Business View Magazine | July 2019

365 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JULY 2019 THE GEORGI A MUNI C I PAL ASSOC I AT ION jobs created in Georgia’s downtowns. Over 275 new businesses have opened and nearly 300 new residential housing units have resulted from the Foundation’s loan program. The revitalization efforts and energy around city life are adding value to Georgia’s economy. While Georgia’s cities make up just nine percent of the landmass in Georgia, 43 percent of the state’s population lives in cities, which are also home to 63 percent of the jobs in Georgia. And while the state has grown more than nine percent from 2007 to 2017, the cities have grown more than 17 percent in that same time period. Clearly, cities are where people want to be. Much of the credit goes to city leaders who have been deliberate in creating environments that encourage and support business growth and promote quality of life. In Auburn, for example, the city created Whistle Stop Shops, small cottages that allow entrepreneurs to start up their businesses without big overhead costs. Several metro-Atlanta cities worked together to find solutions to heavy traffic on surface streets, creating traffic centers that monitor conditions and respond in real time to adjust traffic signals across jurisdictions. This allows people and goods to move easier around the region. Despite the care and thought that city officials put into creating unique communities that reflect the people who live there and the values they hold, each year GMA must counter efforts by the State Legislature to impose one-size-fits-all rules on cities, or efforts to preempt cities from enacting ordinances called for by residents. Often