Mayor: Nashville not trying to emulate Atlanta

By Shawna S. Kelsch
Diversity Institute Fellow

07.31.02

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Audience listens to Mayor Bill Purcell. Photo by Shiloh Crawford III

Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell said Tuesday that the city he leads might not enjoy the prestige that Atlanta does, but it offers some advantages.

Purcell used a speech to about 60 members of the Nashville chapter of Public Relations Society of America to make his own public relations spiel.

Nashville, he boasted, has better government, better traffic and better music than its often more visible Southern counterpart.

“Help get the word out on this great city,” Purcell said. “Nashville is not Atlanta, and we don’t want it to be.”

Purcell touted various accomplishments that he said have been realized since his election in 2000.

Mayor Bill Purcell

Education, he said, is improving and remains a top priority of his administration. Metro schools improved in reading and math, recent Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program scores showed.

Purcell also cited a recycling program in 100,000 area homes, the reinstatement of construction on the Shelby Avenue Bridge and approval to begin a $30 million sidewalk project later this year at elementary schools in Davidson County.

But he said there is still is much work to be done.

At the end of next month, a completed parks and recreation master plan will help administrators evaluate the city’s parks facilities with the hope that all residents will have access to green spaces, he said.

“No one will be more than a half mile from a park or green space that they can walk to,” Purcell said.

These spaces, along with residential developments, enhanced infrastructure and centrally-located corporate and entertainment businesses will help downtown fill in the gaps and increase income to the city, Purcell said.

Some in the audience were surprised at what they learned at the mayor’s speech, including the fact that more people live within the city limits of Nashville than those living in the city of Atlanta. The Atlanta metropolitan area is significantly larger than Metro Nashville, however.

“This was a great speech, very informative,” said Emily Hartman, internal communications coordinator for Sun Trust Bank. “I used to live in Atlanta and had no idea about the difference in the amount of people. My husband and I moved here from Atlanta 10 years ago because we wanted a Southern pace with a big city atmosphere but not all the congestion. We want to raise kids here.”

Cynthia Morin, executive director of university events for Vanderbilt University, said the mayor gave her a lot to think about.

“He focused on things we take for granted,” she said. “His speech reminded us not to take them for granted."

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