With a new wave of transit and active transportation investment coming to Atlanta, thanks to two new sales taxes, advocates are mobilizing to ensure that the investments won't leave low-income residents behind. It's a concept worth considering.
Angie Schmitt reports on an emerging political cause in Atlanta that would devote an allotment of revenue from the city's new transit funding sales tax for housing affordability.
According to Schmitt, "Nathaniel Smith at the Partnership for Southern Equity is leading a campaign to reserve 5 percent of the transit money — about $120 million — for a fund to subsidize housing near transit."
The 5 percent would go toward a "Living Transit Fund," which could be used for land acquisition, pre-development costs, or construction costs by for below-market housing. The Partnership for Southern Equity estimates the fund would support the development of 2,500 below-market rate units. "If the fund’s resources are paired with federal programs like HUD’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, as many as 5,400 below-market units could be built," adds Schmitt.
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research