Atlanta ranks fourth in gentrification wiping out majority-Black areas
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A new report reinforces what many in Atlanta have already witnessed, researched and experienced: Black residents are disproportionately displaced once gentrification takes hold in their neighborhoods.
Why it matters: While the findings of "Displaced by Design" won't surprise anyone who's attuned to how Atlanta's racial makeup has changed since developers began breaking ground on shiny new projects, it does provide insight into just how much these changes have affected longtime residents.
By the numbers: According to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition's report, metro Atlanta ranks fourth among areas where gentrification eliminated majority-Black census tracts from 1980 to 2020.
- Out of the 31 tracts that were majority-Black in 1980, 42% no longer fell within that category in 2010.
What they're saying: Bruce Mitchell, principal researcher at the Coalition, told Axios the report debunks myths floated by some scholars that gentrification and displacement aren't occurring.
- "This report shows that, indeed, there are strong indications that it certainly is occurring, and that people on the ground are correctly perceiving the situation in their neighborhoods," he said.
- He also said people living in gentrified areas often feel a sense of cultural loss, as they no longer feel what the report describes as "social cohesion" with their communities.
Yes, and: Atlanta also ranks fifth in the number of majority-Black Census tracts that became majority-white.
- From 1980 through 2020, 22,149 Black residents were displaced from 16 majority-Black census tracts.
- During that span, 22,965 white, 2,414 Asian, and 1,672 Hispanic people moved into those same areas.
- Mitchell said Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward neighborhood is an example of a community that's undergone a complete racial transition.
- Neighborhoods like Edgewood and East Atlanta are following suit, he said.
Context: Mitchell said two types of gentrifications typically take place: one where a person moves into a neighborhood and rehabilitates property, which in turn can attract new businesses and increase property values.
- That almost always leads to legacy residents being displaced from their communities.
More intensive displacement takes place when "developer-driven gentrification" revitalizes larger areas.
- In those cases, Mitchell said, cities and developers have to ensure the community is involved and "that there be provision for affordable housing to be retained."
The big picture: The city of Atlanta and the region are now playing catchup to stop the steady decline in affordable housing units and introduce programs to help residents stay in their homes as redevelopment projects move ahead.
- This month, Atlanta officials announced the city would expand its Anti-Displacement Tax Relief Fund program, which pays for any property tax increases above a qualifying homeowner's base for the next 20 years.
- Gwinnett County created an affordable housing development fund for households at or below 65% of the area median income (around $55,000).
- The city of Brookhaven last year purchased two lots for $7.4 million to build affordable housing next to the Peachtree Creek Greenway.