Today is the final session of the “The Doable City” forum in Chicago sponsored by Knight Foundation and organized by 8-80 Cities. 

I’ve been here since Monday with 24 of my great friends from the Knight communities of Columbus, Macon and Milledgeville, Ga. It’s been a rewarding two days so far—full of learning and meeting new people and making stronger Georgia connections.

We’re lucky with our group of Georgia cities; they are represented by a broad array of folks who care about the future of our communities, including the mayor of Columbus, the county manager of Macon-Bibb and the head of its transit authority, and the incoming chair of the Milledgeville-Baldwin County Chamber. The nonprofit sector is well represented by leadership from Uptown Columbus, Midtown Columbus, Macon’s College Hill Alliance, Newtown Macon, Historic Macon and the Urban Development Authority. The presidents of the community foundations serving our Georgia Knight communities are here too, along with some private developers. I’m lucky to be with all these smart and caring folks.

We’ve learned a lot at The Doable City. But it’s not what you might think. We’ve learned that we’re on the right track in Columbus, Macon and Milledgeville. We’ve received confirmation of what we’ve always intuitively known—that it takes a small group to start big change. And as Gil Penalosa, executive director of 8-80 Cities says, we’re doing things the right way while doing the right thing. While the conference has focused on large cities, Tuesday a delegate asked if these principles could work in a small to mid-sized place; the answer was an overwhelming yes. We’re seeing that—and doing it—too.

This conference has given us good ideas and encouragement, but mostly has brought us closer together to continue the leadership in our respective cities to make great things happen for Columbus, Macon and Milledgeville.

Come see it for yourself. We love visitors, so we can convince you to move to these great places that will become even more walkable, bikeable and vibrant thanks to what we’re learning at “The Doable City.”

Beverly Blake is Macon program director at Knight Foundation.