The City of Atlanta announced today that Mayor Kasim Reed participated in McKinsey & Company’s Global Infrastructure Initiative in San Francisco. The Global Infrastructure Initiative was created as a vehicle to help unlock the recurring infrastructure bottlenecks, explore new frontiers, and drive change in the industry.

“Cities drive the U.S. economy and are home to a growing percentage of our population. Our infrastructure must keep pace with the twenty-first century global economy,” said Mayor Reed. “Cities are centers of innovation, and engaging in conversations with thinkers from around the world gives us the opportunity to identify the next set of challenges and solutions.”

Mayor Reed participated in a panel discussion today focused on the rise of cities. He was joined by Trevor Fowler, city manager for Johannesburg and Prof. Dr. Uwe Krueger, chief executive officer of Atkins, for a discussion on how infrastructure planners get ahead of the curve to meet future needs while maintaining existing infrastructure services.

Since 2012, McKinsey & Company’s Global Infrastructure Initiative has convened the world’s most senior leaders in infrastructure from across the value chain for a focused discussion about the future of infrastructure.