Atlanta Housing Authority
Encyclopedia
Atlanta Housing Authority is organized under Georgia law to develop, acquire, lease and operate affordable housing
for low-income families. Today, AHA is the largest housing agency in Georgia and one of the largest in the nation, serving approximately 50,000 people.
and the Urban Land Institute
. Centennial Place has a math, science and technology-focused elementary school, a YMCA, a branch bank, a child-care facility and retail shops. In the near future, the Centennial Place community will also include homeownership units.
In total, 16 public housing complexes around the city have undergone such changes. All of AHA's conventional, multifamily complexes have been razed or are slated for demolition in the next several years. The agency also plans to tear down three senior-citizen high-rise apartments and will relocate residents who are elderly or disabled into other properties.
The move will affect more than 3,000 units and 9,600 residents at a dozen properties as far flung as Leila Valley in far southeast Atlanta to Bankhead Courts
near the Cobb County border. AHA residents will be offered a variety of relocation options and long-term assistance that include federal rent-assistance vouchers good anywhere in the country.
AHA is taking advantage of relaxed federal rules good through 2010 to raze those blighted communities and give residents the opportunity to live elsewhere.
and Demolished public housing projects in Atlanta
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
for low-income families. Today, AHA is the largest housing agency in Georgia and one of the largest in the nation, serving approximately 50,000 people.
AHA model
In 1996, AHA created the financial and legal model for mixed-income, mixed-finance transactions that include public-assisted housing as a component. This model is used by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's HOPE VI revitalization program. In Atlanta, it has resulted in six mixed-income communities, with three more in the predevelopment phase.Communities
The first of these, Centennial Place, has been recognized by HUDHUD
HUD may refer to:* Head-up display, a visual display technology for airplanes, cars and others** HUD , a method of visually representing information in video games...
and the Urban Land Institute
Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a non-profit research and education organization with offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London...
. Centennial Place has a math, science and technology-focused elementary school, a YMCA, a branch bank, a child-care facility and retail shops. In the near future, the Centennial Place community will also include homeownership units.
In total, 16 public housing complexes around the city have undergone such changes. All of AHA's conventional, multifamily complexes have been razed or are slated for demolition in the next several years. The agency also plans to tear down three senior-citizen high-rise apartments and will relocate residents who are elderly or disabled into other properties.
The move will affect more than 3,000 units and 9,600 residents at a dozen properties as far flung as Leila Valley in far southeast Atlanta to Bankhead Courts
Bankhead Courts
Bankhead Courts was a government housing complex located in northwest Atlanta, Ga. Bankhead courts was the location of the famous Atlanta child murders of the 1970s. In 2010, Bankhead Courts was demolished....
near the Cobb County border. AHA residents will be offered a variety of relocation options and long-term assistance that include federal rent-assistance vouchers good anywhere in the country.
AHA is taking advantage of relaxed federal rules good through 2010 to raze those blighted communities and give residents the opportunity to live elsewhere.
2004 requirement
In 2004, AHA required all adults without diagnosed disabilities between 18 and 61 to be employed or successfully participating in job training or some other educational assistance. Today, nearly all able-bodied adults living in the remaining housing projects are compliant.Concerns
In 2008, residents of Bowen Homes and others are expressing concern that AHA is not finding homes for their relocation prior to demolition of the 3,000 families living in the complex. According to research done the conversion to vouchers is concentrating the displaced residents by race and income in violation of the Fair Housing Act, prompting a filing of a fair housing complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD is charged with approving the applications for demolitions.List of public housing projects and mixed-income communities
See Atlanta mixed-income communitiesAtlanta mixed-income communities
In 1994 the Atlanta Housing Authority, discouraged by the failure of its public housing projects and encouraged by the federal HOPE VI program, embarked on a policy of demolishing public housing projects and building mixed-income communities in their place....
and Demolished public housing projects in Atlanta
Demolished public housing projects in Atlanta
In 1994 the Atlanta Housing Authority, discouraged by the failure of its public housing projects and encouraged by the federal HOPE VI program, embarked on a policy of demolishing public housing projects and building mixed-income communities in their place....
Further reading
- Jordan, Vernon; et al., "Creating Communities of Hope and Opportunity: The Revitalization of East Lake", Woodrow Wilson International Center for ScholarsWoodrow Wilson International Center for ScholarsThe Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars , located in Washington, D.C., is a United States Presidential Memorial that was established as part of the Smithsonian Institution by an act of Congress in 1968...
, March 27, 2007. "In 1995, the East Lake Meadows housing project was among the worst places in the United States to live. Its crime rate was 3.3 times higher than the rest of Atlanta and 18 times higher than the national average. ... Today, violent crime in East Lake is down by 95 percent."