Atlanta Through the Archives
Challenges for Low-Income Housing; Gentrification on the Rise (2000s - Present)
Summary
Atlanta’s housing trends from the 2000s to the present can be traced back to
the Olympic Legacy Program of the 1990s. The Atlanta Housing Authority, in preparation for the 1996
Olympic Games being hosted in the city, shifted its strategy surrounding racial demographics and
poverty. Instead of viewing public housing as a fair and equitable mechanism for Black Atlantans, it
was now newly viewed as a barrier to racial inclusivity. Starting in the mid-90s, the AHA began the
process of demolition and reconstruction administered by the private sector.
Since the Olympics, this paradigm has influenced public housing policy heavily. Starting with
Techwood Homes, the AHA destroyed each public housing site in the city from 1996-2009. While some
were replaced by privately owned mixed income communities, other sites are still left only with
vacant lots.
While the pivot from public housing for low-income communities to private housing for mixed income
communities was evoked with the intention of helping poor Black communities, structural obstacles
have far from disappeared. The destruction of public housing, stemming from the 1996 Olympic hosting
bid and the 1992 HOPE VI program by HUD, caused a greater compression of housing availability. Most
projects still have no plans for replacement to assist displaced residents, and those that do have
set aside a portion of units as low income, virtually ensuring that most former residents will not
be able to move back into the new developments.
Additionally, The 2008 housing crisis and recession to follow disproportionately affected low-income
Atlantans, and even after the recession and into a period of economic recovery, Atlanta’s physical
expansion through businesses, apartment complexes, et cetera, further accelerated racial
gentrification. Indeed, a 2015 report analyzing city gentrification concluded that Atlanta is the
5th fastest gentrifying city, with approximately 46 percent of census tracts gentrified or in the
process of becoming.
SOURCES:
Stokes, Stephanie. “The ’96 Olympics: Techwood And The New Face Of Public Housing.” WABE.
https://www.wabe.org/96-olympics-techwood-and-new-face-public-housing/.
Oakley, Deirdre. “A Choice with No Options: Atlanta Public Housing Residents’ Lived
Experiences in the Face of Relocation.”Department of Sociology, Georgia State University.
http://www.thecyberhood.net/documents/projects/atlanta.pdf.
Maciag, Michael. “Gentrification in America Report.” Governing.
https://www.governing.com/archive/gentrification-in-cities-governing-report.html.