Metro Atlanta Leaders Headed to New York City for 2024 LINK Trip
Metro Atlanta honchos are setting their sails for the Big Apple, New York City, for the 27th LINK trip scheduled from August 14-17, 2024. LINK stands for Leadership, Innovation, Networking, Knowledge, and approximately 145 regional leaders from Atlanta plan to join the delegation, making it the biggest LINK trip ever.
Despite the stark contrasts in scale between New York City and Atlanta, the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) considers NYC as a gold mine of lessons that can be transposed to Atlanta. New York’s population of 8.6 million across five boroughs significantly overshadows Atlanta’s all-time high of 532,000. New York City’s regional population stands at over 19 million, while the Atlanta region harbors 6.3 million individuals. Moreover, New York City’s vertical sprawl is in stark contrast to Atlanta’s horizontal spread out.
What Lessons Can Atlanta Learn?
ARC believes that initiatives taken in New York City could hold the key to resolving some of metro Atlanta’s challenging problems. Among the issues to be covered during the visit include transit, climate and the green economy, housing and redevelopment. To understand these problems better, Atlanta’s LINK delegation will meet leaders from the public, private, and non-profit sectors in New York.
Times Square’s transformation from a car-centric area to a pedestrian-friendly hub is a great case study for Atlanta. Greater emphasis on public safety, regulation of activities, and ensuring spaces efficiently serve businesses, visitors, and residents will be part of the agenda during the trip.
Aside from Times Square, East Midtown Manhattan and the Grand Central; as well as Penn Station; the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and the redevelopment of Hudson Yards will be other major areas of interest for the delegation.
Addressing the Housing Crisis
One of the critical focus areas of the LINK trip will be affordable housing and office conversions. The New York City Economic Development Corporation is managing some incredible projects, where they are converting empty office buildings into useful spaces, like housing and hotels. This initiative is seen as a potential solution for both the city’s affordability problems and the surplus of empty office spaces due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This trip will help Atlanta’s leaders get a deeper understanding of New York City’s strategies, helping drive similar changes back home. Moreover, it also presents an excellent opportunity for leaders with diverse backgrounds to come together, fostering stronger relationships, and better decision-making for the metro Atlanta region.
As the LINK delegation gears up to witness and learn from New York City’s plethora of world-class innovations and challenges, the trip’s essence lies in the profound lessons it can offer Atlanta. The city continues to transform and adapt throughout its history, signaling opportunities to learn from its journeys through growth, development, and resilience.
