Clayton County has been named the 2025 Regional Excellence Award Visionary Planning winner by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) for its Tara Boulevard Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) Study. The ARC Regional Excellence Awards recognize projects in Metro-Atlanta that demonstrate creativity and innovation, while also supporting the goals of the Atlanta Region’s Plan.
The Tara Boulevard LCI project is a study aimed at transforming an 11-mile corridor, currently designed primarily for vehicles, into a multimodal destination focused on people. This initiative was developed through collaboration between Aerotropolis Atlanta, Clayton County, the Cities of Jonesboro and Lovejoy, and ARC. The plan covers more than 5,600 acres.
The vision for Tara Boulevard is to create a safe and welcoming area for living, working, and recreation. It aims to connect communities and promote sustainable growth. The planning process involved significant community engagement and identified three main areas with specific strategies for redevelopment, mobility improvements, placemaking, and enhancing community well-being.
“We are honored to receive the Regional Excellence Award for Visionary Planning, which is a testament that people do recognize our great county is on the move,” said Clayton County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Dr. Alieka Anderson-Henry. “We value our residents and partners and look forward to spurring economic development and improvement along Tara Blvd and throughout the county.”
Further details about the 2025 Regional Excellence Awards can be found at atlantaregional.org/regional-excellence-awards/. The awards ceremony can also be viewed online: Regional Excellence Award Visionary Planning 2025.
In related developments within Clayton County schools during the 2022-23 school year, enrollment dropped by 2.5% compared to the previous year according to data from the Georgia Department of Education (https://www.gadoe.org/). That same year, Clayton County schools enrolled a total of 61,644 students (https://www.gadoe.org/), with white students comprising just 2% of the student body (https://www.gadoe.org/).
Media inquiries should be directed to Valerie L. Fuller at the Clayton County Office of Communications or submitted via https://www.claytoncountyga.gov/government/chief-operating-officer/office-of-communications/.
