A new “Future Metropolis Index” report from Zipcar – the national car-sharing program – ranks Atlanta near the top in many interesting categories.  The index is designed to “recognize cities that demonstrate smart urban planning and policy-making.

Atlanta ranks 7th overall among the 36 cities analyzed, with these rankings in the five individual categories…

• #1 in Innovation, determined by the number of universities and Wi-Fi hot spots per residents (?)
• #17 in Sustainability, determined by miles of bike lanes and percentage of hybrid cars
• #5 in VIbrancy/Creativity, determined by park acres and arts-related jobs (Atlanta ranks #1 in arts jobs, according to the study)
• #4 in Efficiency, determined by % of commuters that use public transportation and the number of “unlinked” trips on public transportation
• #32 in Livability/Optimism, determined by homicide and burglary and unemployment rates

Who knew that Atlanta such an innovative, creative, efficient city with some trouble being sustainable and looking on the bright side of life??

As you may have already seen on the front page of your Decatur Focus, next Wednesday, September 22nd is “Car-Free” Day in Decatur.

The city encourages residents to go “car-free” for the day and plans to hand out special stickers for those who walk or bike (or rollerblade or unicycle, I assume) up to the Concert on the Square at noon on Wednesday.

In a similar vein, the car-sharing company, Zipcar, is currently hosting it’s annual “low-car diet” program, where participants agree to give up their car for 30 days, posting stories and little tidbits along the way.  According to Atlanta Intown, “61 percent of the 2009 participants said they planned to go “car-free” after the 30-day challenge. Additionally, participants increased their miles biked by 132 percent, decreased their miles driven by 66 percent and lost a total of 413 pounds.”

Could you go car-free for a month in Atlanta?  The 2010 Decatur Citizen Survey (pdf) showed that only 14% of daily commutes involved walking, biking or public transportation as the primary means of getting to work.

Also, is there anything that the city of Decatur could be doing that would make you less car-dependent?

Last year, Zipcar and Flexcar announced they were merging into one national super-giant hourly car rental company that parks hip/trendy cars around metro areas for your convenience (look for the BMW 5 series in coming months). As the merger comes to fruition this spring, Zipcar signs are beginning to pop up in the old Flexcar spots around Decatur.

We spotted one Saturday in the Raging Burrito parking lot.

What does this mean to you MARTA-riding car-less types?

Well, from what I can deduce, rates will go up a bit with Zipcar. Standard hourly rates with no membership fee started at $6 with Flexcar and start at $7.65 with Zipcar. Decatur rates seem to range between $9-$11 an hour with Zipcar.

It’s yet to be proven that companies like Zipcar can last in highway-dependent Atlanta.