The Knight Foundation has extended invitations to Mayor Teresa Tomlinson and Georgia Department of Transportation Board member Sam Wellborn, both of Columbus, Georgia to join a group of “Civic Innovators” from nine U.S. cities on an all-expense paid trip to Copenhagen, Denmark, one of the world’s “most livable cities”. The trip will take place from August 23-29, 2014 and will study building more livable, sustainable and engaged cities. The trip will include a master class at the Copenhagen studio of Gehl Architects, meetings and tours with Copenhagen public officials and a side trip to Malmo, Sweden, to explore its transformation from an industrial port city to a burgeoning high-tech economy. Participants will be challenged to address how these best practices may be adapted to improve their own communities. 

In the 1970s, Copenhagen was just another major metropolitan area starting to choke on its own suburban commuter traffic; now it’s one of the most walkable, bikeable cities in the world with strong public transportation infrastructure, vibrant downtown businesses and engaged, enthusiastic residents. The Copenhagen study trip was offered through a competitive process to Knight Community representatives who attended “The Doable City” forum in Chicago earlier this summer, wherein leaders discussed the latest on how to make their cities more usable and comfortable for citizens ages 8 to 80. 

“As the local liaison to the Knight Foundation, the Community Foundation partners with civic leaders to foster an informed, engaged community,” commented Betsy Covington, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley. “Knight is particularly interested in how cities increase economic mobility for their citizens and better attract and retain workforce talent through proven transportation planning techniques. When the Community Foundation saw the opportunity to apply for Columbus representation on the Copenhagen study trip, I jumped on it”. 

The Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts in 26 Knight Communities throughout the United States. Through its Community and National Initiatives program, the Knight Foundation invests in civic innovations that attract, retain and harness talent; that expand opportunity by increasing entrepreneurship and economic mobility; and that build places that accelerate the growth of ideas and bring people from diverse social and economic backgrounds together.