Missed opportunities for public benefits with the Atlanta Beltline
A new 12 minute video on the Atlanta Beltline, produced by CNBC, covers the missed opportunities of the project as a catalyst for equitable, transit-adjacent growth; which is something that's sorely needed in a sprawling region where MARTA rail wasn't allowed to reach its potential capacity in the 1970s
In the video, Amanda Rhein of the Atlanta Land Trust notes that the city lost a chance to devote properties to affordable housing near the Beltline early on:
"Today, to some extent, we are trying to catch up. It would have been great if we had an opportunity to secure more land earlier in the life of the Beltline because property values continue to increase in close proximity to the project."
The land trust model helps low-income people buy homes by having them purchase only the structure itself, while signing a lease for the land. Even as property values in an area rise, this model helps residents avoid exposure to debt and foreclosure. And speaking of property values, GSU professor Dan Immergluck (author of Red Hot City) points out that the rise in Atlanta's values since the Beltline project started should have been put to good public use, stating:
"If you walk around the city, the state of the sidewalks is horrendous. It's one of the worst cities for biking. These are all things that the growth in the city's land value should have benefited, and haven't. The city is constantly talking about being in a state of austerity, not being able to hire police. The schools are constantly under budget restraints. It doesn't make sense."
It all serves as a warning for other cities that are embarking on majorly transformative projects. Make sure that there are public benefits. But it's also a lesson Atlanta can use in the future. If we end up following through on freeway caps like the Stitch, we need to bake equitable benefits into it from the start by guaranteeing land for permanently affordable homes.
