The City of Gainesville was recognized as a graduate of the Georgia Economic Placemaking Collaborative (GEPC) program by the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) and the Georgia Cities Foundation (GCF) at the 2023 Cities United Summit. Nearly 1,000 government leaders, public servants and legislative stakeholders convened in Atlanta Jan. 20-23 for the event.

The GEPC is a two-year program that helps cities build a local placemaking team and develop a specific placemaking strategy, based on the unique assets of a community.

“Effective placemaking strategies can be a catalyst to growing and transforming communities,” said GMA CEO and Executive Director Larry Hanson. “We commend the City of Gainesville on their completion of the program and their commitment to positively developing their community.”

GEPC started in 2018 with three cities and has continued to grow over the past five years. The GEPC program is made possible by the following generous partners and sponsors: Georgia Power, Georgia Conservancy, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, Georgia Department of Community Affairs and the Electric Cities of Georgia.

Gainesville is among 10 other cities that were recognized for completing the program. The full list of honorees includes: Bainbridge, Gainesville, Greensboro, Albany, Canton, Millen, Covington, Fitzgerald, Jackson, Powder Springs and Young Harris.

Applications will be available in September for cities interested in joining the 2024 program. More information can be found on the GCF website: www.georgiacitiesfoundation.org.

About the Georgia Municipal Association

Based in Atlanta, the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) is a voluntary, nonprofit organization that provides legislative advocacy, educational, employee benefit and consulting services to all of Georgia’s 537 cities. GMA anticipates and influences the forces shaping Georgia’s cities to provide leadership, tools and services that assist municipal governments in becoming more innovative, effective and responsive. Created in 1933, GMA is the only state organization that represents municipal governments in Georgia. For more information, visit www.gacities.com.