On Tuesday, August 12, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta hosted a noteworthy gathering as over 50 residents, city staff, and community leaders attended the August General Body Meeting of the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association (ADNA).
This special edition of the meeting was part of Mayor Andre Dickens’ public town hall series, focusing specifically on downtown Atlanta and co-hosted by the mayor’s office.
The featured speaker of the evening was Courtney English, senior advisor to Mayor Andre Dickens, who presented the administration’s ambitious vision of making Atlanta “the best place in the country to raise a child.” He also addressed questions from attendees regarding the future of downtown Atlanta.
English began his presentation by discussing the persistent “tale of two cities” in Atlanta, highlighting the geographic and economic divides that have affected the community for decades.
He claimed the system is not broken; in fact, it operates exactly as it was designed. English stated, “It was intentionally designed to create these outcomes. Because it was intentionally designed to create these outcomes, we have to apply intention to correct these outcomes.”
During the meeting, he highlighted stark disparities in income, health, education, and life expectancy across the city. English pointed out a shocking 20-year life expectancy gap between residents of ZIP code 30305 in Buckhead, who live an average of 87 years, and those in ZIP code 30318 in the APS Douglass cluster of southwest Atlanta, where residents average 67 years, despite being only seven miles apart.
Moreover, English shared that a child born into the lowest 20 percent income bracket in Atlanta has merely a 4.5 percent chance of ascending to the top 20 percent, marking the lowest rate of economic mobility among major U.S. cities.
Much of his conversation revolved around how these inequities are affecting the downtown area. He emphasized significant investments aimed at affordable housing, public space improvements, crime reduction, and homelessness services. English noted that the city has successfully delivered 12,000 affordable housing units toward a target of 20,000 and is making strides to house all identified 550 unsheltered individuals downtown.
“Our goal… is to ensure that downtown is a healthy, whole neighborhood that’s walkable, that is dense, that is safe, that has access to opportunities,” English stated.
Throughout his remarks, he detailed four key pillars for downtown revitalization: retail and mixed-use development, diverse housing options, improved public spaces, and comprehensive homelessness strategies. Current projects include a $250 million renovation of Five Points station, substantial sidewalk and streetscape upgrades, and conversions of office spaces to residential units at 2 Peachtree Street and 41 Marietta.
Jack Cebe, project manager for The Stitch, a planned 14-acre cap over the Downtown Connector, also spoke at the event, sharing that they have finalized designs and agreements but still face a funding gap for Phase One.
“ We’re really … on the start line,” Cebe remarked, indicating the project’s potential to reconnect neighboring communities through green spaces and infrastructure.
Participants raised various questions, addressing topics from the slow development of the former Atlanta Medical Center site to measures the city plans to implement for attracting small businesses along the Edgewood Avenue corridor.
One resident inquired whether the city would enhance the area around a proposed streetcar infill station before or after its construction. In response, English emphasized, “You have to create the access and you have to create somewhere for them to go… you got to do both,” assuring attendees of continued investments in walkability and access to transit.
English also discussed the importance of local funding sources, such as tax allocation districts (TADs) and a possible downtown enterprise zone, revealing that with reduced federal support, the city must become more reliant on local revenue streams.
“Help is not coming from Washington, D.C.,” he stated. “We have to become more reliant on local sources of revenue… our goal is to make the city federally agnostic.”
Residents were encouraged to participate in shaping downtown priorities, with boards around the room displaying Atlanta’s development goals and inviting suggestions. One board urgently read, “Mid-block crosswalk at Peachtree Center… Now!”
In closing, English acknowledged some questions would require further follow-up and underscored the necessity of discussing challenging topics. “We got to talk about the hard stuff, because unless we face it, we can’t fix it,” he concluded. “I do believe there’s nothing wrong with the city of Atlanta that can’t be solved by what’s right with the city of Atlanta.”
To foster continued community engagement, ADNA invited residents to a happy hour event scheduled for Friday, August 15, with additional details available on their website.
image source from：saportareport
