By Rachel Maher, Park Pride’s Director of Communications As we continue to live amid a global health crisis—and assuredly will continue to do so for the foreseeable future—the role of parks and other outdoor spaces has never been more important. Since 2020, our need for parks has increased dramatically, and it’s become clear that parks […]
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Posted inColumns
Understanding the housing affordability problem
By Guest Columnist MIKE DOBBINS, Georgia Tech professor of practice and former Atlanta planning commissioner
Over the last couple of years, housing costs have shot up in Atlanta. Already rising before, it is now difficult for households earning below median incomes to find decent housing in a stable neighborhood. Rentals are outpacing homeowners in the market, spawning more build-to-rent activity.
Posted inGuest Column
Getting affordable housing right – a beige paper*
By Guest Columnist MIKE DOBBINS, Georgia Tech professor of practice and former Atlanta planning commissioner Need: A place to call home for all of Atlanta’s people Purpose: Understanding what it takes to fulfill that need * Beige, because this paper is more suggestive than authoritative, more “of color,” inviting comment, not a “white” paper, thus […]
Posted inLatest News
Police chase that injured bystander at Buckhead cityhood leader’s home has lessons for crime debate
The crime and policing issues driving the Buckhead cityhood movement struck home, literally, for its leader Feb. 3. A Marietta Police chase ended near Bill White’s house with a police car crashing on his lawn, hitting and seriously injuring a landscape worker.
Posted inLatest News
Republican candidate for Congress says he’s backed by Buckhead cityhood PAC
A new Republican challenger to U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams says he will be among the first candidates backed by a political action committee created by Buckhead cityhood proponents.
Posted inDemocracy
A Renewed Hope for the Embattled Residents of Peoplestown
In the past decade, Robert and Bertha Darden have had numerous knocks on the door of their Peoplestown home by city officials. It usually meant bad news. But a recent knock at the door by one city official proved fruitful. It was Mayor Andre Dickens. He came alone. No entourage. No gaggle of media. Dickens […]
Posted inLatest News
Reporter’s Notebook: Buckhead corporate giants sign onto cityhood opposition letter
NEW: Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has brokered a deal that’s expected to end years of costly legal drama between Atlanta Housing and developer Integral Group. The proposed resolution could spur the development of hundreds of affordable housing units, at a time when the city is more populous and expensive than ever. The deal was announced […]
Posted inLatest News
Atlanta’s Community in Schools receives $4 million gift from MacKenzie Scott
Communities In Schools (CIS) of Atlanta announced Thursday that it has $4 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott – the largest single gift it has received in its 50-year history.
Posted inLatest News
Spelman College receives $10 million grant from The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation to support innovation, entrepreneurship
The funds will go towards The Arthur M. Blank Innovation Lab, which will form a creative inquiry in Spelman’s new Center for Innovation and the Arts slated to open in 2024. By Allison Joyner Today, Spelman College announced a grant from The Arthur M. Blank Foundation to support an on-campus creative hub for young entrepreneurs […]
Posted inHousing Affordability
BREAKING: Atlanta mayor announces unexpected deal to resolve years-long legal beef between housing authority, developer
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has brokered a deal that’s expected to end years of costly legal drama between the city’s housing authority and developer Integral Group over development rights to 81 acres of Atlanta Housing-owned land. Dickens announced the deal at an unexpected press conference Thursday morning, just as the legal battle between Atlanta Housing […]
Posted inLatest News
MARTA to meet with public on Campbellton Road project as questions arise
MARTA officials are to meet the public Thursday evening to discuss the Campbellton Road transit expansion proposal for the first time since the Atlanta City Council questioned MARTA’s handling of the project.
Posted inThought Leadership
New Year, New Opportunities for Impact
By: Kandice Allen Mitchell The City of Atlanta Welcomes a New Administration On January 3, 2022, Atlanta welcomed its 61st mayor, Andre Dickens, a two-term council member and native son who promises to “usher in a new day” for the city to which he was born and raised. Over the course of his campaign, Mayor […]
Posted inThought Leadership
Taking Stock of Metro Atlanta’s Affordable Housing Priorities
For more than five years, statistics make clear the depth of the housing affordability crisis in our region– historically low housing stock; soaring housing costs for renters and homeowners; increasing numbers of cost-burdened residents; a global pandemic leading to supply chain shortages, among many other challenges. In 2018, pre-pandemic housing affordability barriers prompted an 18-month […]
Posted inLatest News
West Paces Ferry Road: Potential compromise could protect historic integrity
The historic integrity of Atlanta’s iconic West Paces Ferry Road could be better protected through a potential compromise outlined Tuesday between homeowners and a developer who plans to build eight houses.
Posted inLatest News
Broadband delivery projects to accelerate in rural Georgia with $408 million in grants
Broadband service is to be provided to about a third of the locations in rural Georgia that have no service, Gov. Brian Kemp said Tuesday.
Posted inThought Leadership
YWCA of Greater Atlanta celebrates 120 years this year
By Sharmen Gowens YWCA of Greater Atlanta celebrates 120 years this year. Since 1902, we have been a force for change for women and girls in the metropolitan Atlanta community. Founded on the campus of Spelman College, ours is a history of mobilizing resources to identify community problems, advocate for solutions and create more equitable […]
Posted inLatest News
Georgia HBCUs, others received bomb threats over past two days
Spelman College received another threat on Jan. 5. By Allison Joyner Three Georgia Historically Black Colleges and Universities received bomb threats yesterday and this morning. The threats are part of an apparent trend. Yesterday, Albany State University (ASU) along with five other schools received bomb threats. Spelman College, Ft. Valley State University and four other […]
Posted inThought Leadership
Great Parks and Recreation Systems Make Great Cities
By Michael Halicki, Park Pride’s Executive Director Amidst the excitement (and stress) that accompanied the end of 2021—family gatherings, Mayoral Inauguration events, and the emergence of Omicron—the City of Atlanta issued a press release that likely flew under the radars of all but those whose job it is to pay attention to such matters. Posted […]
Posted inColumns
How to make a book a best seller: Ban it
Last week, after the McMinn County school board in Tennessee voted unanimously to remove Art Spiegelman’s “Maus,” a Knoxville comic-book store announced that it would give a copy of the book to every student who asked for one. This is exactly what happens when you go banning books.
Posted inAllison Joyner
Why is Black History Month in February, and is it still necessary?
President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month during the U.S. bicentennial in 1976. By Allison Joyner For over 100 years, Black History Month has been in some form a celebration of the African Americans who contributed to reshaping the U.S. and the world. So how did this tradition begin and is it still necessary […]
