By Guest Columnist DAVID SUITTS, founder of Unite For Kids Atlanta
When people ask why I care about early childhood development, I think back to when I first thought I could maybe teach.
There’s a Youtube video of that summer: I’m filming and talking at three girls, none whom could be older than 6 years.
The next generation of public housing may have opened recently in Decatur. Trinity Walk provides affordable homes in green buildings on a sustainable campus, with on-site resources to address the nutritional and human service needs of residents.
In 1993, the need for affordable housing was so great that the Atlanta City Council created a Housing Commission to recommend solutions; the commission evaporated. Now, a pending proposal would revive the commission and charge it with meeting the challenges of this era.
By Guest Columnist DAN IMMERGLUCK, a professor in the Urban Studies Institute at Georgia State University
In the book, City on the Verge, author Mark Pendergrast points out some of the challenges that the Atlanta BeltLine and the rest of Atlanta face in terms of housing affordability. He argues, for example, that the City should adopt mandatory inclusionary zoning, with a sliding scale to address the truly impoverished, as soon as possible in order to address the problem of declining affordability.
In a packed forum, top mayoral candidates said their ideas for raising money for affordable housing polices range from parking taxes to bonds, to maybe even casinos.
By Guest Columnist HATTIE DORSEY, civic advocate, founder and retired president of the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership
I cannot remember who the person was who termed this period of time as the “silly season,” when politicians appear on the scene seeking your vote and raising campaign funds.
Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. President and CEO Paul Morris on Wednesday gave his organization a “qualified” C and D grade on affordable housing so far.
The new chair of the board that oversees Atlanta’s housing authority says wants to work with more partners in development, business and education to improve the city’s affordable housing stock.
The idea sounds simple enough – provide Atlanta’s surplus property for use as construction sites for housing that’s affordable for a schoolteacher. Pending legislation to do just that uncorked a wide-reaching debate Tuesday among members of the Atlanta City Council over the city’s past and present efforts to promote a range of housing prices in the city.
In the eyes of Mark Pendergast, Atlanta is a “City on the Verge.”
Pendergast, an Atlanta native and author, has just penned an elaborate and exhaustive tale about the Atlanta BeltLine in his most recent book – “City on the Verge.”
Throughout the book, Pendergast sandwiches in slices of Atlanta’s history – providing a non-judgmental view of the city’s racial tensions and successes as well as its obsession with transportation and its own identity – nationally and internationally.
It’s still early, but Atlanta BeltLine officials may have some serious explaining to do regarding the extent to which they have complied with a mandate that the BeltLine improve the quality of life for existing residents impacted by the development.
By Guest Columnist ANDRE DICKENS, a member of the Atlanta City Council who serves the entire city
Every day, Atlantans share our roads and rails with our 5.7-million-person region. How you get to work, school, and home matters to me – is it stress-free, smooth, safe, and predictable?
Two plagues of metro Atlanta, homelessness and drug abuse, have forced their way into the spotlight by causing a conflagration on another of the region’s plagues – an overburdened section of highway.
No where has it been more apparent that metro Atlanta is in a, “best of times, worst of times,” moment for housing costs than at last week’s meeting of the Metro Atlanta Housing Forum.
When the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development came to Atlanta on Nov. 4, 2015 to celebrate its 50th anniversary, it turned to Renee Glover, Egbert Perry and Shirley Franklin to highlight its successes in Atlanta.
Former U.S. HUD Secretary Julian Castro was so impressed by what he saw in Atlanta during the 50th anniversary visit, that he complimented Glover, Perry and Franklin for all their “trail-blazing work” in transforming communities.
Shawn Simmons was nothing but exuberant as he showed off the view of Downtown Atlanta’s skyline from the balcony of a home he bought with help from a non-profit housing provider. “You can see the Westin, the 191, and the Georgia Pacific – that’s where I work!,” Simmons said.
Fulton County leads the nation in the rate of home renters who are evicted or put on notice of eviction, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta. A contributing factor is the management practices of corporations and equity funds that bought homes during the Great Recession.
Atlanta has approved a $40 million expenditure that aims to preserve the city’s supply of affordable homes by – among other efforts – providing money to lower income residents to repair their decaying homes and continue residing in them.
Rental rates for newly built apartments in Buckhead and Midtown now exceed $2.60 a square foot, and a new report from CBRE says the demand exists to fill the units. Meantime, the report observes gentrification and rising prices are concentrated east of Midtown/Downtown.
By Guest Columnist NATHANIEL SMITH, founder and chief equity officer (CEqO), Partnership for Southern Equity
More than 100 people attended an event at Georgia Tech recently to mark the release of a report, “Opportunity Deferred: Race, Transportation and the Future of Metropolitan Atlanta,” that was commissioned by the Partnership for Southern Equity (PSE).
As Keith Parker exits MARTA and Nat Ford leads APTA, transit holds key to Atlanta’s and nation’s futureOctober 16, 2017 - 7:35 pm
Group seeking to find – and restore – the Flint River near the airportOctober 9, 2017 - 4:42 pm
GeorgiaForward is changing the game by finding consensus statewideOctober 1, 2017 - 10:27 pm
Fed reports no upward pressure on wages in coming year across SoutheastOctober 20, 2017 - 2:58 pm
Look to South Africa for guidance in reviewing Atlanta’s Confederate icons, panelist suggestsOctober 18, 2017 - 11:03 pm
Atlanta to donate $100,000 for medical supplies for survivors of Hurricane MariaOctober 17, 2017 - 10:11 pm
Atlanta-born Purpose Built Communities accelerates work revitalizing neighborhoodsOctober 22, 2017 - 4:09 pm
Column: Honeywell’s executive chairman sings Atlanta’s praises on visitOctober 22, 2017 - 3:45 pm
Oglethorpe University launching business school with $50 million giftOctober 13, 2017 - 12:12 pm
