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Our Restored Cities, Where the Living Is Easier
Parade Magazine -- 4/25/99The April 25, 1999 issue of Parade Magazine featured Chattanooga as a shining example of a city turning itself around from economic, financial, and environmental decline.
The article stated, "Once a prime example for everything wrong with post-industrial America, Chattanooga (pop. 148,820) is turning itself around." The article cites the revitalized waterfront's thriving entertainment district that draws more than a million visitors a year; the free electric buses that ferry passengers to downtown locations; and the new affordable housing that has been constructed. "And the air, once so dirty you had to drive with your headlights on at noon, is clean again," notes the article.
One of the secrets to Chattanooga's success is its "homegrown approach." The article notes the exceptional blend of community involvement with public, nonprofit, and commercial investment. It's efforts have been rewarded with two UN awards, a 1996 award from the President's Council on Sustainable Development, and its efforts were showcased at a National Town Meeting for Sustainable America.
"We don't say we're a model, we say we're a living laboratory," the article quotes David Crockett, City Council chairman and president of the Chattanooga Institute, a nonprofit group that promotes "smart growth" in communities nationwide.
