This editorial originally ran in the January-February 2026 edition of James.
Walk down any Main Street in Georgia and you’ll see it: neighbors catching up, families at a ballgame, a local restaurant filled with regulars. Those aren’t just pleasant scenes. They remind us that the strength of our cities isn’t in streets or buildings, but in those who care about them.
That caring is what we mean by love of city. Policy and infrastructure matter, but the future of Georgia’s communities depends on people being connected to the places they call home.
Why Love Matters Now
Georgia continues to grow. Our ports are expanding, it’s the top state to do business in, and new residents are arriving every day. Yet, civic trust is eroding. The Georgia Civic Health Index ranks our state last in the nation for neighbors talking to each other. Volunteering is down. Fewer people are showing up at community meetings.
That fraying of civic life has consequences. When people disconnect, polarization grows. When trust weakens, problems go unsolved.
This is why love of city matters. Author Peter Kageyama calls love the most powerful resource a city can have. When residents love their community, they show up, volunteer, invest, and build. That civic energy can’t be legislated from Atlanta or Washington. It grows when people feel connected to the place they call home.
What Love Looks Like
Love shows up in practical ways: clean water in the tap, safe roads, parks where kids can play. It’s supporting law enforcement and first responders who protect us when we need them most.
It’s also about resilience. When Hurricane Helene swept across Georgia in 2024, it wasn’t far-off institutions that cleared roads or checked on neighbors. It was local leadership and residents stepping up for one another. That’s love in action.
And it’s about individuals. I remember once reading about a young Georgia police officer who saved the life of a baby. Asked why he chose his career, he answered, “I wanted to help people.” That’s the essence of loving a city. Cities thrive because people step up — police officers, teachers, business owners, volunteers.
Revitalization is another expression of love. Across Georgia, empty storefronts have become coffee shops, galleries, and family businesses. That didn’t happen because someone in Washington wrote a plan. It happened because locals believed their community could be better.
None of this is to pretend cities don’t face challenges. They do. Rising costs, aging infrastructure, housing shortages, public safety concerns; the list is long. But it’s at the local level, where government is closest to the people, that solutions take root. That’s proof that local works.
Why This Matters to Policy
As the legislative session begins and the 2026 campaign season nears, many of the debates shaping Georgia will sharpen. Cities offer a needed contrast. They remind us that government, at its best, is close to the people, and that decisions made locally are more efficient, more accountable, and more trusted.
Georgia voters have approved 95 percent of SPLOST referenda over the years, and last year 32 of 36 counties adopted a Floating Local Option Sales Tax (FLOST) for property-tax relief. In places where FLOST didn’t pass, voters simply opted for a different approach. That’s the strength of local decision-making; communities choose what works for them.
As lawmakers return to Atlanta, that same sense of partnership and trust can guide how the state works with its cities.
The municipal elections we just concluded are a good reminder of why non-partisan city elections matter. Candidates don’t run as Democrats or Republicans; they run as neighbors with ideas for making their hometown better. I’ve never seen a Republican pothole or a Democrat streetlight. That reality keeps the focus where it belongs: on solving problems. At its heart, local government is about service, not partisanship.
And as Kageyama reminds us, residents aren’t just consumers of city services; they’re co-creators of civic life. City government can’t do everything. But when businesses invest in downtowns, when churches partner with city hall, when neighbors take pride in their block, that’s when a city truly thrives.
A Call to Engagement
Georgia’s future won’t be written only under the Gold Dome or corporate boardrooms. It will be written in city halls, town squares, and neighborhoods. If we want stronger communities, healthier civic life, and a more prosperous state, we need to recover the idea that cities aren’t just places we live; they’re places we love.
And love means action, investment, and civility. It means choosing to build up rather than tear down.
We face a simple choice: treat our cities as disposable or steward them so the next generation inherits something stronger.Each of us — residents, business leaders, voters, neighbors — can choose to engage with, support, and love our cities.
When we do, Georgia’s best days, and the work of shaping them, begin right now.
