Groundbreakers Finalist

Can you live—and live well—in a home the size of a parking space? That question was posed to faculty, staff, and students at the Savannah College of Art and Design, not as an intellectual thought experiment but as a living laboratory known as SCADpad.

Turning vacant lots into urban farms is nothing new, but a few innovators are taking intown agriculture to another level. Micro­enterprises such as Widdernshins Urban Farmstead in East Point operate on just a fifth of an acre.

The $600 million project, which will eventually consume 86 acres off Georgia 400 in Alpharetta, has been flashy from the start (the grand-opening gala last October lasted four days). And Toro’s mission—to break the mold of traditional suburban cul-de-sacs and strip malls in favor of a dense, walkable “urbanburb”—has clearly struck a chord.

When Keith T. Parker became CEO and general manager of MARTA in 2012, he was faced with not only a bigger agency than those he’d previously managed in Charlotte and San Antonio, but one with a $33 million budget deficit and a public relations problem.

Fugees Academy grew out of the acclaimed soccer program for refugee children. Today, the school enrolls 100 students from more than twenty countries, helping them thrive as they make the transition to a new home. Thanks to donations and sponsors, tuition is free.

A partnership between Georgia Tech and the Midtown Alliance, Buzz brings together residents, businesses, and students to develop community-focused smartphone apps like OneBusAway and CycleAtlanta.

Founded in 2007 as the only all-girls unit of Atlanta Public Schools, the academy stresses science, technology, engineering and math courses. The first seniors graduated from the school this spring, and every single one was accepted to college.

Many children are anxious about reading aloud in class. But they relax when asked to read to dogs. Through READing PAWS, specially trained therapy dogs like Echo the Beagle visit schools and libraries throughout metro Atlanta and help make learning to read fun.

Since 2007, the ArtsBridge Foundation has helped more than 240,000 students and teachers from Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and South Carolina experience the performing arts, with free or low-cost performances, field trips, and even Broadway master classes.

For seventeen years, Georgia Tech and Emory have shared a joint biomedical engineering program that produces hundreds of graduates along with promising medical advances. This collaborative effort leverages Tech’s engineering prowess and Emory’s medical expertise.