For one author, the key is focusing on affordable housing from the start.
Writing in The Conversation, author of Red Hot City: Housing, Race, and Exclusion in Twenty-First Century Atlanta Dan Immergluck describes how “planning and policy decisions [in Atlanta] have promoted a heavily racialized version of gentrification that has excluded lower-income, predominantly Black residents from sharing in the city’s growth.”
In particular, Immergluck faults the Atlanta BeltLine multiuse trail, a repurposed former railway corridor that has in some ways revitalized the surrounding area at the expense of low-income households who were pushed out. Immergluck calls this “green gentrification” that occurs when new green spaces and park facilities lead to higher housing costs and displacement. “If cities fail to prepare for these effects, gentrification and displacement can transform lower-income neighborhoods into areas of concentrated affluence rather than thriving, diverse communities.”
The BeltLine, first proposed in the early 2000s, became a transformative project for Atlanta. In 2007, Immergluck found that property values near the BeltLine were indeed going up faster than in other areas. “This meant that property taxes rose for many lower-income homeowners, and landlords of rental properties were likely to raise rents in response.”
As the article explains, “Rather than focusing on securing land for affordable housing when values were low, Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. prioritized building trails and parks.” Pledges to support affordable housing went unfulfilled. “In 2017 the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran a high-profile investigative series documenting that the BeltLine had produced just 600 units of affordable housing in 11 years – far off the pace required to meet its target of 5,600 by 2030.”
For Immergluck, the lesson for other cities and developments is clear. “In my view, the most important takeaway is the importance of front-loading affordable housing efforts in connection with major redevelopment projects.” He also suggests limiting property tax increases for low-income homeowners and giving tax breaks to landlords who keep rental housing units affordable.
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.