Changing demographics in Atlanta are not a surprise to anyone following the situation over the past several years. The city has seen overall explosive growth over the past decade, recently topping 500,000 residents for the first time in the city’s history.
With all that growth, and all that demographic change, the politics of it are unavoidable. Many of the newer residents have an income that is above the existing median in the city and more and more of these new residents are looking for housing in all sorts of areas – enter the dreaded “g” word, gentrification.
The mayor’s office likely hears concerns about gentrification and displacement on an almost certain daily basis. To that end, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms commissioned a “Neighborhood Change Report” that further examines specific neighborhoods undergoing demographic shifts and is a key piece of Bottoms’ “One Atlanta Housing Affordability Action Plan.”
“This report is a key step in advancing our goals of launching initiatives that are designed to protect legacy residents and create housing that is affordable and accessible for all Atlantans,” said Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
The report focuses on four different types of change from 2010-2018: low-income displacement, low-income concentration, population growth, and population decline. With the increasing density in parts of Atlanta and general population growth, the story is not as simple as new residents moving in, old residents moving out – though that is the most common scenario is several neighborhoods.
The city in fact saw growth among both low-income and non-low-income residents, though the share of low-income residents dropped by nearly 2% over the past decade. Race was also a large part of the change, furthering the political problems rife within the issue. Within the different categories of neighborhood, white resident share increased in all of them. Something of a tricky situation for the city often called the Black Mecca and what the largely Black media group The Root called “The Real Wakanda.”
The task for the Atlanta mayor is to not only delicately balance the sometimes unsaid racial piece of the changing demographics but also the families that have been in Atlanta for decades who may be getting pushed out from skyrocketing property taxes. And with Atlanta as the “Black capital,” it is certainly not all trading one race of resident for another. Income levels may be the biggest factor and Atlanta is home to more Black middle or upper class than nearly any city in the country.
“This report helps us to understand the specific ways that neighborhoods in the city are changing and enables us to create targeted policies and programs that are designed to address the unique challenges rapidly changing neighborhoods are facing,” said Tim Keane, Commissioner of City Planning. “The Neighborhood Change Report plays an important role in our fight for a more equitable city, helping us to see how and where we can direct our resources to the communities that need it most.”
According to the report, about a third of neighborhoods across the city experience “substantial economic expansion or decline from 2010 to 2018.”
To read the full report: https://www.atlantaga.gov/Home/ShowDocument?id=50100
