Atlanta's Dwindling Supply of Affordable Housing Units

Georgia Tech Professor Dan Immergluck has completed a study finding that Atlanta's supply of "low-cost units" (i.e., units that rent for less than $750 a month) is shrinking by 4.4 percent every year, reports Thomas Wheatley.

Immergluck's analysis finds no shortage of luxury units. According to his analysis, the city currently totals 11,000 units under construction, with another 9,000 proposed. Ninety-five percent of the rental units built between 2012 and 2014, however, were luxury units.

Meanwhile:

"Immergluck found that 70 census tracts, more than half of the census tracts in the city, saw a 'measurable decline in low-cost units, while only 27 tracts saw measurable gains (the remaining tracts saw no measurable gain or loss). More importantly, only 14 tracts saw gains of more than 50 units, while 52 tracts saw losses of more than 50 units, with 26 of these experiencing losses of more than 100 units.' Neighborhoods with relatively high poverty rates tended to see the highest declines and increases in low-cost rental units, Immergluck found." 

To counter the trends in luxury and affordable units around Atlanta, Immergluck supports a city proposal for inclusionary zoning as well as spending of public money to construct and rehabilitate truly affordable units.