Markley contextualizes the demolitions in the northern suburbs within the region’s long history of residential discrimination.
Category: Archived Columnists
Posted inSonam Vashi
Report: Expiring tax credits may mean loss of affordable homes
By Sonam Vashi Nearly 500,000 affordable homes across the country funded by a federal program will expire by 2030, according to a new report. In Atlanta, more than one-third of the 11,000 homes funded by the program will expire by the same year. The homes, mostly units in apartment complexes, rely solely on a federal […]
Posted inLatest News
Atlanta appoints a new chief housing officer
Terri Lee, the city’s deputy planning commissioner, will lead new efforts to coordinate affordable housing solutions.
Posted inMain Slider
Kensington station development proceeds despite Avondale protests
The 240-unit development will be “100 percent affordable housing” right next to the Kensington MARTA station.
Posted inSonam Vashi
Brookhaven council to vote on citywide affordable housing policy
The city’s planning commission bumped up a policy to set aside 10 percent of new apartment units to include the whole city.
Posted inSonam Vashi
Gulch deal falls short on affordable housing, critics say
For some councilmembers and advocates, the Gulch deal’s affordable housing perks aren’t enough to justify a potential $1.75 billion in public incentives.
Posted inSonam Vashi
Task force lays out affordability proposal at housing forum
HouseATL presents its affordable housing proposal to the public—including creating or preserving 20,000 units over the next decade.
Posted inColumns
A potential plan for the mayor’s $1 billion affordable housing promise
HouseATL task force releases its working recommendations—including 24,000 new or preserved affordable homes—for the mayor’s consideration.
Posted inSonam Vashi
City audit looks at the state of affordable housing
A new report shows affordable housing is disproportionately distributed in Atlanta and recommends keeping housing “affordable” for longer.
Posted inLatest News
Atlanta City Council approves Westside project with lower density and more affordable housing
The Atlanta City Council unanimously approved plans on Monday for the Echo Street Communities development in English Avenue, one of the first large-scale developments in the area that has triggered strong alarm among many residents concerned about gentrification on the Westside.
The affordable housing plans for the project, which also includes thousands of square feet in office space and retail, match the city’s guidelines, with 35 potential additional affordable units in the works.
Posted inColumns
An ode to my Dad, newspapers and mass transit
By Lyle V. Harris
I’m writing today, likely the last time for a while on these pages, in dedication to my late father, Vincent Grover (Hoffman) Harris
First of all, Happy Birthday to you, Pop! Vince, as most everyone called him, would have been 96-years-old today. Although we never made a fuss over our birthdays while he was alive, I think he might forgive me, just this once.
Posted inLyle Harris
More MARTA? More art too
By Lyle V. Harris
Once an ugly duckling, MARTA is getting a much-needed artistic makeover for its rail stations and other humdrum infrastructure in hopes of becoming more inviting to its customers and the community it serves.
Posted inColumns
Southside Aerotropolis development’s transit study takes flight
As metro Atlanta is poised for a mass transit Renaissance, boosters for the sprawling, “southern crescent” sub-region known as Aerotropolis want to ensure that those who live, work, and play near the world’s busiest airport are ahead of the curve and innovating for the future.
Posted inColumns
“God, guns and ganja,” a Q & A with the owner of Atlanta’s “Pot Shop”
By Lyle V. Harris
If you think Paul Cornwell is a stereotypical pothead, think again. Dressed in a bright green shirt emblazoned with the words “Ganja Talk” and a gold marijuana leaf, the 66-year-old Atlanta resident is the owner of “The Pot Shop” in Little 5 Points, the unofficial capital of the city’s small but bustling countercultural scene.
Posted inColumns
Modernizing transit is an economic must-do for the U.S./metro Atlanta
By Lyle V. Harris
MARTA, the backbone of metro Atlanta’s once-and-future transit network, is facing a $2.2 billion backlog of assets in need of replacement such as vehicles, systems and other infrastructure to meet the region’s growing transportation needs. While it’s not much comfort, MARTA is hardly alone in that respect.
Posted inColumns
Georgia lags but national cannabis reforms getting national buzz
Did you have a Happy 420 Day? While cannabis advocates in Georgia didn’t have much to celebrate this year, “marijuana momentum” is spreading across the country, giving prospects for the legalization of the plant the distinct whiff of inevitability.
Posted inLyle Harris
Sparking Atlanta’s ping-pong revolution
In October 2016, I launched BounceATL, a ping-pong business rooted in my longtime passion for a game that’s one of the fastest moving, and fastest growing sports in the world.So, why ping-pong? Simply because I’ve seen firsthand the positive effect it has on people.
Posted inColumns
The “Peake” of medical cannabis leaving Georgia Legislature
By Lyle V. Harris
After 12 years in the General Assembly, Rep. Allen Peake, the soft-spoken Macon Republican who’s considered the “godfather” of Georgia’s medical cannabis movement, is calling it quits. Sort of.
Although Peake, 57, is not running for re-election, he vows to stay involved in the issue with which his name has become synonymous
Posted inLyle Harris
MARTA (always) Matters. So Now What?
By Lyle V. Harris
We told you so. Or at least we tried.
Remember when MARTA was mostly treated as a punchline and a punching bag for anti-transit haters? I sure do.
About eight years ago, my former MARTA colleagues and I brainstormed a public awareness campaign to counter the trash-talking naysayers by extolling the untold virtues of the buses, trains and dedicated MARTA employees who help to keep the Atlanta region moving forward.
Posted inLyle Harris
Say it loud: Marvel’s brilliant “Black Panther” is more than just another superhero movie
Children need heroes to emulate, in real-life and in the world of make-believe. As a kid, l always admired my heroically hard-working parents but I also desperately wanted to be like Superman, the superhero I watched on TV. Although I looked nothing like the lily-white Man of Steel, that didn’t stop me from “flying” around the house with a red bath towel knotted around my neck, scrawny arms outstretched, ready to fight for truth, justice and the American Way.
Now, more than 50 years later, the groundbreaking release of Marvel’s “Black Panther” movie represents a game-changing social phenomenon for a generation of young people — especially young African-Americans — whose mythology and identity will likely be shaped by a fictional hero who’s more relevant and revolutionary than Superman ever was, or could be.
