\u201cOne of the things that we know is that we’re gonna have to have more places for multifamily housing as we begin to go vertical,\u201d said Girtz \u201cAnd so we brought this discussion to the public over the last number of months with a series of public presentations.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n According to Girtz, the Athens government has conducted dozens of public input sessions and would like as much input as possible from different residents including students at the university.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u201cWe’ve made sure that we’ve gotten dozens of public input sessions, and so we might encourage parents or homeowners or business people or retirees to attend those sessions, we’d like students at them as well,\u201d Girtz said.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Public events regarding future land use concerns were only held starting March 21 and will conclude at the end of April. There is however, an online survey that will be available until April 30, 2024.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u201cI believe they\u2019ll implement part of it, but it\u2019s kind of impossible for a government to make everyone happy and do all the things they say that they\u2019re going to do,\u201d said Emma Russell, a public relations major in her second year at University of Georgia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n During the press conference, Girtz mentioned some of the more popular feedback from the public includes a desire for a more walkable city as well as more greenery and parks. Girtz took a moment to emphasize the importance of the outdoors and the positive effects it can have for mental health.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u201cBecause for decades now, there’s been research into human psychology, cognitive development that says if you can get outdoors more often, and if you can see greenery, if you see the river, if you can see trees, that’s going to be healthier for you,\u201d said Girtz.<\/span><\/p>\r\n While Girtz did not cite any specific sources to support his claims, there is scientific evidence supporting the idea that nature can have a positive effect on people’s mental health according to <\/span>an article featured on the American Psychological association website in 2020<\/span><\/a>, as well as an article from <\/span>the National Library of Medicine<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n
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