Since we started Sandy Springs Together, we have constantly talked about the need for the city of Sandy Springs to take bold, decisive action to tackle the ever-growing affordable housing crisis.
But despite this, you might be wondering: What’s it gonna take?
What’s it gonna take for the city of Sandy Springs to implement comprehensive, bold, affordable housing policies and plans?
Well, for starters, we need will — political and community will.
- Political will refers to the idea that decisions that our elected officials make might have political costs associated with them, such as upsetting constituents or campaign donors.
- Community will, refers to thedesire for the community to voice its opinions about the need for our city to take bold steps to curb the effects of the lack of affordable housing.
But let’s be real — not everyone in our city is in favor of keeping apartment communities and ensuring their affordability.
In part, this is due to the fact that our apartment residents are blamed for lots of things that are not their fault. You can check out the Mythbusters section of our website to read more about this.
But, here’s what we do know: working to keep housing affordable will benefit not only those who rely on it, but everyone and every business in Sandy Springs.
However, we are starting to see a growing number of residents who realize the benefits of working towards a more equitable housing approach. However, in order to get our elected officials l on board, it is imperative that we get more of you involved by sharing your ideas and thoughts with us, your neighbors, your community and your elected officials.
One thing we should note is that there is a group in Atlanta, called HouseATL, who has already made great progress towards building the necessary political and community will.
HouseATL is a cross-sector group of civic organizations, including the Urban Land Institute, The Arthur M. Blank Foundation, the City of Atlanta, The Center for Civic Innovation, as well as Central Atlanta Progress. This leadership team has engaged 200 civic leaders to convene a series of workshops. These workshops were open to the public, and used to study the challenges of managing growth while ensuring that housing stays affordable.
After 6 months of working together, HouseATL produced a report covering four major initiatives:
- Investing in an Affordable Atlanta
- Prioritizing Community: Investment without displacement
- Working Together, Better and Smarter
- Empowering Atlantans: Education and Engagement
It was this report that served as the cornerstone for Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance-Bottoms’ Affordable Housing Action Plan, a one BILLION dollar commitment to affordable housing for all Atlantans.
We CAN and SHOUlD take similar action here. It’s more than possible. But we can’t do it alone. Join us as we, together, build a community that works for and includes everyone.
