There are great benefits to having both a business association and a civic association. The Virginia Highland neighborhood is lucky enough to have a long-standing history and a fantastic crew through its Virginia Highland Civic Association, established in 1971.
In the early 2000’s, Virginia Highland actually had a business association that was run by the late Warren Bruno, owner of Atkins Park Tavern. It consisted of a web business directory and email list for members. Fast forward 20 years, after Bruno’s original business association had been formally dissolved. We created the Virginia Highland District Association to give a voice to our North Highland business corridor and allow one organization to focus on the vitality and quality of our historic business district.
Across the US, cities give voice to residents and businesses in different ways. Some cities, or even large neighborhoods, will have a dedicated Chamber of Commerce, like Winter Park, Orlando. Smaller cities might have a department or committee within the government, similar to our Main Street Program, which is historically done within the Economic Development Department. They’ll have staff dedicated to support business district vitality, meaning all of the public space investments, events, and economic development is paid for, or coordinated by, the city; see the City of Tifton as an example.
Atlanta is special. She is made up of over 200 neighborhoods, each with its own character, history, nuances, and sense of place. Unfortunately, our city government is not able to assign personnel to each neighborhood. In fact, our government has one Department of City Planning that is in charge of all of Atlanta. That department is made up of other departments, including housing, historic preservation, and economic development. However, each department attends to the entire city for its area of focus, which gives them a more zoomed-out or compartmentalized view of our city. They need individual neighborhoods like us to advocate and help them learn what we want, what works, and what doesn’t.
Atlanta’s main feedback loop with residents utilizes what they call a Neighborhood Planning Unit (NPU), a legislated board in direct contact with the city. There are 25 planning units across Atlanta that line up similar to our city council districts to give the residents a voice and communication channel to city council. Virginia Highland resides in NPU-F. Currently, the best way to advocate for your city is through your civic association, NPU, councilmember, or 311.
Business association’s are a relatively new concept to Atlanta; there are only about 15 in the city, most younger than 5 years old. So what’s the number one reason why we need business association’s and civic association’s? To give the city as much help as possible to advocate for what we want. And what do we want? To encourage a deeper connection in our lives, protect our environment, conserve our culture, and be socially responsible.
Stated Mission: “Support VaHi small businesses through economic development, public realm investment, and community engagement.”
Established: August 2020
Overall
Beautification Committee
Economic Development Committee
Social/Fundraising Committee
Safety Committee
Communications Committee
Incorporated Mission: “promotion and the furtherance of the common good, general welfare and interests of residents of The Virginia-Highland.”
Established: 1972 (celebrating 50th anniversary!)
Overall
Parks Committee
Planning Committee
Social/Fundraising Committee
Grants Committee
Communications Committee
Safety/Transportation Committee
