On Tuesday, Aug. 12, more than 50 residents, city staff and community leaders filled St. Luke’s Episcopal Church for the August General Body Meeting of the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association (ADNA), a special edition of Mayor Andre Dickens’ public town hall series focused on downtown and co-hosted with the mayor’s office.
The featured speaker was Courtney English, senior advisor to Mayor Andre Dickens, who outlined the administration’s vision for making Atlanta “the best place in the country to raise a child” and fielded questions on downtown’s future. Representatives from Atlanta 311, the city’s non-emergency service and information line, were also in attendance.
English began his remarks by pointing to the “tale of two cities” in Atlanta, a geographic and economic divide that has persisted for decades. “The system isn’t broken, the system is actually working exactly as it was intended to work,” English explained. “It was intentionally designed to create these outcomes. Because it was intentionally designed to create these outcomes, we have to apply intention to correct these outcomes.”
. (Photo by Gabi Hart.)
English cited disparities in income, health, education and life expectancy between neighborhoods north and south of a diagonal delineation across the city, pointing to a 20-year life expectancy gap between ZIP code 30305 in Buckhead, where residents live an average of 87 years, and ZIP code 30318 in the APS Douglass cluster of southwest Atlanta, where residents live two decades less despite being only seven miles apart. English added that a child born into the lowest 20 percent income bracket in Atlanta has just a 4.5 percent chance of reaching the top 20 percent, the lowest rate of economic mobility among major U.S. cities.
Much of his presentation focused on how those inequities play out downtown. English detailed investments in affordable housing, public realm improvements, crime reduction and homelessness services. He said the city has delivered 12,000 affordable units toward a goal of 20,000 and is on track to permanently house all 550 people identified as living unsheltered downtown in the latest count.
“Our goal… is to ensure that downtown is a healthy, whole neighborhood that’s walkable, that is dense, that is safe, that has access to opportunities,” English said.
He described four pillars for downtown revitalization: retail and mixed-use development, new housing across income levels, improved public spaces and comprehensive homelessness strategies. Projects in progress include the $250 million renovation of Five Points station, major sidewalk and streetscape upgrades and office-to-residential conversions such as 2 Peachtree Street and 41 Marietta.
Jack Cebe, project manager for The Stitch, a proposed 14-acre cap over the Downtown Connector to reconnect surrounding neighborhoods with green space and infrastructure, also addressed the crowd.
“We’re really … on the start line,” Cebe said, noting that design and agreements are in place but a funding gap remains for phase one.
Audience questions ranged from the slow pace of redevelopment at the former Atlanta Medical Center site to how the city will attract small businesses along the Edgewood Avenue corridor. One resident asked whether the city planned to improve the area near a proposed streetcar infill station before or after it was built. “You have to create the access and you have to create somewhere for them to go… you got to do both,” English replied, adding that “we will continue to make those investments… improving walkability and increasing access to transit so folks can get to places [and] have places to go.”
English also addressed the role of local funding sources such as tax allocation districts (TADs) and a proposed downtown enterprise zone, given the city’s reduced federal support. “Help is not coming from Washington, D.C.,” he said. “We have to become more reliant on local sources of revenue… our goal is to make the city federally agnostic.”
Residents were encouraged to engage with the city on downtown priorities. Boards stationed around the room outlined Atlanta’s development goals and offered space for attendees to write suggestions. One read in bold pen: “Mid-block crosswalk at Peachtree Center… Now!”
English closed by acknowledging that some questions would require follow-up. “We’ve got to talk about the hard stuff, because unless we face it, we can’t fix it,” he said. “I do believe there’s nothing wrong with the city of Atlanta that can’t be solved by what’s right with the city of Atlanta.”
ADNA’s next opportunity for residents to connect is a happy hour this Friday Aug. 15. Details and other upcoming events posted on their website.
The subcontractors are not being paid again on the 41 Marietta St. project and are about to stop work. Liens are being placed again.
Was just downtown last night and homeless people were all lined up under their blankets on an entire city block near the GSU campus. The statistics and the reality aren’t adding up despite some very good words.
It’s really encouraging to see such a detailed discussion about downtown Atlanta’s future! I appreciate how Courtney English didn’t shy away from addressing long-standing inequities and shared concrete steps the city is taking, like affordable housing and public realm improvements. Projects like The Stitch sound exciting, and I love that residents have opportunities to contribute ideas—like that mid-block crosswalk suggestion!