The southern city’s growth is prompting questions about how to increase the housing supply, maintain affordability, and accommodate new residents.
The debate between those who want to preserve single-family zoning and housing advocates who say increases in density are necessary to make housing affordable is heating up in cities and non-urban areas around the country as the housing crisis spreads. As Sean Keenan reports in Atlanta Civic Circle, Atlanta is no different.
In metropolitan Atlanta, “NIMBY” groups concerned about ‘neighborhood character’ and the negative impacts of density increases are finding themselves in conflict with growth advocates who say increasing density is the only way to keep housing affordable for all income levels.
According to Abundant Housing Atlanta co-founder Alison Grady, “Atlanta is becoming more and more unaffordable, in large part due to the outdated zoning code that encourages suburban sprawl and huge homes on huge properties and discourages—or outright bans—more affordable options, such as tiny homes, duplexes, and small apartment and condo buildings.” Now, cities in the Atlanta metro are rewriting decades-old zoning codes to accommodate more growth and create more affordable housing for a growing population. “If Atlanta, Clarkston, and other metro-area cities truly want to make intown living attainable for lower-income residents—and ‘mitigate some of the negative social and environmental impacts of urban sprawl’—upzoning should be part of the equation,” says Sonia Hirt, a planning scholar from the University of Georgia. Atlanta itself is undergoing a revision of its zoning code, scheduled for completion in summer 2024, while other local cities are loosening regulations on ADUs and other ‘missing middle housing.’
FULL STORY: As metro Atlanta cities rewrite zoning laws, will they follow national trend of embracing density?
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
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ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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