Promoting awareness of the Council for the Progress of Cities, which studies major cities’ challenges, is a goal for Second Century Initiative professor Ann-Margaret Esnard, according to an Andrew Young School of Policy Studies’ article.
Esnard, who teaches in the Department of Public Management and Policy, said she is interested in bringing visibility and promoting awareness of the council by taking an interdisciplinary approach. She also wishes for cooperation with various academic departments in Georgia State, according to the article
Some of the challenges facing cities involve problems with the economy, housing, transportation and recreation, according to Esnard in the article.
“We are working to find our niche and establish the council as a go-to resource for our colleagues and the city,” she said in the article.
The council was initiated to fulfil Goal 4 of Georgia State’s 2011-2016/21 Strategic Plan, according to the article.
Goal 4 has two initiatives, which is to form the Georgia State University Council for the Progress of Cities and to highlight the arts and media, according to the Strategic Plan.
The council is projected to lead Georgia State towards understanding the challenges cities might face as they develop, according to Goal 4 of the Strategic Plan.
Esnard said the council’s committee is varied and multidisciplinary. She also said the committee has been able to divide into subgroups in order to work on different initiatives.
“We’ve also been looking at other similar initiatives that have have been undertaken at different universities in the US,” she said.
Georgia State junior psychology major Zelda Fleming said the change sounds like a good idea.
“I think its great that part of the focus would be making new plans to deal with natural disasters,” she said.
Georgia State junior english major Christian Bowman said the vagueness of the article posted by the Andrew Young School confused him, but he thought the formation of the council was probably a good thing.
“It’s nice to see that we have a council dedicated to the improvement of cities,” he said.
There are numerous programs already implemented by the council, including but not limited to: Public Health, Environment & Land Use Law, Geosciences, Fiscal Studies, Historical Preservation, Community Mapping, Real Estate, Public Policy and Sociology, according to the Council’s website.
“The Council for the Progress of cities studies the complex challenges facing cities and their regions today and as they transition to the megacities of the future,” according to the Council’s website.
