A group of Atlanta city planners, historic preservationists and community members packed into Atlanta’s oldest home to talk about “Plan A,” the latest update to the city’s comprehensive development plan that guides the future of Atlanta.
Every five years the city is required to update the development plan. Since February, the team has had 34 public meetings and engaged thousands. The Nov. 18 meeting kicks off round three of the city’s public engagement with a series subject-specific meetings leading up to an open house in February 2025.
The historic preservation meeting at the Atlanta Preservation Center in Grant Park is first in the lineup, followed by the transportation chapter on Dec. 16, the housing chapter on Jan. 29, the climate resilience chapter on Jan. 30 and an “all chapter” open house and preview on Feb. 6.
A group of planners and city representatives packed into the historic building to gather public input on the “big ideas” guiding the comprehensive planning process. Residents could scrawl questions and suggestions on sticky notes and ask questions directly.
“We think that progress is more than building stuff around the city of Atlanta,” Office of Design Director Doug Young said. “It’s building communities, healthy communities, sustainable communities.”
The planners presented a three-pronged approach to historic preservation at the meeting: the Future Places Project, the African American Heritage Initiative and the LGBTQ+ context statement.
The Future Places Project is the city’s first comprehensive look at historic preservation since the 1980s.
“The Future Places Project really asked for us to focus on identity and, in some ways, authenticity,” Young said. “What is Atlanta’s identity, and what is authentic about Atlanta?”
A few initiatives have already come out of the Future Places Project – the African American Heritage Initiative and LGBTQ+ context statement were both born from the program. They’ll be incorporated into the ongoing priorities of “Plan A.”
Susan Coleman, an urban planner with the City of Atlanta, said the project has already helped gain Landmark Building and Site designations for the Kodak Building, the Atlanta Eagle Building, the Fuller-Freedom House, the Masonic Building, Ormewood Avenue Bridge and Smith Farm. The city also announced the creation of a cemetery network and a “Historic Preservation Week.”
The project also created an African American Heritage Coordinator through the city, a role filled by Anthony Knight. At the Nov. 18 meeting, Knight said he’s looking from a bird’s eye view at “what does historic preservation mean to Black people?”
The city will run a series of programs to look at Black Atlanta perspectives while also expanding its approach to historic preservation. The same is true for its approach to LGBTQ+ preservation.
Planner Elizabeth Clappin said the African American Heritage Program and LGBTQ+ context were “created specifically to help evaluate these spaces that don’t look like places we have historically preserved.”
Clappin said the city aims to expand and “consider the landscape” beyond buildings owned by wealthy white men.
“By considering the landscape, we are going to be more fully capturing what the city of Atlanta looks like in reality and what the history of our place looks like,” Clappin said.
Clappin said one of the biggest goals of Plan A is to approach historic preservation from a proactive framework, giving places historic preservation before they’re in danger of being torn down.
The community members in attendance cheered for the mention of historic preservation wins but pushed back at city representatives with specific asks around reconfiguring preservation or finding effective ways to communicate what historic designation actually means.
Atlanta Preservation Center Executive Director David Mitchell said it’s important that people get passionate and “feel that kind of fervor for their home.” To Mitchell, the tense moments and direct questions are a way to set the “tone” around the city’s approach to preservation.
“It wasn’t just simply a meet and greet and end of conversation; there were a lot of different interests,” Mitchell said. “We saw some emotions.”
Mitchell said he’s grateful the Atlanta Preservation Center was able to host the meeting, particularly in the organization’s headquarters in the historic L.P. Grant Mansion.
“I’m very grateful we were able to host it, and I do think it changed the tone,” Mitchell said.
Still, the preservation director is hesitant. He said the communication needs to be a “two-way street” where communities are heard and not undermined by the city council. He also wants it to be more than the required five-year check-in.
“I think the biggest thing is we should be a lot better five years later,” Mitchell said. “There lies the great question — are we better or are we worse?”
With recent victories, Mitchell would like to believe the city is doing better. But he wants to remind the community that preservation is a fight to preserve the city’s identity from every angle.
“If Atlanta loses its neighborhood identity, then we have no symmetry, and we are nothing more than a large mall,” Mitchell said.
Residents can continue to leave input on “Plan A” online at atlantaforall.com and participate in public meetings. City officials aim to adopt the plan by July 2025.
