MOBILE
WORKSHOPS

Explore & Learn

Our mobile workshops are a can’t-miss City Summit experience, offering a variety of opportunities for attendees to learn about major economic development projects underway or recently completed by our host city Atlanta, GA. Spots are limited — register today for City Summit 2023 and reserve your spot for one of these exclusive, insider experiences!

Mobile Workshops Agenda

Wednesday,

November 15, 2023


The World’s Busiest Airport: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

9:00 AM – NOON (limited slots available)

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is the first airport in history to serve more than 100 million passengers in a calendar year, topping passenger totals worldwide. Go behind the scenes of this global economic engine bringing $66 billion of direct investment to the region. ATL continues to thrive with acclaimed concessions, operations and sustainability programs.  ATLNext is the multi-billion, multi-year capital improvement program to build and renew structures across the airport footprint.  This tour will allow an on-the-airfield view of the complex operations of the busiest airport in the world.  As part of this workshop, the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department will show how they meet the unique demands of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) while treating the airport like an in-town community.


Parks & Water: Westside Park Capacity Relief Project & Water Reservoir and Pumping Station

9:00 AM – NOON

Enjoy this two-in-one tour of the Rodney Cook Park & Capacity Relief Project and the Shirley C. Franklin Pumping Station and Water Reservoir. Cook Park is one of the city’s largest investments in a public park in Atlanta’s Westside neighborhood in more than 50 years and a symbol of the neighborhood’s legacy. The community has been plagued by severe flooding and aging infrastructure. The 16-acre park creates a vibrant community destination and ultimately revitalizes the neighborhood, while the pond is designed to alleviate flooding by capturing and storing up to 10 million gallons of stormwater and enhancing the capacity for the combined sewers within the area.  The new infrastructure within, around and underneath the park helps implement the City’s innovative stormwater management ordinance and lays the groundwork for future downstream relief projects. The design demonstrates how stormwater quantity and water quality issues can be addressed in a way that enhances a public space and uplifts an entire neighborhood. The Shirley C. Franklin Pumping Station and Water Reservoir is the newest water reservoir to the DWM’s nearly $5B asset portfolio and was completed in 2020. The facility increases Atlanta’s reserve water supply from three days to potentially up to 90 days. The $320 million investment includes the construction of a five-mile tunnel connecting the Chattahoochee River, the Hemphill Water Treatment Plant, and the new reservoir (former Bellwood Quarry), which has been transformed into a 2.4-billion-gallon water reservoir. The facility is nestled within 350+ acres of scenic land and is now the largest city park in Atlanta. The park amenities consist of trails, pedestrian connections, and other amenities including a grand overlook of the reservoir and City skyline.


Walk of Fame: Mercedes Benz Stadium & Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame

1:00 – 4:00 PM

Come explore the Mercedes Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United and the HBCU Battle of The Bands and the 2019 Super Bowl LIII.  The stadium is owned and developed by Arthur Blank. Take a walk along the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame, which opened in 2020, that honors more than 30 Black and African American artists, including Michael Jackson, James Brown, New Edition, Ambassador Andrew Young, Kirk Franklin and more. This tour will include stops at The Atlanta University Center, home to Spelman, Morehouse, Clark Atlanta, and Morris Brown!  And it would not be complete without a stop at the award-winning and historic Busy Bee’s!


Hollywood of the south: Tyler Perry Studios

9:00 AM – NOON  (limited slots available)

Atlanta is known globally as The Hollywood of The South.  More importantly, Atlanta stayed atop the list as one of the best places to live and work in the world and in 2023 voted #1.

Come explore Tyler Perry Studios to see why Atlanta is taking the film production industry by storm.  From an almost-to-scale white house to iconic studios named after legendary African American icons, this tour will not disappoint. Located in southwest Atlanta, the trip would not be complete without a tour of the area and all the rich Atlanta culture it encompasses.


Atlanta Beltline

1:00 – 4:00 PM

The Atlanta BeltLine is a unique network of multi-use trails with adjacent transit capacity, public parks, affordable housing, and economic development along a historic 22-mile railroad corridor around the city. Come enjoy a guided visit to the Eastside and Westside Trails as we highlight the BeltLine’s green spaces, revitalized urban infrastructure, and small businesses across the city. This three-hour bus tour will demonstrate that the Atlanta BeltLine is not only revolutionizing Atlanta’s urban infrastructure, but also acts as a catalyst for mobility, economic growth, and job creation. On track to be completed by 2030, the Atlanta BeltLine is one the largest, most wide-ranging urban redevelopment and mobility projects currently underway in the United States — a national example of how to deliver safe transportation infrastructure to benefit all those who live, work, play, or learn within urban centers for generations to come.


oakland cemetery: From civil war to civil rights

1:00 – 4:00 PM

Enjoy this tour of Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta’s oldest public greenspace and the original city cemetery. Founded in 1850, Oakland is a park, greenspace, historic site, and cemetery. The tour explores the lives and accomplishments of outstanding and ordinary African Americans who fought to overcome the effects of slavery and discrimination to help shape the history of Atlanta. This tour explores the cemetery and the city’s rich history and how understanding these complex, intertwined stories can help us think about a more just and equitable communal future.


public land as an instrument for inclusive, thriving neighborhoods

9:00 AM – NOON | 1:00 – 4:00 PM

Learn how the City of Atlanta is mobilizing resources and investments for holistic neighborhood revitalization with mission-aligned public and private partners at an unprecedented scale. Mixed-income housing is a fundamental cornerstone of this strategy. By recognizing the untapped potential of building on underutilized public land – along with viable sites held by institutional actors, like faith-based organizations – the city is achieving deeper affordability while keeping neighborhood-anchoring catalytic sites in permanent public stewardship. 


aglanta: Seeing and tasting the local food system

9:00 AM – NOON

Enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of Atlanta during this Urban Agriculture mobile workshop. AgLanta is the City of Atlanta’s urban agriculture initiative.  The mission of Atlanta’s Urban Agriculture and Food System program is to cultivate a more resilient, equitable, inclusive, just and accessible food system.  The goal is to ensure that 85% of Atlanta residents are within a 0.5 miles of fresh, affordable food. The tour will include visits to various fresh food access points including the country’s largest community food forest and edible city park, the Urban Food Forest at Browns Mill, a community farm or garden. Here participants will sample local, fresh ingredients. Each food access site will provide a unique and inspiring opportunity to exchange ideas with municipal staff, local growers and food system leaders, federal partners, and entrepreneurs working together to create a food system that can better serve all who live, do business, and visit Atlanta.


martin luther king jr. drive innovation cooridor

1:00 – 4:00 PM

Experience Atlanta’s newest public art additions on the recently completed MLK Innovation Corridor which spans approximately 7.2 miles. Taking inspiration from the words and experiences of civil rights leaders, several artist teams created original artworks that transformed Martin Luther King Jr. Drive into a dynamic experience for Atlanta community members, commuters, and visitors. The City of Atlanta commissioned world-class artworks that celebrate Atlanta’s unique and impactful civil rights history, honoring many local heroes hailing from our hometown. The public art projects are managed by the City of Atlanta’s Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs – and range from civil rights statuaries to the latest in interactive light sculpture and water feature technologies.

In addition to the world-class art, the MLK Innovation Corridor is an outstanding representation of the complete street concept of urban infrastructure design and the City of Atlanta’s Vision Zero commitment. The corridor employs a variety of transportation improvements – resurfacing, restriping, signalized pedestrian crossings, bicycle lanes, medians, and landscaping to reduce accidents and improve the quality of life for area residents. This tour includes seven public art viewing stops and a bonus stop to view three new civil rights monuments in Vine City. There will be opportunities to meet the artists and hear a panel discussion detailing the planning that went into the transformation of Atlanta’s MLK Jr. Drive

Thursday,

November 16, 202


Soccer Stations: From the World to the A

9:00 AM – NOON

Atlanta will host one of the world’s largest sports events, World Cup 2026. Join this mobile tour to learn how the city is preparing and its intentional work to be a connected and inclusive community through diplomacy and community resource events. Did you know that Atlanta has the second fastest-growing foreign-born population in the nation? As the population of Atlanta continues to grow and the business climate thrives, the city has worked to develop and foster relationships between Atlanta’s international communities, city departments, and external partners to empower the City’s foreign-born population with access to information, addressing local and global challenges, and positioning Atlanta as the global hub for diplomacy, business, innovation, education, culture, and sports. During this tour, learn how the city of Atlanta, with the support of community-based organizations such as Agape Youth and Family Center, Soccer in the Streets, and the Atlanta Sports Council is preparing for the World Cup. Tour two of the World Cup Soccer Stations and learn how organizations empower Atlanta’s youth through sports, academic support and employability programs. Explore the Sara J. Gonzalez Park, the first park named for a Latinx individual in Georgia and a park that serves the community, celebrates diversity and advances equity through programs such as the city’s community resource events.


The World’s Busiest Airport: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

9:00 AM – NOON (limited slots available)

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is the first airport in history to serve more than 100 million passengers in a calendar year, topping passenger totals worldwide. Go behind the scenes of this global economic engine bringing $66 billion of direct investment to the region. ATL continues to thrive with acclaimed concessions, operations and sustainability programs.  ATLNext is the multi-billion, multi-year capital improvement program to build and renew structures across the airport footprint.  This tour will allow an on-the-airfield view of the complex operations of the busiest airport in the world.  As part of this workshop, the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department will show how they meet the unique demands of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) while treating the airport like an in-town community.


Atlanta Beltline

9:00 AM to NOON

The Atlanta BeltLine is a unique network of multi-use trails with adjacent transit capacity, public parks, affordable housing, and economic development along a historic 22-mile railroad corridor around the city. Come enjoy a guided visit to the Eastside and Westside Trails as we highlight the BeltLine’s green spaces, revitalized urban infrastructure, and small businesses across the city. This three-hour bus tour will demonstrate that the Atlanta BeltLine is not only revolutionizing Atlanta’s urban infrastructure, but also acts as a catalyst for mobility, economic growth, and job creation. On track to be completed by 2030, the Atlanta BeltLine is one the largest, most wide-ranging urban redevelopment and mobility projects currently underway in the United States — a national example of how to deliver safe transportation infrastructure to benefit all those who live, work, play, or learn within urban centers for generations to come.


Parks & Water: Westside Park Capacity Relief Project & Water Reservoir and Pumping Station

9:00 AM – NOON

Enjoy this two-in-one tour of the Rodney Cook Park & Capacity Relief Project and the Shirley C. Franklin Pumping Station and Water Reservoir. Cook Park is one of the city’s largest investments in a public park in Atlanta’s Westside neighborhood in more than 50 years and a symbol of the neighborhood’s legacy. The community has been plagued by severe flooding and aging infrastructure. The 16-acre park creates a vibrant community destination and ultimately revitalizes the neighborhood, while the pond is designed to alleviate flooding by capturing and storing up to 10 million gallons of stormwater and enhancing the capacity for the combined sewers within the area.  The new infrastructure within, around and underneath the park helps implement the City’s innovative stormwater management ordinance and lays the groundwork for future downstream relief projects. The design demonstrates how stormwater quantity and water quality issues can be addressed in a way that enhances a public space and uplifts an entire neighborhood. The Shirley C. Franklin Pumping Station and Water Reservoir is the newest water reservoir to the DWM’s nearly $5B asset portfolio and was completed in 2020. The facility increases Atlanta’s reserve water supply from three days to potentially up to 90 days. The $320 million investment includes the construction of a five-mile tunnel connecting the Chattahoochee River, the Hemphill Water Treatment Plant, and the new reservoir (former Bellwood Quarry), which has been transformed into a 2.4-billion-gallon water reservoir. The facility is nestled within 350+ acres of scenic land and is now the largest city park in Atlanta. The park amenities consist of trails, pedestrian connections, and other amenities including a grand overlook of the reservoir and City skyline.


Hollywood of the south: Tyler Perry Studios

9:00 AM – NOON  (limited slots available)

Atlanta is known globally as The Hollywood of The South.  More importantly, Atlanta stayed atop the list as one of the best places to live and work in the world and in 2023 voted #1.

Come explore Tyler Perry Studios to see why Atlanta is taking the film production industry by storm.  From an almost-to-scale white house to iconic studios named after legendary African American icons, this tour will not disappoint. Located in southwest Atlanta, the trip would not be complete without a tour of the area and all the rich Atlanta culture it encompasses.


atlanta civil rights leaders

9:00 AM – NOON 

Explore the Atlanta University Center (AUC), the centerpiece of the Civil Rights Movement and the origin story for many civil rights leaders. The AUC, home to five HBCUs including Clark Atlanta University, Morris Brown College, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine and Spelman College, remains an invaluable partner in the progress and success of the City of Atlanta. With prominent alumni like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Stacey Abrams, Ralph Abernathy, Pinky Cole, Kenny Leon and Hosea L. Williams, the AUC builds the leadership of our city. This 2.5-hour tour will include The King Center and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, all of which tell the story of where the fight for social justice began, and even more importantly, the ways we continue to strive for greater equity in Atlanta.

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