Mourning the Passing of Former President Jimmy Carter

Together with the nation, Georgia Planning Association mourns the passing of former President Jimmy Carter of Plains, Georgia, the nation’s 39th president. In the early years of his government work, Jimmy Carter was a vigorous proponent of regional and state planning, serving as chair of the West Central Georgia Planning and Development Commission. Carter also served as a founding member and later, chairman of the Middle Flint Area Planning and Development Council, now known as the River Valley Regional Commission. Carter was the first president of the then-new planning officials’ organization, Georgia Planning Association, which merged in 1968 with Georgia’s American Institute of Planners chapter to become what we know as GPA today. As Governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter later initiated an impactful state planning program, Goals for Georgia, which was led by state Senator Sam Nunn.

These early planning contributions are discussed in the Georgia Planning History video on our chapter website. President Carter’s later contributions to energy and environmental planning, public lands acquisition, hazardous waste remediation, and later, to affordable housing, are well-known. We are grateful for his instrumental role in the early years of our organized profession in Georgia. 

Written by: Bruce Stiftel, FAICP, Professor Emeritus, Georgia Tech School of City and Regional Planning