It’s been a long time in the making.
After years dedicated to economic development and housing solutions, the Atlanta Regional Commission has unveiled Housing Forward 2035, “The Strategy.”
The regional housing strategy will guide the 11-county planning commission through its approach to affordable and accessible housing in a rapidly changing region. ARC leaders presented an outline of the strategy at the Sep. 2 Regional Housing Forum.
ARC CEO Anna Roach called it a “landmark regional planning effort.” The plan will be parsed out over the next four board meetings and likely passed early next year.
It’s fueled by many issues, but Roach is focused on one particular statistic. If population growth continues at the same rate, ARC data finds that by 2035 roughly 75 percent of people making less than $55,000 a year won’t have “a housing solution.”
“Most of you all know what we’re up against, but I do want to level our conversation by focusing on one key data point that came out of the planning effort that we just completed,” Roach said.
The housing strategy comes in the wake of the commission’s annual population report, which found growth is slowing in the region for the first time in years. It measures the growth through housing permits, which have dropped in areas like Atlanta.
ARC leadership said low housing availability effectively puts a “brake” on housing growth. Permits are declining, supply is down, and home prices stay elevated.
Housing Forward 2035 wants to solve this issue with three main strategic goals: build strategically to keep up with population growth, close the “affordability gap” and activate vacant and underutilized properties.
ARC Community Development Group Managing Director Samyukth Shenbaga said the commission “engaged diverse stakeholders to take a regional approach to solving issues.”
One of the key issues is where population growth and job growth are centered. According to ARC data, the population is rising primarily in the perimeter of the 11-county region. Employment is growing at the core – in Atlanta.
“These don’t align,” ARC Principal Planner Kristin Allin said.
If growth continues as projected, 80 percent of households will face commutes over 30 minutes, but only one in three homes will exist within a half-mile of high-capacity transit. And only six percent will live in the region’s “highest priority” areas.
To get the “desired outcomes,” the ARC wants to push counties, local organizations and business leaders to push for new households near new jobs, lowered transportation costs by bringing housing near transit and a mix of low-income and moderate-income households in high-opportunity tracts.
“We are supporting our communities that have created their individual housing plans, and now we’re going to elevate those strategies into a coordinated regional strategy,” Roach said.
The strategy is focused on three main goals and ten initiatives. Through funding, “convening power,” research and planning assistance, ARC hopes to achieve them. The initiatives are listed below.
- Link ARC transportation and land use programs to local housing actions
- Create a regional housing-ready community certification and toolkit to create more affordable housing typologies
- Develop a regional housing dashboard to track progress
- Activate underutilized sites for housing development
- Enhance regional utilization of housing funds
- Engage employers on housing
- Build a regional approach to homelessness prevention and response
- Deploy a regional housing communication strategy
- Identify, convene and educate on high-impact state policy changes
- Actions for evaluation: preservation and stability
“We’re going to be embarking on a first-of-its-kind regional initiative, so it feels very gratifying and very exciting to be in front of you all today,” Shenbaga said.
