Collabanooga

An inter-disciplinary summer of research, strategic planning, and service. 

By grappling with its challenges and enjoying its strengths, we plan to explore life in Chattanooga on a quest to discover its identity and spirit. By collaborating with innovation leaders in the city, we hope to understand the complex connections between the city’s economic, cultural, governmental, educational, political, and historical systems, and the ways that individuals are creating change through them. By thinking critically about impact, our team will pursue solutions to Chattanooga’s most puzzling issues—and do so with curiosity and optimism.

“Cities are where we want to be . . . If present trends continue, more than two-thirds of us will choose to live in cities by century’s end. Cities as a whole produce 80 percent of the world’s wealth. They are the crucibles of culture and advances in one city are transmitted and adopted in others with lightning speed. When cities improve, the world improves.”

–Alex Washburn ’84
The Nature of Urban Design