Decatur, GA — What would you like the next ten years in Decatur to look like? Would you like to make your opinions heard on climate change, racial justice, public transportation, and housing? You can be a part of these conversations by joining the upcoming “202” meetings hosted by the City of Decatur.

Like a college class, the first roundtable meetings were introductory “101” meetings. They included 800 participants. These “202” meetings are a deeper dive into the topics that Decatur residents have expressed care and concern about. The 202s will seek to answer the question: “What does success look like in a community of 25K people within a metropolitan region of nearly 6 million people?”

Here are the dates for the meetings:

Mobility:

Thursday, Nov. 19, 4 – 5:30 p.m.

Housing:

Thursday, Dec. 10, 4 – 5:30 p.m.

Equity & Racial Justice:

Thursday, Jan. 14, 4 – 5:30 p.m.

Climate Change:

February 2021, Date TBD

Speakers will be announced closer to the event. All events will occur on Zoom and will be recorded and available after the meeting.

The press release from the City reads:

On Thursday, November 19, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., everyone is invited to the first of four online Decatur 202 sessions to dig deeper into policy and program topics for the City’s 2020 Strategic Plan.

First up: A focus on how we get around, covering the full range of transportation issues, from transit to walking, biking, automobiles, accessibility, and parking. Visit decatur2030.com for further information or register for the Zoom session directly at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwocOGgqD0tH9Ew8-6GC8jXMx6T5xDX_M8L.

After Mobility comes similar discussions around Housing, Equity and Racial Justice, and Climate Change. The overriding question for the process: What does successful policy-making for the next decade look like in a community of 25,000 in a metro area of six million?

“Despite all the stresses on families and businesses during the pandemic,” says Decatur Mayor Patti Garrett, “we’ve been able to move together through each step in this process to shape a plan for our future. These 202 Zoom discussions are crucial for maintaining momentum. Please sign up to participate.”

Community collaboration began with a series of Citizen Roundtables that kicked off in January. Their goal was to use progressive discussions in some 70 groups of residents to identify key issues and questions. In March, before the three planned Roundtable sessions could be completed with in-person meetings, the pandemic forced a pause to reorganize. Zoom meetings to wrap the Roundtables finished in October. Then, to make sure anyone who wanted to add their thoughts to the process had that opportunity, an extra step was added – the Virtual Forums — providing online place to post new comments and refine ideas emerging from the Roundtables.

To follow the process up until this point and to comment in the Virtual Forums, check out the project website: www.decatur2030.com.

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