I was recently asked about what I think metro Atlanta's most serious community challenge is and how that should strategically be addressed. I was (fortunately, perhaps) limited to 2,500 characters to cover how I think structural inequity in the housing market exists and affects Atlanta today:
Building a more inclusive, progressive Atlanta starts with housing. Atlanta is an amazing place to live for those with stable incomes and living situations, even named the “most livable” city in the US by the Economist in August 2022. From the museums to the parks and music festivals and beyond, Atlanta has fulfilled its potential as a world-class city as set forth by the 1996 Olympics committee.
At the same time, the US Census Bureau found that Atlanta has the highest income inequality among large US cities as measured by the Gini coefficient - inequality that exists both literally and figuratively along racial lines. In Atlanta, the median household income for Black families is just $28,000, which pales in comparison to white families at $84,000.
That literal line of divide takes the form of Interstate 20, which was intentionally designed in the late 1950s to act as “the boundary between the white and Negro communities” according to then-Mayor Bill Hartsfield.
This is not as simple as blaming bad actors from the past. Dan Immergluck, a Professor of Urban Studies at Georgia State, recently published Red Hot City, a seminal work on Atlanta’s history of land use up to and including the Beltline. Red Hot City posits that “if current [housing and gentrification] trends continue, there will be little room for lower-income Black families.”
Black people in Atlanta are significantly less likely to be homeowners than their white counterparts, bearing out the racial inequality data as shown by the US Census Bureau.
The American South has been shaped by intentional, malicious design since its inception, and Atlanta is no exception. The fight back for equity starts with inclusive housing practices in every neighborhood of the city. In 2021, the Federal Reserve classified zero of the 13 metro Atlanta counties as affordable housing markets.
Atlanta needs long-term equity and affordability in its housing and any related services, especially Marta. More housing inventory, especially setting aside units for affordable housing, will drive down rents in every part of the city while providing social good for communities.
Public officials have an obligation to both carve out requirements and incentives for affordable housing and protect existing progressive land use policies. At the same time, stronger tenant protections from predatory landlords are necessary to reduce wealth extraction from the people who need it most.
Cities and societies in general require people to thrive and survive. Housing equity, especially equity that reverses decades (centuries, really) of anti-Black policy, is a fundamental way to help people live better lives.
Limited to 2,500 characters, this analysis could not be further from comprehensive - additional work should address other aspects of how the built environment affects equity in homeownership and beyond. From transit-oriented development to specific recommendations around affordable housing carveouts, there are further steps that can be taken from a policy standpoint to improve equity in Atlanta.
For instance, the National Fair Housing Alliance recommends Special Purpose Credit Program to remove barriers to credit access and improve housing access in target markets. Additionally, Atlanta (along with the rest of the country) is struggling with investors buying up large swathes of housing inventory, which is deeply harmful to these communities and the people living in them. This problem adversely affects Black neighborhoods in Atlanta to a significant degree:
I have mixed opinions on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but they have done some excellent work in the housing space, from equity to predatory landlords and beyond. Some additional reading resources for those interested: