Atlanta is one of five cities selected to host a 2013 forum of the Global Cities Initiative, a partnership between the Brookings Institution and JPMorgan Chase.
JPMorgan contributed $10 million to the Washington-based think tank over five years for the research effort, which aims to equip city leaders from the top 100 U.S. metro areas and some international cities with the networks and knowledge they need to compete in the global economy.
Leaders of the initiative have visited Atlanta separately in recent months to discuss how cities should prepare for the new realities of the global economy.
Bruce Katz, the project’s director and vice president and founding director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, delivered the keynote speech at the Atlanta Regional Commission‘s annual State of the Region breakfast Oct. 12. He extolled Atlanta’s natural ties with its trading partners and said that the U.S. must improve its infrastructure to create a more export-oriented economy.
Richard Daley, chair of the initiative and former mayor of Chicago,visited for the U.S.-Russia Business Council‘s annual meeting in Atlanta Oct. 24. He noted that cities must invest in international education and partner with their corporate leaders to attract foreign investment.
“Vibrant, global cities don’t just appear on their own. It takes strategy, collaboration, data and insight,” Mr. Daley said in a news release announcing the forums for the coming year.
The Atlanta forum is to be held March 19-20, followed by forums in Houston (May 14-15), Dallas (May 16), Denver (June 25-26) and Mexico City (Nov. 11-15).
In 2012, the initiative held forums in Los Angeles, San Diego, Columbus, Ohio; Miami; and Tampa, Fla. At the end of November, one will be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
For more information, visit www.brookings.edu/metro.
