes down to it the green-ness of a city is not high on the list of priorities for most businesses. I'd much rather have a mayor who knows how to attract new employers to the area than one who is popular for being green.

[Rockmama]

For sure, jobs attract people to a certain city, but you want it to be pretty where you live. While I love CITY... the buildings, the concrete, the hustle and bustle... I also want it balanced with nature.

[straightfromatown]

Sure, I agree that having parks and things are nice and are very important when choosing where to live for some people. Overall though I don't think they are anywhere near as important as the economic situation, safety, schools, etc. of a city. Especially now with so many people looking for any job they can find, I don't think most of them are going to turn a job down because there isn't a park nearby, likewise I don't think an employer is going to open a new business because there is a park nearby, they are for more interested in factors that influence the bottom line in a large way.